52 min
Ep. 11 - The End of the Trump Era? Self-Evident
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- Política
Show Notes and Points
Part 1 - Is the Trump era over? Arguably, yes.
* Not because Trump isn’t still a force to be reckoned with or is no longer relevant
* But because the Virginia election demonstrates he’s no longer a center of gravity in American politics
* Aside on Buffalo write-in-campaign, why don’t non-Trump conservatives have this kind of political will?
* Democratic reactions: Racism, accelearate progressive agenda
* Democrats are the ones who want Trump in the conversation
Part 2 – Trump as a wedge issue
* I just recorded a podcast episode with Josh Lewis who hosts the Saving Elephants podcast and we discuss some of these kind of issues
* Specifically, he asked me why I don’t treat Trump as the existential crisis to the Republic so many other non-Trump conservatives
* Points:
* 1. The Democrats have not acted as center-left partners in a “coalition of the decent”
* 2. They have used Trump and Trumpism as wedge issues to get votes for a progressive vision that the country doesn’t support
* 3. Biden didn’t follow through with the moderate approach or the return to normalcy he promised (as a I predicted)
* 4. The Lincoln Project and other “Never Trump” actors haven’t acted as center-right partners in a “coalition of the decent” but have embraced a role as partisan boosters, acting and behaving just like the #MAGA crowd they claim is existentially threatening the Republic
* 5. Finally, as I touched on earlier, if Trump was truly an existential threat to the Republic, why on earth would Democrats want him in the conversation, why would they goad him to jump into the fray in Virginia, why do they seem to want him around and part of the dialogue? What political objective would be worth resurrecting the specter of a defeated president so that he can be used as a wedge issue to get people to vote for Democrats?
* I guess this is the whole point of my frustration. So many of Trump’s political points want the political advantages of a narrative that treats him as an existential threat, but then they engage in politics as usual instead of shifting their rhetoric and their actions in ways that would make sense if he truly was an existential threat.
Part 3 – Trump and Trumpism are problems
* Don’t get me wrong, I have long recognized and resisted the nationalism and populism of the Trump era
* Written extensively on this unique issue, and the threat that presents to the political health of our society
* Points:
* 1. Trump has been a catalyst for the embrace of nationalism on the Right
* Nationalism is different than patriotism
* Patriotism is love of country for its ideals, believes in exceptionalism based in principles and values
* Nationalism is love of country beyond or even in absence of ideas, believes in national supremacy based on some belief of superior traits, whether that’s cultural, ethnic, religious..etc.
* American patriotism clings to the norms and moors of our unique constitutional culture, nationalism views these norms and moors as “suicide pacts” and will circumvent them or even destroy them in order to defeat or “own” political enemies.
* 2. Trump has been a catalyst for an assault on classical liberal values from the Right
* Now not only is the Left largely illiberal, the Right has become anti-liberal
* Since Trump’s rise, America’s constitutional framework is now under determined assault from serious and determined camps on both sides of the political aisle
* Trump has been a catalyst for the dismissal of the importance of private and public virtue in political representation
* Too many conservatives no longer consider character and virtue as important and desirable traits in their leaders. They want fighters, they want people who can play dirty. They view character and virtue as weakness and think anyone trying to cultivate or demonstrate character and virtue is going to get steamrolled by progre
Show Notes and Points
Part 1 - Is the Trump era over? Arguably, yes.
* Not because Trump isn’t still a force to be reckoned with or is no longer relevant
* But because the Virginia election demonstrates he’s no longer a center of gravity in American politics
* Aside on Buffalo write-in-campaign, why don’t non-Trump conservatives have this kind of political will?
* Democratic reactions: Racism, accelearate progressive agenda
* Democrats are the ones who want Trump in the conversation
Part 2 – Trump as a wedge issue
* I just recorded a podcast episode with Josh Lewis who hosts the Saving Elephants podcast and we discuss some of these kind of issues
* Specifically, he asked me why I don’t treat Trump as the existential crisis to the Republic so many other non-Trump conservatives
* Points:
* 1. The Democrats have not acted as center-left partners in a “coalition of the decent”
* 2. They have used Trump and Trumpism as wedge issues to get votes for a progressive vision that the country doesn’t support
* 3. Biden didn’t follow through with the moderate approach or the return to normalcy he promised (as a I predicted)
* 4. The Lincoln Project and other “Never Trump” actors haven’t acted as center-right partners in a “coalition of the decent” but have embraced a role as partisan boosters, acting and behaving just like the #MAGA crowd they claim is existentially threatening the Republic
* 5. Finally, as I touched on earlier, if Trump was truly an existential threat to the Republic, why on earth would Democrats want him in the conversation, why would they goad him to jump into the fray in Virginia, why do they seem to want him around and part of the dialogue? What political objective would be worth resurrecting the specter of a defeated president so that he can be used as a wedge issue to get people to vote for Democrats?
* I guess this is the whole point of my frustration. So many of Trump’s political points want the political advantages of a narrative that treats him as an existential threat, but then they engage in politics as usual instead of shifting their rhetoric and their actions in ways that would make sense if he truly was an existential threat.
Part 3 – Trump and Trumpism are problems
* Don’t get me wrong, I have long recognized and resisted the nationalism and populism of the Trump era
* Written extensively on this unique issue, and the threat that presents to the political health of our society
* Points:
* 1. Trump has been a catalyst for the embrace of nationalism on the Right
* Nationalism is different than patriotism
* Patriotism is love of country for its ideals, believes in exceptionalism based in principles and values
* Nationalism is love of country beyond or even in absence of ideas, believes in national supremacy based on some belief of superior traits, whether that’s cultural, ethnic, religious..etc.
* American patriotism clings to the norms and moors of our unique constitutional culture, nationalism views these norms and moors as “suicide pacts” and will circumvent them or even destroy them in order to defeat or “own” political enemies.
* 2. Trump has been a catalyst for an assault on classical liberal values from the Right
* Now not only is the Left largely illiberal, the Right has become anti-liberal
* Since Trump’s rise, America’s constitutional framework is now under determined assault from serious and determined camps on both sides of the political aisle
* Trump has been a catalyst for the dismissal of the importance of private and public virtue in political representation
* Too many conservatives no longer consider character and virtue as important and desirable traits in their leaders. They want fighters, they want people who can play dirty. They view character and virtue as weakness and think anyone trying to cultivate or demonstrate character and virtue is going to get steamrolled by progre
52 min