So Mitt Romney hired Richard Grenell as his foreign policy spokesman, and Grenell is an “out and proud” homosexual. Well, who could have seen that coming? The issue is how these things get mainstreamed. There is a certain kind of conservative who, in Dabney’s immortal phrase, is the shadow that follows radicalism to perdition. It …
Political Thimblerig
A presidential election is not a discrete vote on issue y, as though it were a referendum. If we were a pure democracy, and if at every fork in the road we all had to text in our druthers (“text FP113 for bombing Tehran,” “FP114 for signing the peace treaty,” etc.), besides creating a hellish …
How Incrementalism Works
I have made this point before, way back in 2006, but it bears repeating now. The Left has an incremental strategy of making their gains slowly and steadily, and they have been very successful. Conservatives have an incremental strategy of having the Left make their gains more slowly than they wanted and less steadily than …
That Bus Everybody Talks About
I like Jonah Goldberg a lot, and David Bahnsen here has done us a favor by pointing to this over there. Jonah argues his case well, and the best thing about it is that he really understands the problem a number of us have with Romney. In addition, I know I live in Idaho, and …
Three McGoverns at Once
I am not surprised that my comments on not supporting Romney generated some interest, and I would like to engage with some comments that were made here. I thought the disagreement was on point and respectful for the most part, and since Dr. Brian Mattson has pushed his blue chips out to the middle of …
Atop a Massachusetts Barn
It was declared inevitable a number of times prematurely, but it really does look inevitable now. Rick Santorum has bowed out, and Romney will clinch the Republican nomination some time in the near future. This means, among other things, that I will not be voting the Republican ticket in the fall. But it also means …
Conservative Republican Monkeys
Mittevitability is having a rough go lately. Last night Santorum — a Roman Catholic — took what might be called the hard evangelical states of Alabama and Mississippi. Any thoughtful student of American political history needs to say huh over that one at least a time or two. It took an administration jammed with Chicago …
Stupor Tuesday
Well, Romney staggers on. Although Ron Paul has been a tactical wingman up to this point, his very best friend right now is Newt Gingrich. As long as Gingrich stays in, the “anybody but Romney (or Paul)” vote is split. A simple thought experiment gives a head-to-head Romney/Santorum race, in places like Michigan or Ohio, …
Clouds of Nuance and Ineptitude
I have been asked about my passing comment the other day that I thought military action in Afghanistan was justified, and probably in Iraq. This was coupled with my observations on the constitutional procedures for going to war — Congress should declare war. Those who believe all the DC-lawyer-talk need to be asked what circumstances …
The United Methodist Camp Counselor Approach to Foreign Policy
Here are just a few collected observations about U.S. foreign policy and war, particularly war in the Middle East. We have no business toppling any foreign regime and replacing it with another without a formal declaration of war from Congress. It may be replied (for it usually is) that a regiment of constitutional lawyers in …