June 30, 2020

"Bret, you’re the perfect Biden pitchman. Really, you deserve a statue."

Said Gail Collins to Bret Stephens in "Is Statue-Toppling a Monumental Error?/Where you place yourself along the vanguard-to-vandals spectrum says a lot about how you see the past — and the future" (NYT).

Here's Stephens's perfect pitch:
If Bernie Sanders had been the nominee, I’d be writing in someone’s name.... But the idea that a Biden presidency would be a threat to the Republic is laughable: It would be a return to politics as we used to know it before the proverbial sacking of Rome.

My pitch to the Romneys and Boltons of the world is simple: In order for their vision of sane conservatism to win, Trump’s insane vision must lose so decisively that it will be politically destroyed and morally repudiated by the broad majority of Republicans themselves. The bigger Biden’s margin of victory in November, the better it will be for normal conservatives in future Novembers. A vote for Biden now is a vote for a G.O.P. that has a future — in a country that has a future.
Illustration of the Trump presidency, from the mind of Bret Stephens:



I know you can't unscramble an omelette, but can you unsack a Rome?

ADDED: The painting is "Genseric sacking Rome," by Karl Briullov, found at the Wikipedia page "Sack of Rome (455)." It's a 19th century painting and the artist was a Russian, so view the racial characterizations in that context. The Vandals were Germanic people who came from the area that is now Poland.

130 comments:

Michael K said...

Stephens should visualize Biden as PM of Israel. Then think about it.

Fernandinande said...

Oh, give me a hoam where the buffalo Rome.

The Crack Emcee said...

I don't want Biden to win, but - once conservatives reach for their guns and start talking race and "tyranny" - they can suck my dick.

Rick.T. said...

Even though I’ve voted for the Republican Presidential candidate in an unbroken string since a first regrettable vote for McGovern, I can’t see myself voting for a Bush, Romney, or McCain ever again. I’ll have to sit it out in the future I guess.

Limited blogger said...

'your deserve a statue' is a put-down now, right?

rehajm said...

The old fops of both parties feel it slipping away. They feel the need to speak now. I'm not sure anyone can hear them over the noise of the rioting though. Maybe if you stop talking through your mask...

Sebastian said...

"before the proverbial sacking of Rome"

Wait, so we go back before the sacking by voting for the pro-Vandal party?

Of course, the key NeverTrumper error is to assume that a Biden presidency will be a Biden presidency.

Talk about insane.

But I think the argument(s), such as they are, will be appealing to the Althouses of America. Trump is crazy! Joe will bring us back to normal! Dems will step up and take responsibility, for something or other! They will stop the madness!

MayBee said...

What did *Trump* do to cause this?

I am so very tired of the press and democrats holding this country hostage when there is a Republican president, and then saying "ahhh...it can all be so normal again if we just elect John Kerry/Barack Obama/Joe Biden"

We remember what you all did to Bush 43. We remember how McCain was turned into a racist stirring up angry crowds. We remember how Trump was stirring up angry crowds. And now we see how Trump losing is supposed to calm the angry (finally these angry crowds have reason to be angry!) crowds.

Republicans, do not fall for this. Any Republican who wins will be turned into the next Trump. Stepping aside for Biden to win is just paying the ransom.

Saint Croix said...

Has it occurred to Bret Stephens, or the NYT, that there's only one party allowed in its editorial pages?

I mean, look at the diversity.

"Vote for Biden!"

"No, no, vote for Biden decisively! Vote for Biden twice!"

BarrySanders20 said...

I know you can't unscramble an omelette, but can you unsack a Rome?

And you can't un-fuck a duck, but you can un-Dixie a Chick.

Look at the dark swarthy men stealing away the very white maidens, carrying them away to . . . who knows what fate?

Johnathan Birks said...

Was Bret always this obtuse? Or does getting hired by the NYT instantly deprive you of your critical-thinking capabilities? Sure worked with David Brooks.

Xmas said...

"My pitch to the Romneys and Boltons of the world is simple: In order for their vision of sane conservatism to win, Trump’s insane vision must lose so decisively that it will be politically destroyed and morally repudiated by the broad majority of Republicans themselves."

If Democrats wanted Republicans like that, they wouldn't have demonized them during previous election cycles, e.g. putting up ads showing a "Paul Ryan" character pushing a grandmother in a wheelchair off a cliff.

For a group of people that "believes in science", they certainly don't understand the theory of survival of the fittest. Fittest doesn't mean best, most moral, or most honorable. Fittest means what is able to survive under current conditions. Trump is simply the response to a constant stream of acid poured on Republican candidates.

Mattman26 said...

Yes, by all means, let's get back to having one party with two names. So much easier to get where you're going.

Jaq said...

