The definition of ‘conservative’ or ‘right’ has changed greatly since the days of Goldwater, as Steven Hayward points out as far back as 2014. Steven Hayward was Larry Arnn’s right-hand man at Claremont Institute in the old days. Arnn moved […]
Republicans
What Can We Do About Polarization?
There are many ways of dealing with the current political polarization. But, Fukuyama says, the best is to hope for yet another realignment, where a section of the electorate changes parties and gives one party a clear majority. A friend […]
The New Southern Democrats
Large parts of the African American and Latino elements within the Democratic Party are the most moderate elements within the party, playing the same role as the mostly white Religious Right played within the Republicans. A surprising new force has […]
Guest Post: “Individualism and Collectivism Incarnate”
This piece is an account of my experiences and reflections on the sudden narrowing of the Democratic primary, and Joe Biden’s ultimate victory. You may know that I am a free-market fundamentalist and a social moderate with conservative sympathies, and […]
Which the Ideology, and Which the Coalition?
The definitions of ‘Republican’ and ‘Democrat’, and even ‘conservative’ and ‘liberal’, seem to dance in circles. Even the nature of the parties shifts over time. One is an ideology, the other a coalition, they say. But even that fact tends […]
The Adams Map: A Different Spectrum, A Challenge That Still Speaks to Us
The little known [in the States] Canadian sociologist Michael Adams has suggested a new classification of American values, in terms of a four-way box. The culture wars of the era after Nixon and before Trump were primarily between the Status […]
Trump’s One Moral Conviction: The Deal
It’s often said that our President, Donald Trump, is a man of no moral convictions – except for those related to his own power and ego. I would quite agree that he seems to have no religion or philosophy. But […]
I Became a “Decline to State”
Nine years ago I became a nominal Democrat, a DINO [Democrat in name only] as I called it. I did so because it seemed to me at the time that the Republican party was being taken over by a group […]
Tim Draper’s Latest ‘Three Californias’ Plan is not Acceptable
Tim Draper, the Silicon Valley tycoon who gave us the ‘Six Californias’ plan a couple of years ago, has come up now with a ‘Three Californias’ plan. It is not acceptable in its current form. The main point of dividing […]
Richard Nixon: A Precedent for Donald Trump?
It occurred to me that a possible precedent for Donald Trump might be none other than Richard Nixon. Now I think that Nixon was a far more intelligent man than Trump, and, for all his sins, a person of superior […]