Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared war on anti-Semitism this week, tying Gab, a free speech-centric social media network, to the issue. “Anti-Semitic platforms like Gab have no place in Texas and certainly do not represent Texas values,” he said, flanked by Republican State Representatives Craig Goldman and Phil King in a video released Wednesday. With … Continued
The coronavirus pandemic, real and exaggerated, has provided a unique opportunity to fortify the family and undermine the hegemonic cant of a regime that is hostile to Middle Americans. Public school enrollment is down across the country, while homeschooling is on the rise, which should be good news for those frustrated with a system out … Continued
Thucydides recalls a scene from the Peloponnesian War when the Athenians, fleeing before their enemies, come to the Assinarus River. They stop to drink from its flowing waters even as their foes bear down on them. The Syracusans, Thucydides writes, “showered missiles down upon the Athenians, most of them drinking greedily and heaped together in … Continued
The partisan brawl amid massive blackouts that plunged Texas into days of darkness illuminated one thing, at least: the need for a new social philosophy on the Right. In short, millions have been left without power during an unrelenting winter storm because of an overburdened power grid. At the center of this is the ironically … Continued
The debate over raising the federal minimum wage has elicited weeping and gnashing of teeth on both sides, but the policy itself is less important than what the wailing on the Right has revealed. “Simply put, the minimum wage stops labor markets from operating effectively,” the editors of National Review write. We must, they insist, … Continued
The “distinguishing quality of Anglo-Saxon politics,” James Burnham wrote, “has always been hypocrisy, and hypocrisy must always be at pains to shy away from the truth.” Burnham’s words are especially true of Conservatism, Inc., as it is no longer clear, at this point, what is being conserved beyond sinecures and special interests. Conservative think tanks … Continued
In what CNN’s Chris Cillizza accurately described as a “gut punch” to the GOP’s Trumpian faction, the House Republican Conference decided against removing Representative Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) for her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump. Republicans voted 145-61 on a secret ballot in Cheney’s favor. Cillizza zeroed in on Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, an … Continued
Sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement, cities across the United States went up in flames last year, beset with looters, agitators, and killers. As leaves, and ashes, fell softly last autumn, homicide rates began to soar nationwide as $1 billion-plus in claims registered on the insurance industry’s books, making these riots the most destructive … Continued
The unifying strand in conservatism as a movement and the GOP as a political operation is a superficial desire to limit and eschew power. This position is sloganized in exhortations against “big government,” against “socialism,” against the noxious fumes of power. But movement conservatives, like their political counterparts, are quite all right with both the … Continued
“The specific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced,” wrote Carl Schmitt, “is that between friend and enemy.” It seems self-evident enough that one ought to reward friends and punish enemies. Nevertheless, Schmitt’s dictum remains relevant because it is so often ignored. Donald Trump is famous for demanding loyalty. To the … Continued