Yes, if we just vote for Biden, he will call off the dogs. LOL.

Pay the Danes their gelt, and they will stop coming around!

Biden has to hide out and never take questions because he is riding two horses. The "tear it all down” horse, and the “return to normalcy” horse. Each horse can hear what he says to the other, unlike in those halcyon days of “No One Left to Lie To” Bill Clinton, when each party could imagine that he was lying to the other people.

I don’t see how he stays on them, like some super rodeo god, through the election. Maybe they have a plan, IDK. I can’t imagine what it is, so until I see how they are going to convince the “Let’s go all Taliban on Mt Rushmore” people and the “Go back to normal” people that they are both going to get what they want... This is why they are going to try to cancel the debates, unless Joe Biden has been following a brilliant strategy of appearing to lose his faculties, so that when the debates come, he vastly exceeds his extremely low expectations, and rides to the presidency on a wave of relief. That might be the real strategy.

MadisonMan said...

I view things differently. I'd like the Clinton/Obama/Biden branch of the Democratic Party to suffer such a debilitating loss that it is replaced. I don't know what replaces it -- but something that does not allow politicians and their children to become extremely rich. Unexpectedly. Enough with the use of Politics to feather one's bed.

Kevin said...

My pitch to the Romneys and Boltons of the world is simple: In order for their vision of sane conservatism to win, Trump’s insane vision must lose so decisively that it will be politically destroyed and morally repudiated by the broad majority of Republicans themselves.

Stephen's "sane conservatism" was repudiated by Trump. Also the losses by McCain and Romney.

It's lost three elections in a row and it isn't coming back as a political force.

If he were anything but a Democrat in a Conservative's byline, he'd know that.

Mattman26 said...

And speaking of trying to unsack Rome: One of my favorite lines ever was in a story about efforts to create a market economy in Russia after the commies fell. Someone (wish I could remember whom) said: "It's easy to make fish soup out of an aquarium. Much harder to make an aquarium out of fish soup."

Kevin said...

once conservatives reach for their guns and start talking race and "tyranny" - they can suck my dick.

The people talking race and (systemic) tyranny are on the left today.

Many of them are also buying guns in case the mob moves into their neighborhood.

Tommy Duncan said...

This makes sense if you:

Don't see a problem with the deep state.

Are willing to ignore Biden's cognitive issues.

Like the idea of an ever larger government.

Think Thomas Sowell is wrong in the earlier post.

Want all of America to look like CHAZ/CHOP.

Care nore about ideological purity than you care about people or results.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

WP's artwork for the 410 sacking seems more appropos..

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Nothing new from the left.

Vote for our deep state so that you can try again later. We promise to be nice and fair. *snicker*

Saint Croix said...

This cracks me up.

Protesters Attack Presbyterian Worshippers After Mistaking Them For Statues

Jaq said...

“I don't want Biden to win, but - once conservatives reach for their guns and start talking race and "tyranny" - they can suck my dick.”

Trump’s biggest liability is his followers. He is too often trying to jump to the lead of whatever tantrum or parade they are throwing at any given time.

Biden, on the other hand is promising to “strengthen NATO”. (Code for rain down munny munny munny on the weapons manufacturers) and confront Putin (maybe turn this war with Russia that Xi and Hillary seem to have invented hot.)

The Washington Post is like that scene from Citizen Kane, (Citizen Bezos?). “You provide the leaks, I’ll provide the war"

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

It's the same extortion rhetoric.

"If you vote for us (D), all this crazy will stop."

Sally327 said...

"It would be a return to politics as we used to know it before the proverbial sacking of Rome.

So...a return to the time when there is no #metoo and Black lives don't matter?


Maybe that is a winning message. Vote for Biden and put everyone back in their places, where they belong, silent and submissive.

Hubert the Infant said...

Two things are clear. First, with few exceptions, our elite that run our universities, large law firms, banks, tech companies, media organizations, professional sports leagues, and entertainment companies do not believe in free speech. Second, Democratic political leaders are fomenting racial and social discord to gain -- or, in the case of local governments, to consolidate -- power.

Either of these situations should be enough reason for any rational voter to fear what will happen if Trump loses.

chickelit said...

Stephens is helping Trump.

chickelit said...

Joe Biden has Russian hands and Roamin' fingers.

Temujin said...

Some of us voted for the sacking of Rome.

walter said...

Cocktail parties will resume someday.
Insurance policy.

gilbar said...

the better it will be for normal conservatives

normal conservatives, meaning people that are MORE THAN HAPPY for the democrats to be running the country, while they form the 'loyal opposition' at the local country club

chickelit said...

