I recently wrote an article suggesting that The American Conservative (TAC) magazine, for better or worse the closest thing to a policy journal paleoconservatism has, should be more visibly on board the Trump Train. I realize that TAC is a non-profit and is not able to officially endorse a candidate.
Rare recently published this article by Daniel McCarthy, Editor of The American Conservative (TAC) magazine. It is a thoughtful defense of a vote for Trump that I largely agree with. I will not say I’m completely surprised. I could have seen McCarthy going either way. I will say that I am pleased.
"As in Jephthah’s day, at stake in the upcoming presidential election is the life or death of a nation. Is Trump America’s Jephthah? Only if, by the providence of Almighty God, He moves the hearts and minds of the American people to reject America’s political elite who would choose global hegemony to an independent American republic.” ~ Herb Titus
The American Conservative blogger Rod Dreher has never been entirely my cup of tea. His posts are frequently too overwrought, and they come off as, for lack of a better word, prissy. (I tried hard to come up with another word to describe them that wasn’t so loaded, but I couldn’t think of one that wasn’t equally or more loaded.) However, since Dreher is an outside the mainstream conservative, I have often found myself defending him against attacks from mainstream conservatives, especially back in the days when conservatives were still debating the Iraq War.
Sen. Ted Cruz has belatedly endorsed Donald Trump. Cruz was in a no win situation, but it was a no win situation of his own making. If he didn't plan to endorse Trump in Cleveland, he should have declined the offer to speak at the Convention. A refusal to endorse from afar, such as with Gov. John Kasich, is less visible than a refusal to endorse during a prime time Convention speaking slot.
A recent Claremont Review of Books article by the obviously pseudonymous Publius Decius Mus, “The Flight 93 Election,” has created quite a stir in the conservative universe. The article is a vigorous defense of Trump and Trumpism, and has been touted widely by Trump supporters. Rush Limbaugh read it aloud on his radio program. It has even inspired its own hashtag, #IAmDecius, but it has also generated a very vociferous reaction from anti-Trumpers.
In my frequent battles with anti-Trumpers, I have noted two distinct lines of argument. One is that Donald Trump is really just a big government liberal whose policies are barely distinguishable from Hillary Clinton’s. The other is that Trump is so far outside the mainstream that Hillary is closer to traditional Republican thought. The remarkable thing about these competing arguments is that they are often made by the same people or outlets. Well, which is it? Is Trump a typical big government liberal, or is he radically outside the mainstream?
As an unabashed supporter of Donald Trump and a conservative who has long been of the paleo-populist persuasion, I frequently find myself engaged in online debates with “regular” conservatives, and one of our most common and contentious topics is the virtues of free trade. One of my frequent foils on the matter recently directed me to this op-ed by radio talk show host and senior fellow at the Heartland Institute, Ross Kaminsky.
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