National Review and Me

 

My father was a William F. Buckley buff.  I still prize his autographed copy of WFB’s second book,  McCarthy and His Enemies (co-authored in 1954 with L. Brent Bozell, Jr, Buckley’s brother-in-law).  One year later, Buckley founded National Review.  

By the time the sixties rolled around, it’s fair to say I was destined to be an NR reader.  For me, and with respect to Andrew Breitbart,  politics was not downstream from culture.  I saw no inconsistency in loving The Who, the Stones, MC5, and National Review, much to the chagrin of some of my contemporaries.  And I think the Buckley fandom made my father happy, which was a bonus.  You’ll still find a 1965 Buckley for Mayor of New York City poster in my home.

So let’s fast forward to September, 2022.  I am about six weeks into another renewal of my subscription to both the dead tree version of NR and National Review Online.   We are years past the infamous “Against Trump” issue, compiled during the primaries leading up to the 2016 election.  That issue alienated many Ricochet members, to say the least, and still stands as an early sign of the NeverTrump movement.  I’ve long felt that NR remains important because it has some fine writers who champion important conservative causes.  I’m also not ashamed to say that I’ve defended the magazine here in discussions with people whom I respect—and I fully recognize that some here really dislike the publication.  

This is all a prelude to my personal deep thoughts as to whether it’s time to jump ship, something that never occurred to me even in the days of  “Against Trump.”  In many ways, I think that I’m a prototypical NR subscriber:  older, conservative, Buckley fan, and a supporter of the Trump presidency who still sees some warts.  Yet, in the last several months (some would say much longer), the unremitting lack of any balance regarding Trump has significantly alienated me.  Time and space don’t permit an exhaustive count of what has pushed me to the edge of cancellation, but let’s try a short and recent list. 

I’ve generally been good with the pro-impeachment, but often knowledgeable, Andrew McCarthy, but have seriously tired of the likes of  Trump Brings Out the Worst in His Enemies, as He Undermines Himself.   Much also has been written here about the bombastic Kevin Williamson, yet his recent A Clear and Present Danger column was a new low even for me (“President Biden isn’t taking on the Trumpists’ illiberalism — he’s imitating it.” “Of course the Trump movement is semi-fascist . . .” ).  Yes, Kevin, of course.  

Messrs. McLaughlin and Geraghty are long-standing Trump critics as well, but the proverbial final straw may have come from Second Amendment stalwart and Ricochet friend Charles C.W. Cooke, a seemingly rational person who has decided 20 months after the end of the Trump presidency that Donald Trump Is Still a Lunatic.  You may have noticed that the common thread in much of the above goes beyond “Against Trump” to “Much of what we see in Biden is Trump’s fault.”

So does this story have an ending?  I know a good number of you who have read this far are saying “So cancel already, dummy!” But it’s hard for me to toss away 50 years of a reading tradition.  Still, if I’m close, I wonder how many NR traditionalists are either gone or right at the edge of the long goodbye.   

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  1. Jimmy Carter Member
    Jimmy Carter
    @JimmyCarter

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):
    If you’re on the fence, you might think about one thing that I don’t think has yet been mentioned: the Covington kids.

    Nail > Coffin. 

    • #31
  2. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Blondie (View Comment):

    What’s funny is to hear Jack Fowler and VDH talk about NR sometimes. It’s never a whole discussion, but you do get the impression they are both glad to not be there at this time. That’s all I need to know.

    Yes!!!!!

    • #32
  3. Jimmy Carter Member
    Jimmy Carter
    @JimmyCarter

    1787Libertarian (View Comment):

    NR is compromised. Whatever it was it is t that anymore.

    https://emeralddb3.substack.com/p/how-the-national-review-sold-its

    Damn. That is scathing.

     

    They’ve been so weak and defeatist during the Trump years that a year’s subscription to the magazine could be marketed as an estrogen supplement.

    Cracked Me up. 

    • #33
  4. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Jimmy Carter (View Comment):

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):
    If you’re on the fence, you might think about one thing that I don’t think has yet been mentioned: the Covington kids.

    Nail > Coffin.

    Perhaps.

