loyalty: Last night, the theme of the Republican National Convention (RNC) was kissing Donald Trump’s ring. Those he had failed to defeat gave their (flattery) speeches one by one: first, Vivek Ramaswamy; State Sen. Ted Cruz; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “The image is more like a Roman Colosseum, with an emperor looking down on his judges from his box, while those who dare to oppose him try to find ways to regain his favor,” writes New York Times’ Jonathan Weisman.
“Haley, Vance, DeSantis, Marco Rubio [whom Trump beat in 2016]and even Vivek Ramaswamy—who remained a staunch supporter of Trump even when he was technically running against him—represented a somewhat different ideological streak on the right, from New From conservatism to populism to the New Right,” writes reasonRobbie Soave. Flashing back and forth between the conservatism of the past and the conservatism of the future—which seems to bear little resemblance to anything proposed by William F. Buckley or Ronald Reagan—is dizzying, especially when When you realize that even old-school conservatives are incorporating Trump’s hostility into this.
Are you feeling Ramaswamentum? Perhaps the only bright spot was Vivek Ramaswamy, who correctly diagnosed the problems that kept many right-wingers up at night, but managed to articulate a better picture of where he thought the party and the country should be heading. Positive vision. “yes exist this middle of A The country’s identity crisis correct Now,” Ramaswamy said on the main stage. “Faith, patriotism, hard work and family have disappeared, replaced by race, gender, sexuality and climate. But we won’t win this election just by criticizing the other side, we will win by standing up for who we are and being true to ourselves. vision of identity.
“us believe exist this ideal of 1776,” he continued. “We believe exist advantage, That you get First exist this nation no exist this color of your skin, but exist this content of your Features and your contribution.
As an American, he said: “method us believe exist this rule of law.That method your first Behavior of Enter this nation cannot rest this law. That yes Why us will seal this South boundary exist Dyes oxygenThis is. it method this people World Health Organization us select arrive running this government should arrive yes this Those ones World Health Organization actually running this government, no unelected bureaucracy exist this deep State,” he added acidly.
Regarding Millennials, he added: “our government Sell us A Incorrect bill of commodity and this Iraq war and this Year 2008 financial crisis, loading up our The country’s debt That decline exist our several generations Shoulder, Tell us That if us take go out University loan, Wednesday Somehow get A head start exist this American Dream when it No worked go out That Way. but us cannot only yes Cynical about our nation, because this Unity state of USA yes still this Last the best hope That us have.
Time and again, he rejects what he calls the left’s focus on “group identity,” “victims” and “grievances,” and makes a strong case that “we No have arrive yes this nation exist decay; we able still yes A nation exist our rise.
Keep measurements: The speech then turned to the actual theme of the evening: “Making America Safe Again.” Viewers hear the voices of many ordinary Americans whose lives have been disrupted primarily by the criminal behavior of illegal immigrants. But “time and again, speakers exaggerated the connection between immigration and crime,” wrote reasonFiona Harrigan and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at one point said “Americans are being killed, murdered, assaulted and raped by illegal immigrants unleashed by Democrats” as if the country There is a rape crime wave under the control of some kind of feral immigrants.
But contrast this dark, untrue, unimaginative message — that more police and deportations are needed so evil can be tamed once and for all — with Ramaswamy’s vision: ever focused on “discontent.” ” is wrong, take control of your life, judge others on merit, hold those in power accountable, and don’t believe that the best days are behind you.
Ramaswamy and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) invite comparisons; they were classmates at Yale, promising young politicians who successfully curried favor with former President Donald Trump Trump. But while Vance may be the dark version, advocating a conservatism that seeks to use state power to punish enemies he believes have seized important institutions, Ramaswamy manages to be the light version, advocating a conservatism that seeks to return to the establishment ideal, while still indulgently engaging in some culture war skirmishes (ugh).
New York scene: Goodbye restaurant critic Pete Wells (resigned, not dead), who was always scathing. “Almost every major city now has a restaurant like this, like imitation pearls on a string, circling the world,” he writes of a Korean fine dining restaurant that conservatively costs $400 per person. . “How do chefs who value originality and a sense of place decide that the most appropriate backdrop for their food is a parody room in a deadpan global style?”
Read his scathing review of Peter Luger – a New York institution in his own right, albeit not to the same extent as Welles – and hope whoever succeeds Welles is up to par.
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- According to reports, California has just become the first state in the United States to pass legislation that “educators do not have to notify parents if their children request a change of name or pronouns.” New York Times. It’s a violation of parental rights and makes me never want to move to that desperately lost state, despite my undying love for West Coast beaches and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- Every interview with President Joe Biden leaves me more confused about how Democrats can possibly think he has another four years in office:
Hopefully everyone who got mad at me for talking about the Biden nomination is still sitting on this clip. Is this what you want to bet on? The stakes are so high? The risks are astronomical. pic.twitter.com/TetfU5O7HW
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) July 16, 2024
- “Like most Republican politicians today, [Sen. J.D.] Vance has signed on to Trump-led changes to the Republican platform that removed long-standing calls for a federal ban on abortion from the party platform, appearing to favor state regulation of abortion,” wrote this pillarJD Flynn. “For some anti-abortionists, this betrays their long-standing loyalty to the Republican Party. But from a Catholic moral perspective, the issue is a matter of careful judgment—while the Church makes clear that legal protections for abortion are immoral, it does not suggest at which level of government abortion should be regulated. But Vance has moved beyond that.
- Biden appears ready to try to pass legislation to impose term limits on Supreme Court justices.
- The Secret Service reportedly stepped up security at a gathering in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday after receiving intelligence that Iran was seeking to target Trump. Of course, it turns out that the Iranian plot actually had nothing to do with the assassination attempt (as far as they knew).
- The report said: “The general idea of Trumpomics may not be different from what it was during his first term.” Bloomberg Businessweek, After sitting down with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. “What’s new is the speed and efficiency with which he intends to implement these measures.”
- God bless America:
We’re back like this pic.twitter.com/od2bgZYKD6
— Alex Cohen ???? (@anothercohen) July 16, 2024
- Nate Silver’s response was none other than the Democratic National Convention chairman himself:
There is no 8/7 deadline. You made this up. Ohio passed legislation that would put whoever is nominated at the Democratic National Convention on the November ballot. Have courage and defend your party’s ability to follow its own procedures. And stop lying to the American public. https://t.co/OXl0SAPpld
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) July 17, 2024
