Right. But political candidates especially Republicans can’t and shouldn’t say “war” with reference to domestic disputes. That’s Buchanan territory. Reagan would never do that. But the stakes were high then too. Domestic sympathy with Communists was still frighteningly high. America was routinely denounced on the left. Fundamental American principles were denied.
Some harsh responses were needed but not by GOP presidential candidates. Intellectuals, commentators, and surrogates should do that job. (Jeanne Kirkpatrick was great).
I think Nicki Halley’s chorus of “America is not a racist country” was just about right. Positive and evokes broad agreement. That’s the right course for a candidate.
I think DeSantis’s relative taciturnity will serve him well. He is great in hostile or challenging interviews in turning down the heat.
Actually Nikki Haley's "America is not a racist country" convinced me that she is not up to the task of political leadership. The problem is that she simply announces it, rather than persuades anyone to believe it. Getting people to believe that America is not a racist country requires soaring rhetoric combined with an aggressive sale of a political agenda. Imagine if Lincoln, in his 1858 Independence Day address and response to Douglas, had simply said "The Declaration of Independence applies to negroes." He would have persuaded nobody. Instead, Lincoln walked through the implications of Douglas's claims, showed that excluding blacks from the Declaration meant that anyone could be excluded, and left his audience cheering his proclamation of racial inclusiveness. We need a Lincoln. Haley is more of a John Andrew -- helpful, but not the leader we need.
I think Fonte and Klingenstein ignore both Occam's Razor, which tells us the simplest answer is generally the best, and Lincoln's observation that he who pleads what he need not may have to prove what he cannot. Wokeness is for sure found in many places --- primary and secondary schools, colleges, businesses, media, social media, to name a few. It should be challenged on the merits wherever it exists, without getting into motives or claims that woke's proponents are out to destroy the country. And resort to grand and evil motives would not only saddle us with a claim we may not be able to prove; it will, I think, lose the public, which would neither understand nor buy it. Jim Dueholm
The first line of attack should be what the woke regime is doing to our children. Failing government schools that are not educating but indoctrinating, the regime that is eliminating parental rights, the regime that is “cutting the grass” in the name of equity by eliminating AP classes and grading on merit and lastly th violence being allowed to run rampant in schools in the name of equity. Nothing will get someone’s blood boiling like threatening their children’s well being and future. This can be the start.
OK, so this simply means that we need another Ronald Reagan, or, better yet, another Lincoln. I wonder how much farther along we would be toward the progressive takeover if Reagan hadn't reminded us why we should love our country. That's the key which Paul does not mention: love. The core of the patriotic appeal must be love of our country and its principles, which alone can persuade people to reject progressivism. This is why Trump was so damaging to our country from the beginning: He evinced no love for it, speaking of "American carnage" instead. More than anything, reviving our country requires another Reagan whose rhetoric will inspire, yet Trump neither knows nor cares why America was or is great. This is also why the Trump fans who sneer at anti-Trumpers for obsessing over Trump's "mean tweets" miss the point: An American revival starts with passionate love for our principles, so the first duty of the leader of our renewal must be offering inspiring rhetoric. When Trump degrades the dignity of the presidency, and denounces every military action our country has taken in his lifetime, other than the ones HE ordered -- not some actions, but every action -- he does the progressives' work for them.
Right. But political candidates especially Republicans can’t and shouldn’t say “war” with reference to domestic disputes. That’s Buchanan territory. Reagan would never do that. But the stakes were high then too. Domestic sympathy with Communists was still frighteningly high. America was routinely denounced on the left. Fundamental American principles were denied.
Some harsh responses were needed but not by GOP presidential candidates. Intellectuals, commentators, and surrogates should do that job. (Jeanne Kirkpatrick was great).
I think Nicki Halley’s chorus of “America is not a racist country” was just about right. Positive and evokes broad agreement. That’s the right course for a candidate.
I think DeSantis’s relative taciturnity will serve him well. He is great in hostile or challenging interviews in turning down the heat.
Actually Nikki Haley's "America is not a racist country" convinced me that she is not up to the task of political leadership. The problem is that she simply announces it, rather than persuades anyone to believe it. Getting people to believe that America is not a racist country requires soaring rhetoric combined with an aggressive sale of a political agenda. Imagine if Lincoln, in his 1858 Independence Day address and response to Douglas, had simply said "The Declaration of Independence applies to negroes." He would have persuaded nobody. Instead, Lincoln walked through the implications of Douglas's claims, showed that excluding blacks from the Declaration meant that anyone could be excluded, and left his audience cheering his proclamation of racial inclusiveness. We need a Lincoln. Haley is more of a John Andrew -- helpful, but not the leader we need.
I think Fonte and Klingenstein ignore both Occam's Razor, which tells us the simplest answer is generally the best, and Lincoln's observation that he who pleads what he need not may have to prove what he cannot. Wokeness is for sure found in many places --- primary and secondary schools, colleges, businesses, media, social media, to name a few. It should be challenged on the merits wherever it exists, without getting into motives or claims that woke's proponents are out to destroy the country. And resort to grand and evil motives would not only saddle us with a claim we may not be able to prove; it will, I think, lose the public, which would neither understand nor buy it. Jim Dueholm
The first line of attack should be what the woke regime is doing to our children. Failing government schools that are not educating but indoctrinating, the regime that is eliminating parental rights, the regime that is “cutting the grass” in the name of equity by eliminating AP classes and grading on merit and lastly th violence being allowed to run rampant in schools in the name of equity. Nothing will get someone’s blood boiling like threatening their children’s well being and future. This can be the start.
OK, so this simply means that we need another Ronald Reagan, or, better yet, another Lincoln. I wonder how much farther along we would be toward the progressive takeover if Reagan hadn't reminded us why we should love our country. That's the key which Paul does not mention: love. The core of the patriotic appeal must be love of our country and its principles, which alone can persuade people to reject progressivism. This is why Trump was so damaging to our country from the beginning: He evinced no love for it, speaking of "American carnage" instead. More than anything, reviving our country requires another Reagan whose rhetoric will inspire, yet Trump neither knows nor cares why America was or is great. This is also why the Trump fans who sneer at anti-Trumpers for obsessing over Trump's "mean tweets" miss the point: An American revival starts with passionate love for our principles, so the first duty of the leader of our renewal must be offering inspiring rhetoric. When Trump degrades the dignity of the presidency, and denounces every military action our country has taken in his lifetime, other than the ones HE ordered -- not some actions, but every action -- he does the progressives' work for them.