Rick Santorum has said that those who are critical of his so-called “big government conservatism” are wrong, and they are libertarians to boot. Since he is not a libertarian, he rejects the label — he reasons that if you are a virtual anarchist, then everything is going to look like big government to you. That’s …
An Iowa Caucus Nano-Margin
Here are a few observations that conservatives can pack into their suitcases as they leave Iowa. Romney edged out Santorum by eight votes — a victory so razor-thin close as to make no difference. Eight votes! And the way the expectations world is structured, Romney cannot really claim a triumph here and Santorum can. In …
Twenty Percent of a Wave
Ross Douthat makes a reasonable amount of good sense on the Ron Paul sitch here. I will try to add my little bit of good sense at this time — 24 hours before the Iowa raucous starts — bringing the national percentage of good sense about Paul up to about 1.7%. Nate and I were …
When to Stop and Smell the Cattle Barns
I am fond of saying that God is perfect, but He is not a perfectionist. There are many ways in which we might pursue this, but I want to talk about our political process for a moment. I agree with and accept one of the criticisms that is made of the Ron Paul movement — …
The Singing Revolution
The other night Nancy and I watched the documentary The Singing Revolution. If you have a chance to get a copy, it is well worth your time. The documentary chronicles Estonia’s path to liberation from the Soviet Union, and shows the crucial role that music played in that liberation. There were a number of takeaway …
Ron Paul and Some “Yeah, Buts”
I wanted to take just a minute to offer a few “yeah, buts” to David Bahnsen’s recent assessment of the average Ron Paul fan, which you can read here. David’s a good guy, and I sympathize with a lot of what he is saying here — but not with all. I have no reason to …
With All the Gravel Frozen Over?
Here is a link that looks promising. At that place, Justin Taylor quotes Greg Forster as saying, among other things, this: “No doubt America’s church leaders are as concerned as anyone else about the grave news emerging from the European financial crisis. It threatens a disruption so serious that every economy in the world would …
Reagan and Mao
Conservatism is not a static ideology. It is not an ideology at all, actually, but it is especially not a static one. But ostensible conservatives today like to act as though the decision of the ages rests upon whether we want Obama in or out. Everything rides on the consequences of this election. This is …
Newt’s Three Laws of Motion
As I have been musing on the current Newt FEEnom, observing how many ostensible conservative pundits have all the principled stability of a well-greased weather vane on a gusty day, it occured to me to jot down a few thoughts on the underlying laws that are involved. These laws or principles are the result of …
Who’s Who in the Horse Race
As we continue to watch the gaudy show that we call the primaries, we need to keep all the factors in mind. Inductive arguments are not valid or invalid, but are rather strong or weak. In an inductive argument, you are reasoning from the particular to the general. If you say that you saw a …