David Frenchism

First, how nice that the default behavior for a posted-in link (such as the url from National Review) (and at least in my web browser) opens in a new tab instead of throwing me out of the forum. I like that.

Mr. Kung could always get fancy and follow these simple steps to pretty things up:

1) Copy link (from whatever article you want….as Mr. Kung has already done)

2) Click the "link" icon in the post edit box (the icon with the blue ball).

3) In the top field, type in the name for the link (in this case, "The Conservative Divide").

4) Copy in the url into the bottom box (be sure to copy over the text that is already there...don't just add to it).

That will get you:

The Conservative Divide

For quick purposes of sharing a link, what Mr. Kung has already done will work fine. It's up to you (and him). But these more formal links work much better if you wish to link from within a paragraph, for example.

If you're only getting a blank page, I would suggest updating your browser if possible. Or try a different one. If anyone else has this problem, they should speak up. But I've used four different browsers on this site and they all handle the links fine.

I’m not a Windows guru, but I’m pretty sure the problem is some kind of default security setting. Unless it works fine at other sites. But the newer versions of Windows often come right out of the box with security features screwed down too tight…just to cover their asses. Sometimes people have trouble with attachments because the email program is screwed down too tight.

This could be a case, also, of your internet browser not allowing “pop-up” windows. Be bold and look around your settings or preferences. There are often checkboxes you can uncheck.

Goldberg has a point that conservatives shouldn't target each other instead of the left, but  I wonder how well he lives up to his own suggestion.  As I pointed out in my blog response, both the McCainiac in 2008 and Romney in 2012 refused to hit the Black God as they had their intra-party rivals.  Goldberg and many of his fellow Never Trumpers really went after Trump even when the only real alternative was the Fire Witch, and some actually supported her.  (Many have since gone over to the Fascist Party aka the Demagogues.)

I believe a general political philosophy is important. But my eyes glaze over when I read this kind of stuff now. Jonah, tell me what you think about:

+ “sustainable energy”

+ Abortion

+ Islam

+ the national debt

+ Free speech (Is it okay to yell “Jesus” in a crowded bath house?)

+ Regulation (or over-regulation)

+ The web of unelected bureaucracy ruling us all by fiat.

+ Pot

+ Fracking

+ Self-driving cars

+ The plague of the “homeless”

+ Environmental wackoism.

+ And perhaps the biggest one of all, feminism.

Instead we get these ridiculous references to George Will and the Constitution:



I’m second to none in my admiration for the Constitution. But this is simply pseudo-conservative virtue signaling. Again, tell us what specifics you support or oppose?

And David French is man enough to defend himself, not to mention take a little criticism without all this sophomoric circling the wagons as if a bit of mild criticism of French by Ahmari (the ever-dishonest Goldberg characterizes it as “lashing out”) is an egregious offense. Aren’t these guys in the business of opinionating? Endlessly?

Is the only point of the conservative press to hawk each other’s books and defend The Gentleman’s Club from any intersection with reality? Didn’t Ahmari raise some real issues?

This will probably be the last time I comment on this stuff. It’s old. We know all this already. We can become little more than a reflection of them if all we have is criticism. Life’s too short for this stuff. Have fun, but count me out.

I'm not able to comment over there. They keep changing their system.

Also, did you notice how bloated their web site is now? A ton of things want to load and pop onto the screen. It's pretty bad. It used to be a lean, fast site regarding the mechanics of it. My threshold for reading some of this stuff is low enough to begin with. But that doesn't help the situation.

Oh, and by all means, if you have an account there, Mr. Kung, cut-and-paste what I said. You have my permission. Or link them over to this thread.

Indeed. Anyone ever hear of taking a little criticism? These guys seem more like Snowflakes than robust conservatives. Did anyone clearly rebut the criticisms of French based on anything but "But David is such a nice guy"?

Thank you. It's always nice to be appreciated. I'm not sure if I was channeling Coulter or Limbaugh on that one.

Here's my basic reasoning process, and feel free to disagree. But I'm going to lay it out:

Almost no one votes because of how some issue fits in the kind of political hair-splitting philosophy that the "conservative" talking heads parse endlessly.

Reagan was successful because he was a straight-shooter and took on individual issues while also being grounded in a good conservative/American philosophy. And he surely did argue that philosophy at times. He didn’t shrink from it. But he also didn’t obscure it by needless hair-splitting intellectualizations of how many conservative angels could fit on the head of a pin.

Frankly, I’ve lost respect for the conservative press except for: Dennis Prager, Victor Davis Hanson, Mark Steyn, Andy McCarthy, Theodore Dalrymple, Mark Levin, and possibly one or two others whose names escape me. But the rest are either carnival barkers or head-on-a-pin, ever-parsing intellectuals who can never be behind anything because nothing can ever suit their perfect (inside their own heads) philosophy. Virtue signaling is by no means restricted to the Left.

These type of discussions need to move from forums and Twitter and Facebook to boardrooms, PTA meetings, school board meetings, town hall meetings, neighborhood meetings, churches, civic groups, and etc. I have no further desire or need to bark at the moon. Nor (unlike Pat) do I really have the kind of intestinal fortitude to go out there and try to “make a difference,” but in a conservative way. And I won’t fool myself into thinking that getting online and bitching is a substitute.

So I will be expanding the garden, not the bitching. You all are free to do as you like. These forums can manage themselves more or less. And if we run into an issue (as I’m sure we will) when the topics are too hot for this provider, then we’ll deal with that as we come to it. I suspect the disease of censorship will be following us now no matter where we go.