True, conservatives will be disappointed either way next week about the election, but I suspect they will be more disappointed with a Trump win than a Harris win? Trump winning would mean that conservatism would be locked out of the Republican Party for a generation or more; it’s very hard to imagine Trump or Vance making gracious concessions to people like McConnell if they win.
It depends on who you ask. Some will be more upset at a Harris presidency. Take a look at the contributors to the symposiums at the Dispatch. On foreign policy, you have among others Kori Schake and Danielle Pletka. I doubt either is voting for one of the two candidates. From their public comments, Pletka will clearly be more pleased with a Trump presidency even if she won’t vote for him and Schake will clearly be more upset.
I’m not voting for him. But as Micah Goodman, Dan Senor, and others have pointed out, if this election were held in Israel, Trump would win in a landslide. Trump is perceived as much tougher on Iran. Hence why Pletka thinks he will be better on foreign policy. As Senor has pointed out, while Trump has folks like Tucker Carlson whispering in his ears, his foreign policy was pretty good in his first term and he wasn’t an isolationist. If actions speak louder than words, some people are hedging that Trump’s second term will be more like his first term. I think this is a bad bet to make for a variety of reasons, but this is why some conservatives think that a Trump second term is preferable to a Harris first term
The question is whether this is man or machine. Watching Vance take on best both Walz, and the moderators, he is far more articulate and issue centric that his (possibly) future boss. But part of MAGA is the WWE aspect of it all-which is sad on many levels. Vance simply does not bring that.
So many things to unpack but that is purpose of this piece!
Do not think Vance is a fascist any more than Pat Buchanan. But he does embrace an alarming number of Pat Buchanan's policies (hopefully without the anti semitism). Where the two men differ is Buchanan was inverterate soviet hater and would have done just about anything to bring down the Soviet Empire.
Not to get into the what is fascism debate but actual fascists were interested in armed conquests more than any GOP of today. They cannot even stir themselves to help Ukraine.
And Ben's aside about Molly Hemingway. The Trump effect has been profound. It has turned once moderate democrats like Chris Coons into raving partisans. And others, such as Hemingway, have seen a clear path to more influence, and more book sales, by attaching them to Trump madness and appealing to that among his supporters. It is irritating how much harder it is to see book sales the way we do movie grosses but Rigged had to have outsold her first two books, combined.
I’m not going to argue that Vance is absolutely a fascist, just not willing to rule it out. If you want a straight answer, I think it’s very unlikely that he is a real fascist, but one doesn’t need to be a fascist to be destructive to our culture and institutions and not at all deserving of political office.
Hemingway has been a grifter for a long time. I called it years ago and it’s only proven truer and truer.
True, conservatives will be disappointed either way next week about the election, but I suspect they will be more disappointed with a Trump win than a Harris win? Trump winning would mean that conservatism would be locked out of the Republican Party for a generation or more; it’s very hard to imagine Trump or Vance making gracious concessions to people like McConnell if they win.
It depends on who you ask. Some will be more upset at a Harris presidency. Take a look at the contributors to the symposiums at the Dispatch. On foreign policy, you have among others Kori Schake and Danielle Pletka. I doubt either is voting for one of the two candidates. From their public comments, Pletka will clearly be more pleased with a Trump presidency even if she won’t vote for him and Schake will clearly be more upset.
I’m not voting for him. But as Micah Goodman, Dan Senor, and others have pointed out, if this election were held in Israel, Trump would win in a landslide. Trump is perceived as much tougher on Iran. Hence why Pletka thinks he will be better on foreign policy. As Senor has pointed out, while Trump has folks like Tucker Carlson whispering in his ears, his foreign policy was pretty good in his first term and he wasn’t an isolationist. If actions speak louder than words, some people are hedging that Trump’s second term will be more like his first term. I think this is a bad bet to make for a variety of reasons, but this is why some conservatives think that a Trump second term is preferable to a Harris first term
Intellectually I understand it. Personally, I don’t see how voting for someone who acts like this would be a winning blow for conservatism:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/trump-liz-cheney-war/680485/?gift=otEsSHbRYKNfFYMngVFweNLEtWUK13LbpyFDlckOWSA&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social
The question is whether this is man or machine. Watching Vance take on best both Walz, and the moderators, he is far more articulate and issue centric that his (possibly) future boss. But part of MAGA is the WWE aspect of it all-which is sad on many levels. Vance simply does not bring that.
So many things to unpack but that is purpose of this piece!
Do not think Vance is a fascist any more than Pat Buchanan. But he does embrace an alarming number of Pat Buchanan's policies (hopefully without the anti semitism). Where the two men differ is Buchanan was inverterate soviet hater and would have done just about anything to bring down the Soviet Empire.
Not to get into the what is fascism debate but actual fascists were interested in armed conquests more than any GOP of today. They cannot even stir themselves to help Ukraine.
And Ben's aside about Molly Hemingway. The Trump effect has been profound. It has turned once moderate democrats like Chris Coons into raving partisans. And others, such as Hemingway, have seen a clear path to more influence, and more book sales, by attaching them to Trump madness and appealing to that among his supporters. It is irritating how much harder it is to see book sales the way we do movie grosses but Rigged had to have outsold her first two books, combined.
I’m not going to argue that Vance is absolutely a fascist, just not willing to rule it out. If you want a straight answer, I think it’s very unlikely that he is a real fascist, but one doesn’t need to be a fascist to be destructive to our culture and institutions and not at all deserving of political office.
Hemingway has been a grifter for a long time. I called it years ago and it’s only proven truer and truer.