Appreciate this fair critique of Shapiro's performance in the Trump era. Erick Erickson also comes to mind as a former NeverTrumper turned Trump supporter, who still speaks out at times on the excesses of the New Right. I don't see either as just "sellout MAGA grifters", but I get the impression that most center - left people do, and don't see any real difference between them, and Tucker and his merry band of degenerates.
Unfortunately, coverage from the left of center tends to flatten all distinctions within the MAGA coalition, and much left - leaning coverage of the current situation has framed it as just "MAGA infighting" or a "feud between Shapiro and Carlson/ Fuentes", or at most "disagreement over Israel", but not any other principle. I even get the impression some Leftists actually side with Tucker on that because they have anti-Semitic tendencies too.
I hope you're right about what Shapiro is doing now.
Mike Pence's trajectory has been fascinating too. I don't think he has much of a political future himself, although I assume he will make another Presidential run in 2028. But his think tank has quickly gone from being seen as just another vanity project by a sidelined politico, to actually becoming a significant player in the conservative think tank world. I mean, Ed Meese basically moved his entire legal policy shop over from Heritage. That's big.
Of course, some of that was just a Heritage Own Goal, more than anything Pence himself did. AAF has so far not shown much influence on actual elected officials; their lobbying against RFKJ went nowhere. But I think that if Pence is willing to play a longer game, he might wind up actually scoring some goals later.
Thanks. It will be interesting to see where Pence goes with this. His think tank is indeed shaping up to be a big deal. I don't think he has any prayer of ever holding elected office again (thanks to Trump), but the institutional long-game here could pay real dividends for conservatism.
Merry Christmas John. A question for your next Friday edition.
Do you think conservatives like you and I, and Ben Shapiro even though he’s helped grow this MAGA brand, are a silent majority on the right, or are the populist firebrands like Tucker and Candace Owens the majority, and if you had to ballpark it how would it come out in percentages?
It’s inspiring to know Ben did this, although I still think with Trump as the ultimate leader of the right and Vance as next in line, that there’s not much hope of sobriety for the right
3600 words Bernie. I don't give a damn about what Shapiro thinks is happening to 'conservative' America. Take this from someone five years your senior, conservatism is not dead nor dying.
At our house this fall it's been a TLC time for overdue wear and tear which we've hired done. Conversations I've had with the young (under 30) men we hired has surprised me with their advocation of conservative principles. The coincidental randomness included with those conversations tells me that many more young people see the benefits of conservative thinking.
What will result in Shapiro being correct however is a never ending continuation of short sighted analysis of our current administration. . Yes, DJT sucks in myriad ways. But the incessant focus on his faults, clouds what he can do well which is get more accomplished than nearly any single person on this planet. Not liking what he wants to do or what he accomplishes doesn't make it wrong.
I take exception to inferences that discredit SCOTUS rulings. To do so is an insult of immense proportions. SCOTUS rulings that don't go a particular way do not represent partisanship nor malpractice. Worse, any suggestion that SCOTUS rulings are apt to be based on factors other than interpretations of law is worse than wrong; it undermines the very foundation that keeps our Republic from being swallowed by anarchy.
>>I don't give a damn about what Shapiro thinks is happening to 'conservative' America.
That's your prerogative. I think he's worth listening to.
>>Take this from someone five years your senior, conservatism is not dead nor dying.
Conservatism in our politics is absolutely dead or dying. Do conservatives still exist in American society? Yes. But they're largely powerless and unrepresented in today's political arena.
>>Yes, DJT sucks in myriad ways. But the incessant focus on his faults, clouds what he can do well which is get more accomplished than nearly any single person on this planet. Not liking what he wants to do or what he accomplishes doesn't make it wrong.
If Trump doesn't want his faults to cloud his accomplishments, he should stop doing so many terrible things. People holding him to account isn't the problem. People refusing to hold him to account is the problem.
>>I take exception to inferences that discredit SCOTUS rulings. To do so is an insult of immense proportions.
I'm not sure what you're talking about. I made no such inferences. I've been largely happy with this Supreme Court.
Yes, there was a comment which inferred future SCOTUS decisions would continue to be other than what they should be. No reason to mention it otherwise.
Conservatives should oppose him when he does things that are against their (and American) interests. Congressional Republicans should shut down his executive overreaches, like his emergency-tariff abuses (which are likely illegal), and otherwise stop surrendering their power to him. And if you want to go deeper than that, Senate Republicans should have handed him a much-deserved, entirely appropriate impeachment conviction January 6. Letting "Trump be Trump", in all circumstances, has absolutely crushed the American conservative movement.
>>Yes, there was a comment which inferred future SCOTUS decisions would continue to be other than what they should be. No reason to mention it otherwise.
Here's what I wrote about the Supreme Court: "The conservative movement got some good Supreme Court justices out of that term, and the tilt of the court has already paid significant conservative dividends."
I made the opposite point of what you're claiming I did. A conservative court interprets the U.S. the Constitution, which is how it should be. Prior to Trump, the courted was tilted away from textualism and originalism. That's no longer the case.
Congress should take care of those problems. Apparently not enough of them agree with your positions. Your words are clear, you intended no SCOTUS disrespect. My apology.
What a solid deep dive. Thank you!
Thanks Tom!