All of these disaffected Dems need to stop obsessing about Trump on the national stage and start obsessing about their local control. An obvious example is for sane Democrats to own their mayoral election and to fix if before it gets worse. Madison's government aids and abets criminals. That needs to stop.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

all the dick lickers on the left want to hand each other golden Hunter statues.

Nonapod said...

My pitch to the Romneys and Boltons of the world

As far as I can tell that particular group represents like probably 1% of the vote. And they're generally greatly disliked and mistrusted in the broader conservative world, so they're not something worth appealing too.

Ken B said...

Bolton is the sane conservative?? Bolton!?

wendybar said...

So let's go back to the same old people and the same old rules, and the same old nothing works in America....let's tax them more. Okay then. I liked high employment, best economy in my lifetime, best numbers ever for black American ect….but lefties want to go back to having people who have been around for 50 years doing nothing, doing the same nothing for the next 50???? We are f*cked.

Butkus51 said...

Its a full court PRESS the next 4 months.

Mr Wibble said...

Rome was sacked because the leadership had for decades failed in their basic duties to defend the state and its citizens. Why would we want to give control back to those same people?

Wince said...

Notice, it's never really about policy with Stephens, Romney, Bolton, et al.

tim maguire said...

Stephens is right--a Biden win will be great for country-club Republicans who talk like a polite conservative but live off business as usual in Washington.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

"Nice country you got here. Shame if anything were to happen to it."

DNC pitch for voting Democrat.

Unknown said...

"Trump’s insane vision"

I thought 'defund the police' was the insane Dem vision. Great moments in projection.

Re Wash Post - "democracy dies in darkness"

An aspiration not a warning.

tommyesq said...

There is a sack somewhere in that story...

mikee said...

Stephens errs in analogizing the Democrat Party control of government as Imperial Rome.
Or, at least, he reveals his true beliefs.

Michael K said...

Crack, once again, is cracked.

Inga said...

“The bigger Biden’s margin of victory in November, the better it will be for normal conservatives in future Novembers.”

So there are some normal conservatives left, that’s good to know.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Has Trump sacked the Imperial City? Not yet but I hope he does in his 2nd term.

Has he started any new wars? No

Has he made plans to draw down troops from the endless wars in Iraq & Afghan?

Has he fought hard for the interests of the American worker and American businesses? Yes

Has he improved the job opportunities for all Americans of all colors? Yes

Has he worked hard to see that foreign entities like NATO and Red China don't continue to rip off America? Yes

So what's not to like Bret? His tweets? His haircut?

Narr said...

That's a mightily multi-racial cast in Bruillov's painting, but when you think about the route the Vandals took to get to Rome--they took the long way around through Spain and North Africa, picking up confederates all along.

You couldn't do a really good historical sacking without some swarthy rapists sprinkled about, according to 19th artistic convention.

Narr
I like Mehmet entering Constantinople myself

Jeff Weimer said...

"A vote for Biden now is a vote for a G.O.P. that has a future — in a country that has a future."

NT Republicans are modern Bourbons - They learned nothing and forgot nothing.

I don't think they'll like what comes after, if they're that dismissive of their own *voters*.

Marshall Rose said...

The democrat party are the ones doing the sacking with help from the never trumpers.

I want both parties fractured and splintered in a post Trump world.

Rusty said...

Ah. So Trumps vision is insane? I think I see yer problem, lady.

MikeR said...

"My pitch to the Romneys and Boltons of the world is simple: In order for their vision of sane conservatism..." Stopped reading, when I realized that the same sentence contained "Bolton" and "sane conservatism".
Good riddance. Let Rome stay sacked.

Rusty said...

Or to be more precise. The reason you got Trump is because people don't like the politics of DC. Old or new. So. Fuck off.

mccullough said...

Stephens doesn’t understand that W killed off the old GOP. The insanity of Big Government conservatism with its expansive security stars, added entitlements, endless wars, and totally fucking worthless education program that left another generation behind.

No one is going back to that. There is no conservatism. It was just making money selling the US to China and body counts in stupid wars.

Ronald Reagan will be remembered for Amnesty.

Conservatism is dead and gone. It’s with O’Leary in the grave.

JB71-AZ said...

"My pitch to the Romneys and Boltons of the world is simple: In order for their vision of sane conservatism to win..."

Sane. Let's see - Bolton was angry because he couldn't get Trump to take aggressive action he was recommending. Romney lost because he was terribly bland and non-confrontational.

But BOTH of those are now somehow now exemplars of the actions the Republicans ought to condone.

Sigh. What a pack of idiots. At a certain point, you realize the folks you thought were capable and competent to run the country simply were not, and we'd been running on momentum for a long time. They were content with the status quo, as long as THEY were on the top of the heap.

Don't know what'll be after Trump - but I'm hoping it'll be someone who actually knows how the world works instead of some Party member who's all theory and no reality.



