Conservatism
June 16, 2013 — John Hinderaker
I hope that every father had as happy a Fathers’ Day as I did. It started with going to church, a fun outdoor ceremony. Then we all–my wife and I and three of our four kids–packed up a picnic lunch and drove to a park near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. We took a number of photos, of which I will share only a few. Here, Ali and Kathryn carry the
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June 16, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Last Thursday evening, I had the privilege, for the eighth consecutive year, of acting as master of ceremonies for the Annual Dinner of the Center of the American Experiment. This year’s dinner featured Dr. Benjamin Carson, one of the most eminent physicians in the United States, whose speech at the National Prayer Breakfast made him a household name. There was a lot of excitement about Dr. Carson’s appearance, and 1,000
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June 15, 2013 — Scott Johnson
In “Are we on the verge of a conservative crackup?” Paul Mirengoff articulates the concerns I have had roiling in the back of my mind about the divisions within the dissident movement against unlimited government. Paul itemizes the big issues fomenting the crackup as immigration, foreign policy and national security. I’m with him down the line on the points in issue. I only want to add a personal footnote. In
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June 14, 2013 — Paul Mirengoff
Over the years, I’ve read plenty of claims that we’re witnessing a “crackup” of liberals or conservatives (or sometimes both at the same time). Normally, I react by rolling my eyes. For me, “crackup” claims are a almost always hack way of expressing unjustified triumphalism. But now I think I see a crackup. Given the scandal-a-week Obama administration, you might think that the crackup, if any, is looming on the
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June 12, 2013 — Steven Hayward
William F. Buckley remarked that he found it impossible to define conservatism in one sentence, but whenever someone insisted that he offer a one-sentence definition he would “punish” them with Richard Weaver’s: “Conservatism is the paradigm of essences towards which the phenomenology of the world is in continuing approximation.” (“With a straight face,” Buckley added.) This suggests one of the reasons why Weaver has never acquired a wider audience, even
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June 11, 2013 — Steven Hayward
We’ve commented before about the strange phenomenon of the liberal super-rich, not just in Silicon Valley, but also among Wall Street bankers/hedge funders—both major sources of money and political support for Obama and Democrats. What’s the deal here? I always thought Republicans were supposed to be the natural party of big business and finance capital. This is one reason why I mused about the idea of a wealth tax a
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June 5, 2013 — Steven Hayward
“Ideas have consequences” is a favorite conservative slogan. It comes from, or is embodied best in, Richard Weaver’s book by that title, where he launches a spirited attack on the nominalism that pervades modern science and social science alike, at the expense of humane learning and judgment. In my experience very few conservatives have actually read Weaver’s book—I’ll be interested in hearing from Power Line readers who have to see
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May 28, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Tonight AM 1280 the Patriot, the station on which we formerly had our local radio show, sponsored an event called “Taking Back the Tundra,” featuring Hugh Hewitt. In addition to Hugh, the event featured a reunion of the original Northern Alliance Radio Network: Scott and I, Mitch Berg, Ed Morrissey, Chad Doughty, Brian Ward, King Baniain and James Lileks all participated. The event, like most Patriot programs, was attended by
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May 25, 2013 — John Hinderaker
Tuesday evening, Hugh Hewitt will be in town for a program sponsored by AM 1280 the Patriot: Taking Back the Tundra. The show will be in Brooklyn Park, and if you live within driving distance of there, I would urge you to attend. The program will include something of a Northern Alliance reunion: I will participate, and I think Scott will, too. Here is the information: The dinner is now
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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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