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Trumpism

Paul Ryan: “If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality…then we’re not going anywhere.”

John Fea   |  May 27, 2021

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 […]

The GOP will need to live with a potential Trump indictment

John Fea   |  May 26, 2021

Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. As MSNBC team notes, they had a chance to walk away from him after the January 6, 2021 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, but instead they doubled-down in their support of […]

Amitai Etzioni on why Donald Trump continues to have political power

John Fea   |  May 13, 2021

Here is the communitarian intellectual Etzioni at National Interest: Millions of Americans who still support Trump see themselves as a persecuted White minority. They hear from right-wing news outlets that demographic trends dictate that the United States is on its […]

Kevin McCarthy: “I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election”

John Fea   |  May 12, 2021

The GOP House minority leader can’t be serious. Here is Paul Kane at The Washington Post: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday took a head-spinning tour through Washington. First, he oversaw the roughly 20-minute meeting of House Republicans […]

Josh Hawley’s path to the insurrection

John Fea   |  May 12, 2021

Josh Hawley, the Missouri senator who once had the support of liberal Republican John Danforth, is now the poster-boy for the far-right Republican Party. In this longform piece at The Washington Post, Michael Kranish chronicles how Hawley ascended to such […]

“If you stand for nothing Burr, what’ll you fall for?”

John Fea   |  May 12, 2021

Today’s GOP may want to listen to this Hamilton classic:

Who was Margaret Chase Smith?

John Fea   |  May 11, 2021

Several commentators are comparing Liz Cheney’s speech tonight to Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith‘s 1950 speech, “A Declaration of Conscience.” Both were anti-McCarthy (Andrew for Cheney and Joseph for Smith) speeches. No historical analogy is perfect, but this one is […]

The coming split in the Republican Party

John Fea   |  May 11, 2021

Here is Zach Montague at The New York Times: More than 100 Republicans, including some former elected officials, are preparing to release a letter this week threatening to form a third party if the Republican Party does not make certain […]

Liz Cheney: “Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar”

John Fea   |  May 11, 2021

Her party empowers liars and removes truth-tellers from leadership positions. Here is Liz Cheney’s parting shot: The sound you hear are progressives cheering for one of the most conservative members of the House of Representatives:

Kevin McCarthy is “proud to be a Christian.” He’ll now need to find a way to reconcile his faith with his willingness to lead a party united around a lie

John Fea   |  May 10, 2021

The vote to remove Liz Cheney from her leadership position has not taken place yet and the House’s top two Republicans–Andrew McCarthy and Stave Scalise–have already thrown their support behind New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik to replace her. Here is […]

Chait: “The next insurrection will be a Brooks Brothers riot”

John Fea   |  May 7, 2021

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. […]

The MAGA crowd is not happy with the choice of Elise Stefanik to replace Liz Cheney in House GOP leadership

John Fea   |  May 6, 2021

Liz Cheney is on her way out. New York congresswoman Elise Stefanick, who got national attention for her defense of Trump in his first impeachment hearing, is positioning herself to replace Cheney as the House’s third-ranking Republican. Donald Trump has […]

Josh Hawley: Liz Cheney is “out of step with Republican voters”

John Fea   |  May 6, 2021

The Missouri senator who gave credibility to the Big Lie in the days leading-up to the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 has a message for Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney. (Get up the speed on the Cheney story […]

An alleged sex criminal and a QAnon supporter are going on the road together. They are both members of Congress

John Fea   |  April 29, 2021

Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are about to embark on an “America First Tour.” This should be fun. Here is Marc Caputo at Politico: Rocked by a steady stream of leaks about a federal investigation into alleged sex crimes, […]

Wehner: The Republican Party is a threat to democracy

John Fea   |  April 27, 2021

Here is a taste of Peter Wehner‘s recent piece at The Atlantic: The Trump presidency might have been the first act in a longer and even darker political drama, in which the Republican Party is becoming more radicalized. How long […]

On fighting “a guerilla battle at the grassroots of a generation of lower-middle-class people who feel betrayed and exploited”

John Fea   |  April 27, 2021

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 […]

The Anglo-Saxon caucus?

John Fea   |  April 17, 2021

Yup. It looks like this might be a thing. Anglo-Saxonism is back. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) are starting the “America First Caucus.” On election fraud: Recent election results demonstrate a compromised integrity of our elections […]

Liberty University sues Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 million

John Fea   |  April 16, 2021

I can’t keep up with all these Liberty University stories. Last week disgraced former president Jerry Falwell Jr. was touting the COVID-19 vaccine and catching a lacrosse game on campus. Earlier this week Liberty fired Trey Falwell, Falwell Jr.’s son. […]

Mike Huckabee and Mike Pompeo join Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center (formerly Falkirk Center)

John Fea   |  April 16, 2021

Charlie Kirk and Sebastian Gorka are out. Huckabee and Pompeo are in. Here is Kate Andrews at Virginia Business: Liberty University’s newly renamed think tank, the Standing for Freedom Center, has announced a slate of five new fellows, including former […]

Paula White will lead Donald Trump’s new “Center for American Values”

John Fea   |  April 14, 2021

Yesterday Axios reported that the remnants of the Donald Trump administration will start something called the “America First Policy Institute.” Readers of this blog might be interested in learning that former court evangelical Paula White-Cain will head the new institute’s […]

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