Anonymous said...

I like how this painting shows the Menorah from the Second Temple being sacked from Rome since, of course, the Romans under Titus had sacked and destroyed Jerusalem 5 centuries earlier.

The current seal of Israel includes an image of this Menorah.

Static Ping said...

Truly dumb statements do require an education. Someone with an IQ of 60 would have little hope to provide such an incredibly stupid argument. I suppose it does help to live in an intellectual bubble so one can be both over educated and ignorant at the same time.

The metaphor here is atrocious. Before the actual sack (actually sacks) of Rome, the Western Roman Empire's political situation was dysfunctional and dire and had been for quite some time. If it had been at least halfway decent leadership, most likely they wouldn't have been in the situation to be sacked. But I'm sure there were plenty of Roman nobility who embraced the opportunity to rebuild Rome from the ashes under, of course, their enlightened leadership. Yes, there were a lot of those who wanted to get back to the old politics where they could be in charge and make money and be important. Of course, the large majority of them were not remotely the second coming of Trajan. The results were both horrific and predictable. On the plus side, much of the nobility did not survive long enough to rue their actions. Then again, neither did most of the population. Rome shrank to a city of ruins within centuries.

We are in a late Roman Empire situation. Our elites are ineffective, arrogant, and foolish. They do not understand the world they live in and are ignorant of the dangers that surround them, assuming all will be alright because it was always alright before. It is the mindset of a small child.

Roger Sweeny said...

You should vote for Lyndon Johnson in 1964 so Richard Nixon can be elected in 1968.

ga6 said...

Just two rodents grooming each other...

Michael said...

"Normal conservatives" will be purged and cancelled by the Left as soon as they are no longer useful. If there's no Trump, whoever is pulling Biden's strings will have no need for Bret Stephens. We tried normal conservatives in today's media environment - McCain and Romney - and where did it get us? And what "sacking" has gone on under Trump (except that perpetrated by the Left?) At this point in history, he is the Republic's best hope of salvation.

MayBee said...

I really can't believe we are watching what Democrat supporters are doing to cities and saying......conservatives are really ruining things.

MayBee said...

Inga: " So there are some normal conservatives left, that’s good to know."

I cannot believe this is coming from someone who supports the party of boarded up Main Street shops.

Michael K said...

Stephens doesn’t understand that W killed off the old GOP.

The GOP Congress that did nothing with its majority for ten years helped a lot.

Drago said...

Inga The Russian Collusion Truther: "So there are some normal conservatives left, that’s good to know."

No, these are not conservatives.

You can tell because they support all the dems and dem policies and are paid by leftists to write for leftist publications in a way that makes lefty readers feel good.

These FakeCons have been voting democratic since 2008 at least which is when the Grifter Conservative Inc. Con became absolutely transparent.

There are about 50 of them and they are simply recycled as "conservatives" in articles about once a week.

For instance, Max Boot has "left the republican party" no less than 20 times since 20016.

Its fairly amusing.

OldManRick said...

Let me fix that for you-

My pitch to the Althouses and Turleys of the world is simple: In order for their vision of sane Liberalism to win, Antifa's and the Anarchist's insane vision must lose so decisively that it will be politically destroyed and morally repudiated by the broad majority of Democrats and Independents themselves. The bigger Trump's and Republicans margin of victory in November, the better it will be for normal liberals and independents in future Novembers. A vote for Trump now is a vote for a Democrat Party that has a future — in a country that has a future.

See how easy that is. See how much more logical that is.

narciso said...

Trump is in the harkonnen palace with many like wellington yueh

roesch/voltaire said...

More people are thinking this way which is why the Lincoln Project ads resonate with many conservatives.

OldManRick said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rcocean said...

Wikipedia has a typically worthless article on the sack of Rome. It quotes some "Modern Historian" as supposedly being the EXPERT, when he isn't. History isn't like medical science, it doesn't evolve toward truth, it simply changes its fashions. Nobody is discovery new, exciting, texts on the 1500 year old sack of Rome.

I suppose the Painter put in all the black faces to titillate the 19th century audience and to add some color (pun intended) to the painting. Its much more of a dramatic contrast - painting wise - if the Vandals are brown/black. In reality it was much more likely they looked pretty similar to the Romans.

Sebastian said...

By the way, Bolton now exemplifies "sane" conservatism?

rcocean said...

Burt Stephens is not really an American. He was born in Mexico of Israeli Citizens, went to Oxford, and was editor of the Jerusalem Post. He's a citizen of three countries, Mexico, USA, and Israel and has written extensively on the superiority of the immigrants and the worthlessness of native-born Americans.

He supported Hillary in 2016 and is now supporting Biden. Other than disliking taxes on the rich and supporting the Chamber of Commerce, its hard to see how he's a Right-winger in anyway.

hombre said...

