re: An Appeal For "Traditional Conservatives" to reconsider Populism.

quote:

---

You shouldnt need this. We all know what the problem is. The only thing that matters is the economy, period. I get it, Trump promised to wipe out the debt in 2016. There was no reason to disbelieve. But y'all are making the same mistake again because yall are addicted to shiny objects.

---

You could not be more out of touch with the reality of society and the voting populace.

As someone who voted for DeSantis in the Iowa caucus, I wish he would’ve gotten more support. I think he would’ve made a very good president.

But guess what? He ran a bad campaign and he was not able to inspire and bring more people along. Hopefully he learned something that he’ll apply effectively down the road.

But people (like it or not Roger) look for leadership and inspiration from the office of the presidency.

Now you can get mad at people for looking at Trump for leadership but until/unless the conservatives can find someone who can effectively communicate and inspire and sell a vision then this is the current reality.

People by nature are drawn to and look for leadership, not wonkish policy experts.

Reagan was effective because he could communicate his vision, not because he had the most command of policy details (and by the way, Reagan never sneered or looked down or made snide comments about a chunk of the voting base).

It’s not about what “I need”, it’s about dealing with human beings and reality.

You guys will blame anything and everyone but you never self reflect on what conservatives need to do better.

quote:

---

I absolutely am in touch with it, which is why I loathe populism. You should too.

---

I think you’re probably a good man, I really do….but you are too stubborn to learn.

You’ll likely continue railing at everything from the sidelines instead of trying to figure out what conservatives need to do to get back in the game.

And you’ll continue to be frustrated.

quote:

---

.but you are too stubborn to learn.

---

Ive been through Carter, Reagan, ....et all.

I've learned to stop trusting populists. Even after 2016, you havent. That doesnt bode well for you.

quote:

---

The natural path of populism is socialism.

Dont do it.

---

Roger,

For clarity: I’m a traditional conservative who holds his nose and supports Trump.

Populism from the right leads to fascism rather than socialism, which is the end result of left wing populism. But any “ism” leads somewhere bad. Every good government’s maintenance is like standing on a ball; it takes hard work.

The O.P. Is chock full of excellent points. The conclusion is not wrong, in my opinion. I think there is a matter of semantics at work. I suspect that you, me and the O.P would agree on much that needs fixing, but you and I recoil at “populism”, and the O.P. thinks anyone who tries to fix this with traditional conservatism is a simp.

Actually, I think I agreed with everything in the OP except the notion that shenanigans were at play in tech companies sharing our information. We accept those terms when we sign up.

I think the problems facing this country are addressable through Republican institutions and conservative principles. The problem we have right now is there is no attractive, compelling traditional conservative leader who is annunciating the proper path forward. Trump has stepped into that gap with a shrewdness that overwhelms every other actor. But Trump has no principles except elevate Donald Trump. He cynically says whatever will get him elected.

However Trump is the tool we have. We must use him to cudgel the bad actors so well identified in the OP. Then we must rely on our institutions to contain him. Luckily Trump has great instincts in dealing with other countries. Unluckily he has terrible judgement when it comes to people, and he is of very low moral quality.

quote:

---

. But still it’s at least a possibility.

---

Once govt gets that power, its over.

We're not the preferred people. Populism is a recipe for disaster with Western Culture

I'll take corporatism over populism any day of the week.

quote:

---

frick this come together

---

Tribes are judged by the dumbest among them.

quote:

---

Tribes are judged by the dumbest among them

---

Not all tribes will be equal. Doesn’t discredit tribalism whatsoever.

quote:

---

Not all tribes will be equal.

---

They lead to bottom up "democracy."

quote:

---

“Traditional conservatives” are a complete joke. They couldn’t wait to vote for Bush 1/2, McCain, and Romney but now their principles must dictate that they stay home or vote third party during an era when the Left is far more insidious

---

What a ridiculous, childish post! That is probably true of 1% or 2% of traditional conservatives. Almost every traditional conservative I know is voting for Trump, even though most of us think he is an abominable human being. And there is no way Trump would stand a chance if this wasn’t true.

There are plenty of populist MAGA supporters who would have stayed home had DeSantis, or one of the others, won. But most would have held their noses and voted against the worse Democrat, just as I am doing for Trump. My hope is that Trump wins big with a big red wave; he goes to war, using lawfare against his persecutors; he serves his four years and then either passes away or becomes so debilitated that he can no longer be a force in politics.

That said, I will forever bless him for fingering China as an enemy, cutting taxes, and allowing the Federalist Society free rein on Justices. I also admire his fortitude in standing up to the authoritarian state that the O.P. clearly identifies.