Here is Wheaton College graduate and former George W. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson: Systems had been carefully created to ensure I went to an all-White church, in an all-White neighborhood, while attending an all-White Christian school and shopping in all-White […]
conservatism
What is happening in the red states?
The Atlantic is running another fascinating piece of political journalism from Ron Brownstein. Conservatives know they have no chance of shaping national policy, so they are appealing to localism. While I am certainly supportive of cultivating local culture, as an […]
Conservative publishing is having a hard time turning Joe Biden into a “compelling villain”
Here is McKay Coppins at The Atlantic: In the conservative book world, nothing is supposed to set off a gold rush like a new Democratic president. Ever since Bill Clinton inspired a wave of right-wing best sellers in the ’90s, […]
William F. Buckley: “…I, for one, would not willingly die for ‘democracy'”
Historian Joshua Tait writes, “…the democracy-denying beliefs and actions of today’s conservative Republican party–rejecting the results of the 2020 presidential election and seeking to manipulate voting laws nationwide in a cynical assault on the democratic process–have plentiful precedent in conservative […]
Paul Ryan: “If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality…then we’re not going anywhere.”
Tonight the former Speaker of the House will give a speech at the Reagan Library in California. John McCormick of The Wall Street Journal reports: “Once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads,” Mr. Ryan will say, according to […]
Are American conservatives advancing a new “Lost Cause?”
Paul Waldman writes: “Everywhere conservatives look, their view of America’s racial story is being challenged.” Most of our culture war debate right now seem to focus on school curriculum and race. Here is Waldman at The Washington Post: As conservatives […]
Chait: “The next insurrection will be a Brooks Brothers riot”
Over at New York Magazine, Jonathan Chait responds to this piece by Dan McLaughlin at The National Review. Chait does not see much difference between the Liz Cheney wing of the GOP and the Donald Trump wing of the GOP. […]
On fighting “a guerilla battle at the grassroots of a generation of lower-middle-class people who feel betrayed and exploited”
Here is Rick Perlstein in Reaganland on the rise of the New Right in the 1970s: That notion–conservatism as an ideology for working people–was another New Right theme. [Richard] Viguerie’s father had been a construction worker; his mother toiled in […]
Mike Pence also has a policy organization
Yesterday we called your attention to Donald Trump’s America First Policy Institute. Former court evangelical Paula White will head the “Center for American Values” wing of his new institute. Today I learned about Mike Pence’s “Advancing American Freedom.” Pence’s advisory […]
What is conservatism?
As historian Joshua Tait reminds us, the meaning of the term “conservatism” has been a contested one in the United States. In his recent piece at The Bulwark he compares a circle of writers in the 1940s and early 1950s […]
Steve Bannon will need to find another location for his “Catholic political academy.” Italy says no.
I had no idea Bannon was trying to establish what Reuters calls a “right-wing Catholic political academy” in Italy. Here is Philip Puella’s piece: Steve Bannon, the former adviser to ex-U.S. President Donald Trump, has lost a legal battle to […]
The CPAC vocabulary. Defining terms.
I am teaching the American Revolution this semester. The other day, as we were reading and interpreting some primary documents, I asked the students to notice how the writers of these documents all seemed to use a similar political language. […]
Gerson: CPAC is not conservative
As many of you know, Gerson was George W. Bush’s speechwriter. Here is a taste of his Washington Post column on CPAC: By a conservative standard, what should we make of the activists and participants at CPAC? It is worth […]
Change over time at CPAC
Remember when CPAC didn’t like Donald Trump? NBC news reminds us: Just five years ago, Donald Trump pulled out of speaking at the annual CPAC conference. That decision came during the throes of the 2016 GOP nominating contest, when fellow Republicans were […]
What you can expect at CPAC this weekend
Yes, Trump will be at the big MAGA event this weekend. If you’re going, you can choose to attend one of these sessions: Ted Cruz’s talk is titled “Bill of Rights, Liberty, and Cancel Culture.” Deroy Murdock of Fox News […]
His life with Rush Limbaugh
Chuck Armstrong grew up listening to Rush Limbaugh. The Midwest pastor’s kid landed an internship at the Sean Hannity Show at WABC in New York and immersed himself in the world of conservative media and politics. After stints at radio […]
Trump will speak at CPAC on February 28
Donald Trump will speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on February 28 in Orlando. This year’s CPAC theme is “AMERICA UNCANCELED.” It looks like Trump is getting the old band back together. Speakers include Kristi Noem, Mike […]
Trump’s evangelicals respond to the death of Rush Limbaugh
“There was a generation of Christians who used to listen to Moody or Family Life radio all day, and sometime around 1990 they decided to listen to Rush five times a week instead. And here we are.”–TWOILH reader. Limbaugh seldom […]
Rush Limbaugh dies
Here are the titles and/or subtitles of some of his obituaries: NBC News: “The Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree outraged critics with his long history of sexist, homophobic and racist remarks.” Washington Post: “Rush Limbaugh, conservative radio provocateur and cultural […]
A conservative makes a case for liberal arts education
Liberal education is education for liberty, or freedom. As a result, one might think that Ursinus College political scientist Jonathan Marks’s book Let’s Be Reasonable: A Conservative Case for Liberal Education would not be necessary. Conservatives, with their commitment to […]