I sent this comment, but I don’t expect NYT to publish - at least until one of their journalists has penned a reply:

‘“It would be a return to politics as we used to know it before the proverbial sacking of Rome.”

The “sacking of Rome” bit is delusional progressive projection, but by all means, let’s find out by spending another $30 million or so on a new media-driven Mueller-style gambit despite the lack of evidence or even probable cause.

Meanwhile, let’s return to “politics as we used to know it” by electing the Biden family of grifters having failed with the Clinton family of grifters.

The gift of Donald Trump is that he has exposed the corruption of “politics as we used to know it” including misuse of federal law enforcement and intelligence services, the extraordinary grifting of the Bidens and the arrogance created by the knowledge that a biased media will run interference for the miscreants if their party affiliation begins with D.

The tragedy of Trump is that his personal boorishness in an era of identity politics has become an excuse for unbridled media gaslighting and the emergence as a serious contender a Democrat candidate whose mental acuity, never much to begin with, is clearly impaired by age.’

I’m always amused that my NYT comments are posted with a reply, purportedly from another reader, attached.

Bilwick said...

Tories through History: "Once those rubes start grabbing their muskets and start talking 'tyranny' they can suck my dick."--Lord Statefucker, adviser to King George III, 1775.

rcocean said...

BTW, Mitt Romney is now boasting that he's working with the Democrats (aka Chuck Schumer) to amend the Defense Budget Bill to prevent trump from withdrawing troops from Germany. Why he thinks this is a great accomplishment is beyond me. But I suppose he, and Schumer, like it because it pokes Trump in the eye.

Nobody cares how many troops are in Germany, except the Germans who make money off them In this age of Jet transport, we don't need to base the troops there, and I doubt 5% of Americans could tell you how many US Army troops are there - right now. Further, we shouldn't be giving Germany or our NATO allies, let alone the D's in Congress, veto power over when and where to base US troops. That's why we have a President.

Bilwick said...

What the Vichy Republicans are calling "sane conservatism' was what they called in previous decades "responsible conservatism." In both cases "sane" and "responsible" mean the same thing: no threat to the Hive. And the State rolls on . . . .

rcocean said...

The whole bit about Romney and Bolten puzzled me. These character not only are liars, they've made it clear they won't support Trump in 2020. Coming out for Biden is irrelevant. Stephens, of course, is also a liar. Pretending for years to be some sort of "Life Long republican" and then switching to Hillary/Biden when Trump got nominated and elected. Romney lied about being "severely conservative" in 2008, 2012, and 2018, and will probably lie again in 2024, if he runs again.

Bolten, lied about supporting Trump, and then turned on him and wanted him impeached because Trump made the mistake of trusting John Bolten.

Kevin said...

The GOP Congress that did nothing with its majority for ten years helped a lot.

Nothing is a bit harsh.

Seized the opportunity to rake in cash from K Street is more like it.

walter said...

“I promise you if I’m elected president, you’re going to see the single most important thing that changes America. We’re gonna cure cancer.”
--
You're not for cancer, are you?
Well..his election would cure COVID.
(Corn Pop was a bad dude)

mandrewa said...

Once again I'm confronted with the fact that I don't understand the never-Trump wing of the Republican party. Probably that's partly my fault since I just haven't spent enough time wading through and thinking about their rhetoric. But then a good part of the reason I haven't done that is because so much of it is not straightforward. I feel like people are not honest in what they want and why they want it, so that to even to hope to figure out what is going on, you have to become a sort of mind reader.

Now I can do that with the left, but then I have trying to understand the left since I was a teenager. I have spent uncounted hours reading and thinking about left wing arguments; to the point that at various times in the past I have been able to articulate the reasoning better than the people that actually believed it, if I wanted too.

But I have no such understanding of the never Trump crowd. I get that Trump is uncouth and that he makes erroneous statements of fact fairly frequently. But at the same time, Trump doesn't pay lip service to the lies of the left and he will fight them. And those are uncommon virtues in this day and age.

I just don't understand the venom coming from certain quarters. And I'm appalled by a federal bureaucracy which would attempt to overthrow a presidency.

I'm ashamed of all the people that would go along with this. So many people are just craven nothings that stand for no ethics other than their self interest.

Gunner said...

Bret is one of those "severe" conservatives that Never Trumpers claim to be.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

“Trump’s insane vision”? Will any of these Chicken Littles Define that phrase for me? To me, the more the Left (including the NYT’s token “conservative” Brett-boy) Speak the more sane Trump appears. How can all the destruction actually happening at the hands of leftists be ignored by these “writers” who speak of Democracy itself being demolished by Trump? Is everyone at the NYT on LSD now or what?

walter said...