Appreciate this fair critique of Shapiro's performance in the Trump era. Erick Erickson also comes to mind as a former NeverTrumper turned Trump supporter, who still speaks out at times on the excesses of the New Right. I don't see either as just "sellout MAGA grifters", but I get the impression that most center - left people do, and don't see any real difference between them, and Tucker and his merry band of degenerates.
Unfortunately, coverage from the left of center tends to flatten all distinctions within the MAGA coalition, and much left - leaning coverage of the current situation has framed it as just "MAGA infighting" or a "feud between Shapiro and Carlson/ Fuentes", or at most "disagreement over Israel", but not any other principle. I even get the impression some Leftists actually side with Tucker on that because they have anti-Semitic tendencies too.
I hope you're right about what Shapiro is doing now.
Mike Pence's trajectory has been fascinating too. I don't think he has much of a political future himself, although I assume he will make another Presidential run in 2028. But his think tank has quickly gone from being seen as just another vanity project by a sidelined politico, to actually becoming a significant player in the conservative think tank world. I mean, Ed Meese basically moved his entire legal policy shop over from Heritage. That's big.
Of course, some of that was just a Heritage Own Goal, more than anything Pence himself did. AAF has so far not shown much influence on actual elected officials; their lobbying against RFKJ went nowhere. But I think that if Pence is willing to play a longer game, he might wind up actually scoring some goals later.
Thanks. It will be interesting to see where Pence goes with this. His think tank is indeed shaping up to be a big deal. I don't think he has any prayer of ever holding elected office again (thanks to Trump), but the institutional long-game here could pay real dividends for conservatism.
Merry Christmas John. A question for your next Friday edition.
Do you think conservatives like you and I, and Ben Shapiro even though he’s helped grow this MAGA brand, are a silent majority on the right, or are the populist firebrands like Tucker and Candace Owens the majority, and if you had to ballpark it how would it come out in percentages?
It’s inspiring to know Ben did this, although I still think with Trump as the ultimate leader of the right and Vance as next in line, that there’s not much hope of sobriety for the right
3600 words Bernie. I don't give a damn about what Shapiro thinks is happening to 'conservative' America. Take this from someone five years your senior, conservatism is not dead nor dying.
At our house this fall it's been a TLC time for overdue wear and tear which we've hired done. Conversations I've had with the young (under 30) men we hired has surprised me with their advocation of conservative principles. The coincidental randomness included with those conversations tells me that many more young people see the benefits of conservative thinking.
What will result in Shapiro being correct however is a never ending continuation of short sighted analysis of our current administration. . Yes, DJT sucks in myriad ways. But the incessant focus on his faults, clouds what he can do well which is get more accomplished than nearly any single person on this planet. Not liking what he wants to do or what he accomplishes doesn't make it wrong.
I take exception to inferences that discredit SCOTUS rulings. To do so is an insult of immense proportions. SCOTUS rulings that don't go a particular way do not represent partisanship nor malpractice. Worse, any suggestion that SCOTUS rulings are apt to be based on factors other than interpretations of law is worse than wrong; it undermines the very foundation that keeps our Republic from being swallowed by anarchy.
>>3600 words Bernie.
Bernie didn't write this long piece. I did.
>>I don't give a damn about what Shapiro thinks is happening to 'conservative' America.
That's your prerogative. I think he's worth listening to.
>>Take this from someone five years your senior, conservatism is not dead nor dying.
Conservatism in our politics is absolutely dead or dying. Do conservatives still exist in American society? Yes. But they're largely powerless and unrepresented in today's political arena.
>>Yes, DJT sucks in myriad ways. But the incessant focus on his faults, clouds what he can do well which is get more accomplished than nearly any single person on this planet. Not liking what he wants to do or what he accomplishes doesn't make it wrong.
If Trump doesn't want his faults to cloud his accomplishments, he should stop doing so many terrible things. People holding him to account isn't the problem. People refusing to hold him to account is the problem.
>>I take exception to inferences that discredit SCOTUS rulings. To do so is an insult of immense proportions.
I'm not sure what you're talking about. I made no such inferences. I've been largely happy with this Supreme Court.
John, just what is "holding him to account?'
Yes, there was a comment which inferred future SCOTUS decisions would continue to be other than what they should be. No reason to mention it otherwise.
>>John, just what is "holding him to account?'
Conservatives should oppose him when he does things that are against their (and American) interests. Congressional Republicans should shut down his executive overreaches, like his emergency-tariff abuses (which are likely illegal), and otherwise stop surrendering their power to him. And if you want to go deeper than that, Senate Republicans should have handed him a much-deserved, entirely appropriate impeachment conviction January 6. Letting "Trump be Trump", in all circumstances, has absolutely crushed the American conservative movement.
>>Yes, there was a comment which inferred future SCOTUS decisions would continue to be other than what they should be. No reason to mention it otherwise.
Here's what I wrote about the Supreme Court: "The conservative movement got some good Supreme Court justices out of that term, and the tilt of the court has already paid significant conservative dividends."
I made the opposite point of what you're claiming I did. A conservative court interprets the U.S. the Constitution, which is how it should be. Prior to Trump, the courted was tilted away from textualism and originalism. That's no longer the case.
Congress should take care of those problems. Apparently not enough of them agree with your positions. Your words are clear, you intended no SCOTUS disrespect. My apology.