Kris Kobach for DHS Secretary
The Department of Homeland Security—the nation’s newest cabinet agency, founded only in 2002—is a mess. Everyone knows it. It’s taken formerly well-functioning agencies (e.g., FEMA) […]
Once More Unto the Breach, Dear Friends
It’s so much easier to be in opposition. Since the electionis mirabilis, I’ve received a lot of entreaties to say something. Anything! These have come […]
Dear Repentant NeverTrumpers: No One Else Could Have Won
Conservatives are taking their lumps with more grace than I thought they would. Perhaps the pleasure of seeing Hillary and the entire Clintonone Family go […]
The Bankruptcy of Conservative Intellectuals
Writing—no matter how many times you say the same thing, no matter how often—inevitably entails being misunderstood. In general, the causes are, first, obscurity from […]
A Fool’s Errand: The Case for Trump and the Vindication of the Republic
I’ve never felt so flattered to be called a fool. Nathan Pinkoski—a doctoral student at Oxford whom I don’t know and had never heard of […]
Seven Degrees of Jonah Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg has—if my memory is correct—responded at length to my writings six times, in his National Review columns and in the Corner. And only […]
Conservatives: “We’re Doing Great! Just Ask Us”
Noah Rothman, in characteristic charitable fashion, takes on a view that he attributes only to “white nationalist[s],” “opinion writers who fancy themselves respectable sorts” (i.e., […]
A Progressive Smear Against Pro-Trump Intellectuals
Write what you know, goes the old adage. Tom Wolfe added the exhortation—which dispiritingly few have heeded—that once you’ve written what you know but want […]
Conservatism Inc.’s Giddiness Affirmed
Adam White, a research fellow of the Hoover Institution in Washington, D.C., asked me if I could envision any circumstance that might cause me not […]
Why the Will of the People Matters
Randy Barnett, who is a distinguished scholar at a prestigious university, has asked for my thoughts on democracy. I don’t know why he cares what […]
It’s Clear That Conservatism, Inc. Wants Trump To Lose
Jonathan V. Last—one of the only conservatives still worth reading—took after me on Twitter the other day. Since I can’t stand Twitter, I’m replying here. […]
On Not Getting It
Unpopular writers have two choices: quit, and be accused by one’s enemies and critics of having no answer, of having acknowledged “defeat”; or keep writing […]
Conservative Quislings Laud Trump Tape — And Hasten Their Own Demise
So let me get this straight: the “conservatives” learned on Friday, via an old tape, that Donald Trump can sometimes say lecherous things. This has […]
Who Will Rule: The New Oligarchy — or the American People?
Carl Eric Scott urges those of us on the pro-Trump right to “grapple with real anti-Trump arguments,” and he points specifically to this, by Peter Spiliakos. […]
The Case Against “the Conservative Case. . .”
Whenever you find an article that begins with the title, “The Conservative Case” for or against something, lock your door, check your wallet, and grab your […]
What Trump Might Do That Hillary Will Not
Do you ever get the impression that the contemporary conservative movement is just a giant false flag operation? A living example of Conquest’s Third Law? […]
Prudence: For Trump
Reposted with permission from the Claremont Review of Books. William Voegeli has written thoughtfully about the reasons underlying Trump’s appeal, defended Trump’s supporters, and attacked some […]
Sanctimony as a Conservative Principle
Reposted with permission from the Claremont Review of Books. I admit to a bit of disappointment at the reaction to my two prior articles. I […]
Not ‘Reactionary’ But Right: Decius Responds to Damon Linker
If I were to try to correct every misinterpretation of what I’ve written, I’d never do anything else. But some are worth addressing because they […]
Decius Responds to Critics of “The Flight 93 Election”
Reposted with permission from The Claremont Review of Books. Well, that was unexpected. Everything I said in “The Flight 93 Election” was derivative of things […]