Conservatism
May 14, 2013 — John Hinderaker
I wrote here about the Freedom Club’s annual spring dinner, featuring Steve Forbes. At the dinner, a few of us were steered in front of a camera to free associate about the club. That led to this short video, “Why the Freedom Club?”, which I think you will enjoy: The Freedom Club is a model, I think, for what can be done in other states. (There are, of course, some
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May 12, 2013 — John Hinderaker
The Center of the American Experiment is a nationally respected conservative organization headquartered in Minneapolis. Scott and I have both served on its board in the past. The Center’s annual dinners have long been renowned for featuring speakers like Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Bill Bennett, George H. W. Bush, Norman Schwartzkopf, Robert Bork, Rudy Giuliani, Charles Krauthammer and many more. This year the Center has scored a coup by lining
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May 5, 2013 — Scott Johnson
Visiting the site of the William F. Buckley, Jr. Program at Yale to watch Professor Donald Kagan’s farewell lecture, I found the video below of George Will’s lecture to the group this past January. The lecture provides a short course in the Constitution and the revolt of the Progressives against it, from Wilson to TR and FDR, to LBJ and to Obama. It is learned and vivid, with some pungent
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April 30, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Tonight was the Freedom Club’s annual dinner. It was, as always, a delightful event. The Freedom Club is the principal organization of conservative donors in Minnesota. (Actually, it is probably the only organization of conservative donors in Minnesota.) For nearly 20 years, it has been almost the only counterbalance to the teachers’ unions, rich out of state liberals, and others who support the Democrats. For most of its history the
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April 26, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Jennifer Rubin argues that Ronald Reagan’s mythical status “has become a burden for the modern GOP.” “The old guard,” she says, “has become convinced that Reagan’s solutions to the problems of his time were the essence of conservatism — not simply conservative ideas appropriate for that era.” As a result, Republicans have lost their ability to connect with average Americans at an emotional level. Rubin is sore that, for the
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April 21, 2013 — John Hinderaker
It is being reported that Koch Industries is considering bidding for the eight regional Tribune newspapers. The Tribune Company, having recently emerged from bankruptcy, is putting the papers up for sale. The Tribune papers include the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the Orlando Sentinel and the Hartford Courant, and represent a substantial media presence. The New York Times, which has more than a passing interest in
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April 16, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
On Sunday, I wrote about Matt Latimer’s misuse of Margaret Thatcher to further his view that contemporary Republicans are unwilling to entertain and appreciate thoughtful dissent. Today, I want to add a comment about one of the examples of alleged Republican intolerance cited by Latimer. Latimer writes: What a contrast [Thacher and Reagan were] to the so-called conservative GOP that followed them. A few years later, when Buckley questioned the
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April 15, 2013 — John Hinderaker
A basic assumption underlying our federal system is that in general, a governmental unit that is closer to the people will be more responsive and more efficient than one that is more remote. Therefore, the presumption should be in favor of local or state government control, rather than federal. This presumption has been borne out by experience, as Americans have traditionally expressed more confidence in their local governments than in
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April 14, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Matt Latimer, a disillusioned former speechwriter for George W. Bush, claims in the Washington Post that Margaret Thatcher “was for turning after all.” But Latimer fails to point to any specific instance in which Thatcher turned away from a core principle. He comes the closest when he cites Thatcher’s famous statement that Mikhail Gorbachev is someone with whom the West “can do business.” But here Thatcher was simply recognizing, sooner
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April 9, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
I respect much of Grover Norquist’s work, but certain of his arguments in favor of comprehensive immigration reform are imbecilic. Consider his response to the concern that entitlement payments will skyrocket if such reform comes before the border is secure: The idea of treating people as a liability — that more people coming in might go on welfare — that’s an argument against having babies, that’s an argument for car
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April 9, 2013 — Scott Johnson
The Wall Street Journal calls on the United Kingdom’s most formidable historians to take the measure of Margaret Thatcher (and makes their columns accessible online). In an essay that provides an overview of her career in politics, Paul Johnson declares her “The world-changing Margaret Thatcher.” Andrew Roberts assesses her continuing relevance, finding that “The genius of Thatcherism will endure.” The Journal editors draw on Thatcher’s memoirs in the editorial “Not
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April 8, 2013 — John Hinderaker
I yield to no one in my admiration for Margaret Thatcher; this photo of me with her, taken in 1997, is displayed proudly in my library: I agree with Paul that she saved Great Britain, at least for a generation. And Britain continues to benefit from her accomplishments: there is no Soviet threat, the unions have never regained their power, and Britain hasn’t adopted the Euro. But did she really
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April 8, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
So says Mark Krikorian. I haven’t seen the numbers to back up that statement, but Krikorian presents evidence that the British left responded to the defeats inflicted on it by Margaret Thatcher by legislating an immigration boom intended radically to transform the electorate. And we know that no one remotely like Thatcher has come to power since. In the U.S., as Peter Wehner has pointed out, Mitt Romney would have
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April 8, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Margaret Thatcher died today at age 87. We hear plenty of talk these days about transformative leadership. The assumption of those doing the talking is that such leadership must be “progressive,” i.e., that it will take the followers leftward. Yet the two great transformative leaders of my lifetime — Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher — were also restorative in many ways. Though not reactionary, both relied heavily on their nation’s
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April 8, 2013 — Scott Johnson
In recalling the great Margaret Thatcher to mind this morning following the announcement of her death, there’s nothing like the real thing. In the video clip below from her speech at the Conservative Party conference at Brighton on October 10, 1980, Prime Minister Thatcher responds memorably to her squishy Tory critics. Wikipedia reminds us: “The speech as a whole was very warmly received at the conference, and received a five-minute
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April 1, 2013 — John Hinderaker
I realize that is a politically incorrect question. Our fellow conservatives urge us toward moderation: we shouldn’t hate anything, let alone our own government. Perhaps not. But I do: I hate the federal government, and all its evil ways. That sentiment doesn’t extend, of course, to the armed forces and a few other branches of the Washington tree, but–generally speaking–I detest the massive fraud, the trillions in wasteful spending, the
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March 29, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post reports that the bipartisan Senate deal on immigration reform is now at risk. At a minimum, the Senate bill may not be unveiled in April, as had been expected. What’s the problem? Have Republicans come to understand that it is wrong to provide a pathway to citizenship for those who, for years, have flouted American law? Has the irrationality of creating 10 million or so underclass voters,
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