Trump and the Conservative Disposition
In light of Trump’s most recent loathsome statements, it is clear the Republican Party has fewer actual conservatives than it wishes to admit.
Tagged: conservatism
Talk to Me Like I’m Stupid: Brexit & American Conservatives Edition
Why is Brexit a victory for American conservatives? Where exactly is their dog in this fight? What thing have they won that I am just not seeing?
How To Fix a Broken Elephant: A Recipe for Electoral Health In Six Incredibly Difficult Steps
America desperately needs a disciplined, conservative political party — a thing the GOP has not been for quite some time. Here are the six steps those small-c conservatives of the #NeverTrump variety will have to take if they want to stem the rise of Trumpism in their party.
The Whimsical Conservatism of The Kinks
The Kinks made some of the best conservative rock records, even if they share little with Republican talking points.
Conservatives, Donald Trump, and the Unseen
Conservatism stresses deference to the unseen. Trump rejects that out of hand, and he’s on the verge of the Republican nomination. What happened?
David Frum: Will the Republican Party Survive the 2016 Election?
“Maybe the presidency itself should be regarded as one of those things that is good to have but not a must-have, especially if obtaining it requires uncomfortable change.”
Mocking the Polyamorous: an Exercise in Self-Defeating Advocacy
Monogamous marriage is the right choice for Burt Likko, but mocking those who make a different choice strikes him as very much the wrong way for conservatives to go about their business.
Fatherhood & Conservatism
Guest writer Roland Dobbs, a long-time liberal, notices his political views shifting rightward with recent the arrival of his baby daughter.
Beyond “McCainism”
A gay blogger learns that reforming the GOP means focusing on bread and butter issues first, social issues second.
Conservatives and Transgender Community: A Time for Understanding
I ask conservatives to start to learn about being transgender. And don’t worry if you don’t understand all of it- what matters more is to care for these people- even if it doesn’t make any damn sense.
Arizona on My Mind
Those of us in favor of same sex marriage have won. But how do we live with those who are the losers?
Wishes Won’t Change the GOP
No, the GOP won’t change because of losing an election. They will change when moderates and independents give a damn.
What Mitt Romney Meant
A new Economist piece sheds light on whether or not Romney’s 2012 rhetoric was as plastic as it seemed.
The End of Absolute Sexual Morality
My friend Darwin observes: When trying to make-nice to conservatives, proponents of “same sex marriage” tend to emphasize it as a way of enshrining commitment and sexual morality. However, while this tends to suggest...
Triaxial Epistemology
By way of Popehat, Arnold Kling on a root problem with contemporary political discourse, summarized in the Wall Street Journal: Mr. Kling’s three “languages” are ways of talking about politics and government, and they...
Ideology is the Enemy: Prelude
Over the next several weeks months I will be writing about the recent ascendance of ideology in the United States and why it worries me. Specifically, I worry that the voting public’s generations-long desire...
“You don’t ‘seize’ the center, you create the center”
When I learned it, I thought the motion for this month’s Intelligence Squared U.S. debate – “The GOP Must Seize the Center or Die” – was simply dreadful. How could the opposing case possibly be made without fighting a losing battle with the proposition itself? Of course the GOP needs to win more votes from the center; of course they’ve been successfully characterized as out-of-touch with centrists. And indeed, the pre-debate poll showed a staggering 65% in favor of the […]
A Few Random Thoughts on “Growth and Opportunity”
The Republican National Committee released its long term assessment report yesterday. Called “Growth and Opportunity,” the document is intended to spell out the current state of the GOP (not good) and ideas on how...