Crack,
I agree. Those white bastards who killed David Dorn are a warning to us all.

hombre said...

The Crack Emcee said...
“I don't want Biden to win, but - once conservatives reach for their guns and start talking race and "tyranny" - they can suck my dick.”

Right, all those conservatives with guns. You’ve got a lot to worry about.

https://youtu.be/KVklVw7J1Po

Take your meds.

NCMoss said...

The weasel-words tick me off but even more that the events of the day amuse them. The children taking part in the riots for the entertainment value are no different.

Gunner said...

The Lincoln Project losers would never have treated a Democrat half as bad as they treat normal conservative Republicans nowadays. They are all Woke impotent fools who are mad that Trump stopped their RINO grift!

Inga said...

“I cannot believe this is coming from someone who supports the party of boarded up Main Street shops.”

I cannot believe normal conservatives support a president who is a friend to the leader of a country that put bounties on the heads of American military members. That is damning.

hombre said...

If Trump loses, There will be no resurgence of Republicans. Stephens knows that. The media oligarchs will have taught them the folly of resistance. The uniparty will have emerged once and for all.

dbp said...

roesch/voltaire said...

More people are thinking this way which is why the Lincoln Project ads resonate with many conservatives.

The only times I've seen a conservative point to a Lincoln Project ad it was to make fun of it. But 9 times of 10, it is a leftist pointing to it approvingly.

Geoff Matthews said...

A vote for Trump is a vote against outsourcing manufacturing. It is a vote against importing cheap(er) labor. It is a vote against foreign adventures.
Tell me this isn't a good thing.

Nichevo said...

We are in a late Roman Empire situation. Our elites are ineffective, arrogant, and foolish. They do not understand the world they live in and are ignorant of the dangers that surround them, assuming all will be alright because it was always alright before. It is the mindset of a small child.

6/30/20, 9:45 AM



TLDR: "Normal conservatives" get the bullet too.

If you could have for the wishing one free political assassination, Bret Stephens would be a mediocre place to start. Like 3.6 roentgen: not great, not terrible.

Jason said...

The progressive woketard's insane vision must lose so decisively that it will be politically destroyed and morally repudiated by the broad majority of Democrats themselves. The bigger Trump's margin of victory in November, the better it will be for normal Democrats in future Novembers.

FIFY.

Francisco D said...

MayBee said... I am so very tired of the press and democrats holding this country hostage when there is a Republican president.

Yes. I have this movie before.

Nixon was Hitler.
Ford was a clumsy dunce.
Reagan was Darth Vader.
Bush I was completely out of touch.
Bush II was a Alfred E. Neumann.
Trump is worse than all of them and in every way.
Let's not even get to the racists and rapists that they nominate to the SCOTUS.

I can excuse the idiots like Inga who fall for this every time. However, I cannot excuse the completely dishonest propaganda media. They know what they are doing just like their completely dishonest Democrat masters in the House and Senate.

Jason said...

WP's artwork for the 410 sacking seems more appropos..

LOL I read 410 as the area code for Baltimore and it makes it even better!

DavidUW said...

The inevitable slew of arguments that to conserve conservatism, vote socialist.

No thanks.

DavidUW said...

I’m also certain there has never been an election where the press stated to advance progressivism one had to vote for the conservative / republican.

The Crack Emcee said...

hombre said...

"Right, all those conservatives with guns. You’ve got a lot to worry about."

Hey - you guys can want to form a more perfect union or go on looking like a bunch of bloodthirsty yahoos. The choice is yours. But I tell you this:

Bill Barr and Louis CK are two white guys who finesse being white today.

It can be done.

narciso said...

the mcclellan project, no they are dhimmis all the same,

dbp said...

"I cannot believe normal conservatives support a president who is a friend to the leader of a country that put bounties on the heads of American military members. That is damning."

I can believe that a leftist would take a speculative supposition and not only believe it, but also pretend like people with diametrically opposed beliefs also believe exactly the same thing. There is a certain lack of imagination at play, IMHO.

Russia has denied placing any such bounties, which doesn't mean they haven't, but it does mean that we might not want to respond in a public way. If they are covertly doing this, our response would most likely also be covert. There are deeper levels as well. If they did this, did they intend us to know? Did they intend for us to not know? Our response might vary depending on these things.

Given the way actual intelligence gathering works, the most likely answer is that we don't know if they did or didn't do this. But yes, let's take some kind of decisive action in a very public way, because that's a totally rational thing to do in the absence of definitive information.

MayBee said...

I cannot believe normal conservatives support a president who is a friend to the leader of a country that put bounties on the heads of American military members. That is damning.

Who are you talking about? Who is whose friend?