    • #34
  5. Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patriot) Member
    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patriot)
    @ArizonaPatriot

    Jimmy Carter (View Comment):

    1787Libertarian (View Comment):

    NR is compromised. Whatever it was it is t that anymore.

    https://emeralddb3.substack.com/p/how-the-national-review-sold-its

    Damn. That is scathing.

     

    They’ve been so weak and defeatist during the Trump years that a year’s subscription to the magazine could be marketed as an estrogen supplement.

    Cracked Me up.

    Yeah.  Good one, 1787.

    In any culture war, Rich Lowry and the gang have always been the first to stand athwart history, crying: “We surrender first!”

    • #35
  6. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):

    Jimmy Carter (View Comment):

    1787Libertarian (View Comment):

    NR is compromised. Whatever it was it is t that anymore.

    https://emeralddb3.substack.com/p/how-the-national-review-sold-its

    Damn. That is scathing.

    They’ve been so weak and defeatist during the Trump years that a year’s subscription to the magazine could be marketed as an estrogen supplement.

    Cracked Me up.

    Yeah. Good one, 1787.

    In any culture war, Rich Lowry and the gang have always been the first to stand athwart history, crying: “We surrender first!”

    Is the abortion issue part of the culture war?   How about the “right to bear arms”?

    In fact, the source of my complaint above is the increase in an already decided lack of balance regarding Trump.  The “culture war” comment is uninformed.

    • #36
  7. Steven Seward Member
    Steven Seward
    @StevenSeward

    Hoyacon, I agree 100% with your assessments of Kevin Williamson, Andrew McCarthy, Jim Geraghty, and Charles Cook.  Cook was my favorite writer up until recently, but that article you referenced “Donald Trump is Still a Lunatic” was way over the top, even though it had kernels of truth.  I don’t know that much about McLaughlin because his articles don’t stand out in my mind.

    Disclaimer here:  My wife and I attended a National Review Conference and a National Review staff Party at the home of Kate O’Beirn in D.C. about 16 years ago.  We’ve met and talked with just about all their staff and contributors from that era.  Rich Lowry even later gave us a personal guided tour through their office in New York.  When Buckley died, I tried to convince Lowry to let me paint a portrait of WFB for the magazine and put it on the cover of their next issue.  Much to my irritation, he declined.

    Despite our personal interactions, we’ve both been lukewarm on the official stances the magazine has taken over the years, with exceptions like abortion and gun control, as you pointed out.  Mark Stein was a great loss.  When Williamson penned his famous “Witless Ape Rides Helicopter” in response to Trump vacating the White House, I’d had enough and I quit.  They bombarded me with offers to come back that were so cheap that I eventually said “what the heck” and signed back up for pennies.  Tip* – delete your credit card and stop automatic renewal from the page on your personal account.  They will beg you to come back at a reduced rate.

    • #37
  8. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Steven Seward (View Comment):

    Hoyacon, I agree 100% with your assessments of Kevin Williamson, Andrew McCarthy, Jim Geraghty, and Charles Cook. Cook was my favorite writer up until recently, but that article you referenced “Donald Trump is Still a Lunatic” was way over the top, even though it had kernels of truth. I don’t know that much about McLaughlin because his articles don’t stand out in my mind.

    Disclaimer here: My wife and I attended a National Review Conference and a National Review staff Party at the home of Kate O’Beirn in D.C. about 16 years ago. We’ve met and talked with just about all their staff and contributors from that era. Rich Lowry even later gave us a personal guided tour through their office in New York. When Buckley died, I tried to convince Lowry to let me paint a portrait of WFB for the magazine and put it on the cover of their next issue. Much to my irritation, he declined.

    Despite our personal interactions, we’ve both been lukewarm on the official stances the magazine has taken over the years, with exceptions like abortion and gun control, as you pointed out. Mark Stein was a great loss. When Williamson penned his famous “Witless Ape Rides Helicopter” in response to Trump vacating the White House, I’d had enough and I quit. They bombarded me with offers to come back that were so cheap that I eventually said “what the heck” and signed back up for pennies. Tip* – delete your credit card and stop automatic renewal from the page on your personal account. They will beg you to come back at a reduced rate.

    Because their serious income, from donors/advertisers, is often based on circulation/subscription numbers.

