I used to listen to Yuval Levin when he was a guest on conservative podcasts in the mid 2010s. National Review, The Weekly Standard, etc. One thing he said that stayed with me is this: "There is no plan." He said it in reference to the perception of chaos in the government. This was in the later years of the Obama administration. He mean…
I used to listen to Yuval Levin when he was a guest on conservative podcasts in the mid 2010s. National Review, The Weekly Standard, etc. One thing he said that stayed with me is this: "There is no plan." He said it in reference to the perception of chaos in the government. This was in the later years of the Obama administration. He meant that beyond the acquisition and maintenance of power in D.C. and other places, there wasn't an agenda. It was just politicians trying to stay in office.
The fact that that statement stayed with me might lead you to think I have an admiration for Yuval Levin. I do not. Each podcast I listened to where he was a guest was unsatisfying, to say the least. Back then, he did not turn away from the description of "big-government conservative," a paradoxical characterization a conservative should protest. While conservatives do pursue government power, it's poor form to brag about it.
No. Yuval Levin is one of those bloodless conservatives. Passionless, a wonk who would feel right at home in a debate over the merits of the Jaffa School as opposed to the Straussian School or quoting the best of Russell Kirk. The people who grew up voting for Republicans don't want that anymore. We don't want the gradual descent as dignified losses pile up, as our so-called "principles" condemn us withstand leftists experimentation on our society, hoping for someone to galvanize the party like Reagan did four decades ago.
That someone showed up. It was Donald Trump. He showed up and understood immediately that the purpose of a political party is to win elections, not dither about what planks should go in the platform. The era of theorizing is over. The Left wants us dead, or neutered enough that we can't fight back against their incessant attacks against our institutions. And as for the divisive rhetoric? The Leftists have been calling Republican candidates for president Hitlerian since Thomas Dewey. Our side has been more than patient with the Left's crybullies who slander us constantly and then keen for civility the moment we open our mouths to fight back. Enough. Time to be honest. Time to say out loud who the Left really is. No more genteel debates bemoaning mean tweets. It's time to win an election and reverse the catastrophes caused by the buffoon Joe Biden and his cabinet full of incompetents.
It's not your party anymore, Levin. Go align yourself with the dignified losers who are still Never Trump. They'll be happy to share their dogeared copies of Russell Kirk with you. The rest of us will be voting for the man who encouraged us to fight.
I used to listen to Yuval Levin when he was a guest on conservative podcasts in the mid 2010s. National Review, The Weekly Standard, etc. One thing he said that stayed with me is this: "There is no plan." He said it in reference to the perception of chaos in the government. This was in the later years of the Obama administration. He meant that beyond the acquisition and maintenance of power in D.C. and other places, there wasn't an agenda. It was just politicians trying to stay in office.
The fact that that statement stayed with me might lead you to think I have an admiration for Yuval Levin. I do not. Each podcast I listened to where he was a guest was unsatisfying, to say the least. Back then, he did not turn away from the description of "big-government conservative," a paradoxical characterization a conservative should protest. While conservatives do pursue government power, it's poor form to brag about it.
No. Yuval Levin is one of those bloodless conservatives. Passionless, a wonk who would feel right at home in a debate over the merits of the Jaffa School as opposed to the Straussian School or quoting the best of Russell Kirk. The people who grew up voting for Republicans don't want that anymore. We don't want the gradual descent as dignified losses pile up, as our so-called "principles" condemn us withstand leftists experimentation on our society, hoping for someone to galvanize the party like Reagan did four decades ago.
That someone showed up. It was Donald Trump. He showed up and understood immediately that the purpose of a political party is to win elections, not dither about what planks should go in the platform. The era of theorizing is over. The Left wants us dead, or neutered enough that we can't fight back against their incessant attacks against our institutions. And as for the divisive rhetoric? The Leftists have been calling Republican candidates for president Hitlerian since Thomas Dewey. Our side has been more than patient with the Left's crybullies who slander us constantly and then keen for civility the moment we open our mouths to fight back. Enough. Time to be honest. Time to say out loud who the Left really is. No more genteel debates bemoaning mean tweets. It's time to win an election and reverse the catastrophes caused by the buffoon Joe Biden and his cabinet full of incompetents.
It's not your party anymore, Levin. Go align yourself with the dignified losers who are still Never Trump. They'll be happy to share their dogeared copies of Russell Kirk with you. The rest of us will be voting for the man who encouraged us to fight.