I wouldn't call Obama and the Iranian regime friends, but he did send them pallets of cash even though they were building IEDs to kill our soldiers in Iraq. Do you remember that?

MayBee said...

Are people with this Russia thing just pretending the Iranian pallets of cash thing from Obama didn't happen?

BrentonTalcott said...

I would like to see example's by anyone who add's pejorative adjective to Trump's admistration ACTION's.


I will say after knowing so many Vietnam Vet's through my life his Veteran's work alone should make every American proud.

But like most ignorant knuckle dragging choots, those who tend toward willful ignorance probably had no idea how bad Vet's up till Trump were treated by the VA, and could care less.

Yancey Ward said...

Bedbug is either disingenuous, or shockingly stupid- either choice is ok with me. It won't be Biden the country gets as a leader- it will be people to the left of Sanders running things from Congress. No filibuster, a packed court, amnesty for every illegal resident in the country plus fast tracked citizenship. In other words, there won't be a resurrection for the Republican Party- they will be finished as the sacking of Rome will have actually already happened.

Jaq said...

"I cannot believe normal conservatives support a president who is a friend to the leader of a country that put bounties on the heads of American military members.”

You are right not to believe it, because it’s not true. There is one unsubstantiated allegation as reported by an anonymous source to the New York Times. POTUS can’t react with the might of the United States of America to every rumor the NYT sees fit to publish.

That is agitprop from people who do not want the war in Afghanistan to end and so seek to cripple Trump. Biden has promised to “strengthen NATO” which means buying weapons. You are being played by war mongers. its sad.

Yancey Ward said...

Let me put it this way so that others can better understand it- if Trump stepped aside and endorsed, let's say, Tom Cotton- Bret Stephens, David Brooks, Bill Kristol, etal would still be writing essays in these same publications making the case for voting for Biden. All of them are entirely dependent on left-wing employment, and not free to do otherwise.

hombre said...

Igna: “I cannot believe normal conservatives support a president who is a friend to the leader of a country that put bounties on the heads of American military members. That is damning.”

Nobody is stupid enough to believe this 2-part absurdity - the friend part and the bounty part. This is the second chapter of the original Russia hoax. The NYT and WaPo will simply print anything to get Trump and justify their fake news Pulitzers.

Since nobody is that stupid, it follows, charitably, that Igna is just a troll. I know the stupid vs. troll dispute is ongoing, but this comes down on the side of troll.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Everyone from moderate Dem politicians to radical Leftists gets up every morning & thanks God for the Brett Stephens & Jonah Goldbergs of the world.
I heard Stephens on a podcast the other week. Like Goldberg, his voice changes pitch and his words drip contempt when he discusses Trump as well as the people that gave him victory in the 2016 election. It is a downward spiral, their hatred grows more intense each regardless of what Trump or his opponents due.
A return to normal? What is normal? Federal policy written by bureaucrats overriding the vote of the people? Hard-core Leftism in school curriculum? The idiocy of the federally-approved & enforced insanity that men with penises are really women?

effinayright said...

The Crack Emcee said...
I don't want Biden to win, but - once conservatives reach for their guns and start talking race and "tyranny" - they can suck my dick.
**************************

Why? How would sucking your dick solve anything?

walter said...

It's culturally insensitive to suggest that Taliban POC would stoop to killing Americans for money. It's a sure-fire way to ruin a hobby.

effinayright said...

Narr said...
That's a mightily multi-racial cast in Bruillov's painting, but when you think about the route the Vandals took to get to Rome--they took the long way around through Spain and North Africa, picking up confederates all along.
***********

If you look closely, you can see the Vandals taking the handles.

Bilwick said...

"Bill Barr and Louis CK are two white guys who finesse being white today."

By talking like uneducated ghetto trash? Don't know about CK but that seems to be Barr's shtik. He can be funny, but if I want to listen to people like that I can just ride public transportation.

Drago said...

Inga the Russia Collusion Truther: "I cannot believe normal conservatives support a president who is a friend to the leader of a country that put bounties on the heads of American military members."

Never happened.

You're lying.

Again.

Carter Page, russian spy or no?

stevew said...

Translation: "Sane Conservatism" = policies and governing that the Left supports and agrees with.

Rick said...

But the idea that a Biden presidency would be a threat to the Republic is laughable: It would be a return to politics as we used to know it before the proverbial sacking of Rome.

Notably the second half of this quote contradicts the first.

Obama was personally bland and he created the Campus Sex Inquisition and tried to create an unaccountable empire with the CFPB. If you empower radicals it doesn't much matter what your personal beliefs are. And since Obama and pretty much everyone on the left dismiss any criticism or ideas from anywhere but the left it's effectively impossible for them to arrive at decent policy. This is true even of Althouse who is much less left than other left-siders.

Rick said...