    • #38
  9. Jimmy Carter Member
    Jimmy Carter
    @JimmyCarter

    Jimmy Carter (View Comment):

    1787Libertarian (View Comment):

    NR is compromised. Whatever it was it is t that anymore.

    https://emeralddb3.substack.com/p/how-the-national-review-sold-its

    Damn. That is scathing.

     

    They’ve been so weak and defeatist during the Trump years that a year’s subscription to the magazine could be marketed as an estrogen supplement.

    Cracked Me up.

    Is that what happened to @claire ?

    Did She take google money, because She was so hard up? 

    • #39
  10. The Widow Patterson Member
    The Widow Patterson
    @jeannebodine

    For me it was was when they came out in support of John McCain in his last primary. Never before in their history had they endorsed someone in a primary race. I respected their previous position because I felt they were onboard with the idea that the people should choose their candidate.

    At the time, Andy McCarthy was the sole writer that came out strongly against them making a primary endorsement. I was in total agreement with his stance. And for John McCain of all people.

    I canceled my subscription the next month and I haven’t looked back.

    • #40
  11. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    There are certain people who I feel represent my views best and, significantly, don’t have contempt for me and my fellow regular Americans. VDH is at the top of the list. Larry Arnn. Mollie Hemingway. Mark Steyn, Michael Anton . . .

    If your organization alienates someone like VDH, I’m done with you. I nearly ended my association with Ricochet once after the way Rob Long treated Larry Arnn on a podcast interview. Instead, I stopped listening to the flagship podcast.

    Since ending my subscription to NR well before Trump and ceasing to even look at NRO, I’ve found others online publications and authors who suit me very well. Top of my list is American Greatness and authors there like Roger Kimball. 

    BTW, most all of these people are associated in one way or another with Hillsdale College. VDH, Mollie, and Michael Anton teach for Hillsdale (or the Kirby Center). Some of us Ricochetti met Roger Kimball on campus at a CCA there. Hillsdale also hosts people who disagree with my basic positions (Bill Barr), but the regulars there are reliably on my side of things and see things the way I do. 

    • #41
  12. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    I take it the answer to my question is “No, NR has never seriously examined how the rise of ‘Trumpism’ was a result of the Republican Party sucking.”

    In answer to the question raised by the OP the answer is simple; if something does not bring you joy, then why pay for it? 

    • #42
  13. Doug Kimball Thatcher
    Doug Kimball
    @DougKimball

    I discovered NR when I was in my twenties.  I read it cover to cover every other week.  When NRO first began, I was hooked again.  It seemed to me to be a somewhat naughty, hip version of NR, led by none other than Jonah, back when he was the last peron anyone of any influence would invite to a cocktail party.  Now he’s so addicted to the Georgetown, upper West side party scene he has abandoned WFB’s principles in order to remain on the somebody list.  But give him credit.  He brought VDH into the fore, then a farmer and classics professor at one of the lesser CA Universities.  We could blame NR’s decline on WFB’s passing, but there were issues before that.   When they abandoned Steyn, that was telling.  He was their best contributor.  But there were others.  I stopped subscribing over a dozen years ago.  There were just too many writers with whom I disagreed and I could get that from the New Republic.  VDH, elevated to seer with their help, left.  Their opposition of Trump seemed to me to be gaseous and lame (still is).  They lost their edge and with it their idology.  The best contributors have been lost or let go.  What remains is milktoast.  And as for NRO, it is a confusion, pseudo conservative clickbait served up in a digital salad spinner.  I don’t waste my time with it.

    • #43
  14. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Kevin Schulte (View Comment):
    Authors, prognosticators etc , need to get paid. I believe the vitriol they put in print represents the vitriol of those signing their checks. No more complicated than that.

    No. That’s not so. Ten + years of writing for NR and speaking at NR events, and the amount of editorial interference or direction I have experienced: zero.

    The Steyn thing is complicated. They’d cheerfully toss out a marquee name for a lark? No. And if it’s such a RINO haven, why did Jonah and David French hie out for the territories?

    If you agree with a magazine or website  100% all of the time, you’re being served and flattered and made comfy in the bubble. But somehow that isn’t seen as a business model or strategy.

