Asymmetrical Politics

I should clarify something from the last two posts. Running candidates who are a good fit for their district does not require that Republicans ditch their social conservative base, even if Democrats have had to run antiabortion candidates in order to win in red and conservative-blue districts. The reason for this is that abortion, and [...]

Whose Divisions Are Worse?

Jay Cost of RealClearPolitics thinks that the gold medal for faulty analysis this election cycle should go to pundits who say NY-23 shows the Republican Party deeply divided, since, Cost says, “the GOP’s divisions - whatever they may be - are utterly, totally dwarfed by the continuing divisions in the Democratic Party. Not only in [...]

Virginia, New Jersey, NY-23

I’m in the camp that says Tuesday’s election results don’t tell us much about what to expect next November. A Republican revival? Conservative comeback? That’s not exactly what NY-23 suggests; there Democrat Bill Owens beat Conservative (and virtual Republican) Doug Hoffman by sticking to the common-sense, district-specific playbook that served the Democrats well in 2006 [...]

The GOP’s Generational Time Bomb

The GOP might do reasonably well next week, with Republican Bob McDonnell set to coast to victory in Virginia’s gubernatorial contest, though I suspect New Jersey might again (as always) dash the party’s hopes. I suspect Democratic incumbent John Corzine will pull through in the Garden State. I have no idea what will happen in [...]

How David Frum Leads to Birther Madness

I’ve just posted this in the comments of the item below, but it’s worth repeating here:
If all a Tanenhaus wants is a Right that is a.) a little abashed about how Iraq turned out, but not really repentant, and b.) in favor of a “pro-family” welfare state, then he already has much of what he [...]

TR’s Kids

What’s happening to Sam Tanenhaus? Whether he’s any kind of a conservative or not is moot, but he used to be an interesting thinker. In this interview with Newsweek, the Death of Conservatism author might as well be reading from a script written by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Let’s have more bipartisanship, he says, and let’s [...]

How I Voted

The election issue of The American Conservative includes a short piece in which I argue for writing in Ron Paul and Barry Goldwater Jr. rather than voting for any of the major- or minor-party candidates for president. Today I followed through on my own advice, casting an absentee ballot in Virginia. Writing-in a vote turns [...]

Goodbye GOP

I predict the Republicans will lose an additional Senate seat for every 500 points the Dow loses below 9500. How long before Mitch McConnell is toast?

Thoughts From the Southern Avenger

Jack Hunter, the Southern Avenger, was going to post this response to my blog item below on Facebook. But Facebook decided this was too long as a comment, so I’m posting it here in full:

I’ve been thinking a lot about this myself, Dan, since Paul’s endorsement of Baldwin.
Your statement here: “The rightist elements of the [...]

Quick Thoughts on Paul’s Endorsement

Earlier this week, Ron Paul endorsed Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin for president. Great news for Baldwin, of course, and terrible news for Bob Barr. But there are several implications that might not be immediately obvious; to wit:
1.) The “paleo” coalition lives. From the late ’80s until the mid-’90s, there was a great deal [...]