Igna: “I cannot believe normal conservatives support a president who is a friend to the leader of a country that put bounties on the heads of American military members. That is damning.”

I presume she's talking about Obama who asserted opposition to Russia was a Cold War relic supported only by crazed conservatives...and Inga of course. Was that before or after he told the Russian President "I'll have more flexibility after the election" to concede to Russia's desires. I think it was after.

Rick said...

So Dems are sacking Rome. But if we elect them they might stop.

Or they will make their sacking legal.

Michael K said...

There are a lot of things that Inga can't believe, most of them true. Then there are things she does believe, most of them leftists conspiracy theories, like the Russia hoax. Pretty bad track records

walter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jim at said...

The 'normal' conservatives who gave us McCain and Romney?

Hard pass.

What NeverTrumpers like Stephens refuse to recognize is once Trump is gone, they will have no party to go to. The left will still hate them and those 63 million voters who elected Trump won't have anything to do with traitors.

Enjoy the wilderness, boy.

Drago said...

Gunner: "Bret is one of those "severe" conservatives that Never Trumpers claim to be."

Bret is every bit as "severe" a conservative as Cory Booker is a "fierce" heterosexual.

Drago said...

walter: "Come on, man! It's gotta be Kasich!
(fun fact: His dad worked for the post office)"

Was that during the time when, by the way, John Kerry served in Vietnam?

Krumhorn said...

What MayBee said at 8:55!!

The NeverTrumpers are trying their damnedest to debilitate and enervate Republican/conservative voters. I have yet to meet a former Trump supporter, and I expect that all of this BLM madness surrounding White Supremacy and White Privilege and Systemic Racism and White Fragility is creating new Trump voters every single day.

The name of the game is to suppress conservative/common sense voter turnout.

- Krumhorn

Big Mike said...

But the idea that a Biden presidency would be a threat to the Republic is laughable

I’m not laughing. It isn’t funny at all. In fact I’m sending money to Trump’s campaign. Any other pro-Trump people on this thread, try to donate before midnight tonight.

Michael K said...

But the idea that a Biden presidency would be a threat to the Republic is laughable


No, it would be the end of the republic. A Great Depression would follow with an economic collapse, which may be coming anyway. China would take over the billionaires who think they are "Citizens of the World," like Obama.

A leftist modern version of "The Terror" would take over. Those who think they are leading the revolution would be among the first to be lined up against a wall. Blacks probably think they will be running things but genetics rules.

Guildofcannonballs said...

"Once again I'm confronted with the fact that I don't understand the never-Trump wing of the Republican party."

Some people like money, a lot. They like it more than you like it, for example. Can you understand them and their love of money and only money?

Me? I hate the shit, try to get only what's needed. More money I have, the more Satan starts noticing. For this reason, and this reason alone, I give shitAndi acer-spacer a little credit.

Guildofcannonballs said...

"WP's artwork for the 410 sacking seems more appropos.."

Thanks for that. Since I was a working (praise be Jesus) child at the trap club looking at the rich guys K-80 and Perazzi full sets, I've wondered why 12g, 20g, 28g, and then ... .410.

Maybe that's why. Maybe not of course, but nonetheless maybe.

ken in tx said...

Although I was a history major, I did not learn until much later, at a church sponsored class, that the Vandals were Arian Christians--followers of Arius. Arius' teachings were repudiated at the Council of Nicaea, which produced the Nicene Creed. Vandals considered Catholics to be heretics and their churches to be centers of idolatry. They gave their name to vandalism by destroying, utterly, all the churches they encountered.

Guildofcannonballs said...

This is a link that is so funny Althouse shouldn't mean well to watch it.

We're wiping the floor with progs, and we will never stop.

The Godfather said...

I'm going to bed now, thinking about the first time I've ever read someone in the NYT calling Bolton "a sane conservative". Yet, to give him his due credit, Bolton would never have allowed Candy Crowley to shut him up in a debate the way Romney did.

The Godfather said...

I'm going to bed now, thinking about the first time I've ever read someone in the NYT call Bolton a "sane conservative". Still, say what you will about Bolton, he would never have allowed Candy Crowley to shut him up as Romney did in 2012.

Unknown said...

"On a tactical level, and really it isn't that tactical at all, the choice between the Leftists and the President (the GOP with a few exceptions is just along for the ride - yet again) could not be starker: lawlessness, violence, racialism, the dissolution of the family, the war on religious freedom and free speech, the eradication/demonization of our national identity, culture and history, and the dismantling of the nation in subservience to the UN, OR a complete rejection of that and an attempt to return to the values, institutions and beliefs that made this nation the greatest society - warts and all - that has ever existed or perhaps will ever exist in history." -- J. J. Sefton, Ace of Spades HQ