    • #44
  15. Kevin Schulte Member
    Kevin Schulte
    @KevinSchulte

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Kevin Schulte (View Comment):
    Authors, prognosticators etc , need to get paid. I believe the vitriol they put in print represents the vitriol of those signing their checks. No more complicated than that.

    No. That’s not so. Ten + years of writing for NR and speaking at NR events, and the amount of editorial interference or direction I have experienced: zero.

    The Steyn thing is complicated. They’d cheerfully toss out a marquee name for a lark? No. And if it’s such a RINO haven, why did Jonah and David French hie out for the territories?

    If you agree with a magazine or website 100% all of the time, you’re being served and flattered and made comfy in the bubble. But somehow that isn’t seen as a business model or strategy.

    Praise Trump in that publication and see what happens. 

    ala VDH 

    • #45
  16. Basil Fawlty Member
    Basil Fawlty
    @BasilFawlty

    James Lileks (View Comment):
    The Steyn thing is complicated. They’d cheerfully toss out a marquee name for a lark?

    No. But they would for a fruit cordial.

    • #46
  17. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Jimmy Carter (View Comment):

    1787Libertarian (View Comment):

    NR is compromised. Whatever it was it is t that anymore.

    https://emeralddb3.substack.com/p/how-the-national-review-sold-its

    Damn. That is scathing.

     

    They’ve been so weak and defeatist during the Trump years that a year’s subscription to the magazine could be marketed as an estrogen supplement.

    Cracked Me up.

    This is really scathing. 

    Glad I don’t subscribe anymore. Me and half their old base it would seem.

    • #47
  18. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):
    If your organization alienates someone like VDH, I’m done with you

    Yeah. It is mind boggling. And much of what he has said about his personal interactions are deeply disappointing. 

    • #48
  19. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

     

    Doug Kimball (View Comment):
    And as for NRO, it is a confusion, pseudo conservative clickbait served up in a digital salad spinner.  I don’t waste my time with it.

    The website is almost unreadable with all the ads and pop ups. I am told that subscribers don’t have that problem. Not sure what to make of that.

    • #49
  20. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    James Lileks (View Comment):
    The Steyn thing is complicated. They’d cheerfully toss out a marquee name for a lark? No

    No.

    Because he wanted to fight for free speech and they wanted to win on lawyer ball.

    Steyn wanted a homerun ; NR wanted to get hit by the pitch.

    • #50
  21. J Climacus Member
    J Climacus
    @JClimacus

    My reason for cancelling NR was not over any particular issue, but that it became clear that its top priority was to keep its status as the “respectable” conservative voice, as defined by the mainstream (i.e. the left).  The left expects the Right to be pro life and pro gun and socially conservative, but to have a manageable impact that doesn’t ultimately threaten the left’s progressive agenda. NR came to fit this role (recently, not in the early days.) It plays the game as defined by the left’s rules, and banishes writers like Derbyshire and Steyn that the left finds intolerable.  When someone like Trump comes along, who doesn’t play by the rules and threatens to upend the game board entirely, the left (correctly) sees this as an existential crisis and will do anything to stop him, including demanding that “respectable” conservative voices denounce him, on pain of banishment from the mainstream. NR caved, became NeverTrump, and made unwelcome any writers (like VDH) who showed any favorable views of Trump. 

    So its the fact that NR plays the game by the left’s rules that is the problem, not its particular stance on any particular issue. 

    • #51
  22. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    Basil Fawlty (View Comment):

    James Lileks (View Comment):
    The Steyn thing is complicated. They’d cheerfully toss out a marquee name for a lark?

    No. But they would for a fruit cordial.

    James is right re Steyn. If you want to blame anyone, blame “Hockeystick Mann.” The left would love to see NR go away. I wonder why. Hmmm.

    • #52
  23. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

     

    Doug Kimball (View Comment):
    And as for NRO, it is a confusion, pseudo conservative clickbait served up in a digital salad spinner. I don’t waste my time with it.

    The website is almost unreadable with all the ads and pop ups. I am told that subscribers don’t have that problem. Not sure what to make of that.

    We pay for content. Ads are the price of admission, if you don’t. Other sites have the same problem. It is pointless to link to WaPo, NYT, and others for articles people reference on social media. They won’t even let you in. 

