Extremism on both the left and right have emerged with startling immediacy and intensity this year, as an entirely unintended result of the presidential primary process, which was largely “intended” to produce a near re-match of both the 1992 and 2000 elections, featuring Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. Apparently, that was just too goddamn boring…
Tag: Donald Trump
Ragin’ Republicans: Rich Lowry explains why it’s wrong to criticize Republicans for supporting a moral idiot
It’s all the Establishment’s fault, Rich explains: “Few politicians in memory have so powerfully tapped into and expressed the conservative id, which has long yearned for a Republican politician willing to heap the verbal abuse on the Clintons and, especially, on the media that they so manifestly deserve. “Except on cable and talk radio, the…
Wall Street Journal editor in chief “reminds” reporters to be fair to Trump (but not, presumably, Clinton or Sanders)
Over at Politico, Joe Pompeo writes that Wall Street Journal editor in chief Gerry Baker saw fit to “remind” his editors to be “fair” to Donald Trump. And indeed we should be fair to Donald. We shouldn’t forget that he rose to prominence by promising to build a “great wall” between the U.S. and Mexico…
Charles Murray, cutting to the chase
I have never written about Charles Murray without the most overt of sneers.1 Well, that has to change, because Charles, writing in the National Review, has just nailed the best right-wing take-down of Donald Trump I’ve ever read, “Why ‘Hillary is even worse’ doesn’t cut it”. Sample quotes: “In my view, Donald Trump is unfit…
Ben Sasse, B.A., M.A., M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Yeah, you read that right. Ben Sasse, junior senator from Nebraska, has more degrees than a compass: a BA from Harvard (government), an MA from St. John’s (liberal studies), and an MA, MPhil1, and a Ph.D. from Yale (all in philosophy). Yet he talks just like me and you. Most of the time. Ben has…
What Doth Ryan Want?
I am one of the least known, yet most vociferous members of the Anti-Ryan Club, which is led, more or less, by Paul Krugman and Jonathan Chait. As both Paul and Jon will tell you, Paul Ryan will say and do just about anything, as long as it allows him to maneuver himself into the…
Ben Sasse, Wall Street Tool
Nebraska Junior Senator Ben Sasse recently posted “AN OPEN LETTER TO MAJORITY AMERICA”, bemoaning the fact that neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump offers what the American people—the real American people, the folks down at the WalMart—really want. When ole Ben finally gets tired of patting himself on the back for being the fine, down…
What Hath Trump Wrought?
Which is more decadent, Donald Trump or the Annual Gala of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York? Okay, trick question, because there is no wrong answer. But putting the Donald in perspective does take some work. Yet the sources of the Donald aren’t hard to find: the stumblings and…
Shorter Reihan Salam: I’m an idiot
Over at Slate, Reihan Salam has a post up Why I’m voting for Ted Cruz. Why? Well, as Reihan explains, Ted’s immigration plan is better than Trump’s: “Though I don’t agree with every aspect of Cruz’s position on immigration, it has the virtue of being coherent and defensible, something that can’t be said of Trump’s.”…
John Podhoretz, half right on Trump—okay, make that a quarter
Over at Commentary, definitely not one of my fave rave’s, Editor John Podhoretz has “A New Theory of Trump”, taking another crack at explaining the Donald. Podhoretz’s argument is stated rather elliptically—or perhaps obliquely—but what he’s getting at, basically, is that George W. Bush got a lot of things wrong, but Republicans were so obsessed…