    • #53
  24. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    On the other side, NR introduced me to:

    -Cleta Mitchell in 2019, who warned all on the cruise about Democrat dark money, Arabella, and the sizable war chest they would use to win in 2020. Her charts showed the links between these pop-up groups and the top.

    -On the same cruise, Peter Schweitzer gave his powerful and scary briefing about the power of social media companies and search engines to influence what we know and elections.

    -I almost didn’t sign up for the same feelings you all have. Had I not, I wouldn’t have been warned earlier than some. Sadly, too many were never warned. I don’t remember any anti-Trump stuff from the cruise.

    On other cruises, I met many of the authors who influence my opinions, now:

    -Byron York, who wrote about the left’s effort to destroy Bush and how they would try harder the next time. I have referred to it several times on ricochet recently.

    -Michael Walsh, whose book warning of critical theory and the Marxist cultural revolution has been at my side as I have watched this all unfold. 

    (more coming, stopping to eat)

    • #54
  25. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    Basil Fawlty (View Comment):

    James Lileks (View Comment):
    The Steyn thing is complicated. They’d cheerfully toss out a marquee name for a lark?

    No. But they would for a fruit cordial.

    James is right re Steyn.

    Eh, how would I know anything. ;)  

    • #55
  26. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    National Review introduced me to (part 2, post breakfast update):

    -In the NRI Burke to Buckley seminars at sea, I met Dan Mahoney. I learned of “mediating structures” and how the left is attacking them. This led me to his great book, which I also keep by my side, about how the “religion of humanity” is harming us (it exposes atheists and moral preeners). I can’t wait to discuss with him his latest about statesmen who are also great thinkers.

    – Reading the magazine exposed me to VDH, while the cruises let me meet him and talk to him. Yes, I needed the magazine to learn about him even though I had done Squadron Officer’s School, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College. Air Training Command should have been reading NR.

    -NR introduced me to Kevin Hassett and his interesting articles in “the box.” I enjoyed meeting him in person, sitting at his table one night, and hearing his comments in the seminars. I was thrilled when Trump selected him to mold his economic agenda. I am doing a book review of his The Drift for you guys and will see him on the next cruise. It is no surprise to me, that when the left was discouraging people from serving on  Trump’s team, that two of his most successful team members were NR contributors .

    -I am on ricochet because of Rob, Peter, James, and Scott Immergut (Blue Yeti). I  heard about ricochet from them, on a NR cruise.

    My list could go on, but you get the point. I fully appreciate those of you who have no interest in doing cruises or are in the stage of life, like I once was, where it simply isn’t an affordable option. However, be grateful that these exist and retirees like some of us can go. We bring back insights that mold our comments.

    I understand your feelings and have said so before.  While you expect condescension from the left, when it comes from our side, we feel betrayed and perhaps even played by some who weren’t what we thought they were. I won’t apologize or excuse them. That is their job to apologize to you.

    Some writers at NR, the magazine, should have paid more attention to the guest speakers and NRI speakers on the cruises. I want the NR problems fixed but can’t fix them if I walk away. I can’t turn my back on someone who has staunchly defended the Constitution and our gun rights because of one stupid comment. I welcome an opportunity to politely tell him in person why I disagree with him. If it isn’t worth it to you (the price), I accept that.

    I am equally turned off by some of the things said about those who provide us this great platform. Disagree, if you wish, but don’t attack them. You will become like the left if you let hatred into your heart.

    • #56
  27. The Scarecrow Thatcher
    The Scarecrow
    @TheScarecrow

    Basil Fawlty (View Comment):

    When they parted ways with Steyn, I parted ways with them.

    Not to mention Derb.

    • #57
  28. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Red Herring (View Comment):

    Basil Fawlty (View Comment):

    James Lileks (View Comment):
    The Steyn thing is complicated. They’d cheerfully toss out a marquee name for a lark?

    No. But they would for a fruit cordial.

    James is right re Steyn.

    Eh, how would I know anything. ;)

    I figured it out on my own. NR has been very quiet on this topic. I have never heard anyone at NR speak ill of him.  I miss him on NR but there is no shortage of ways to get a weekly dose of his humor. Ditto VDH. If they aren’t on future cruises, I will be disappointed.

    The funniest Night Owl ever was on 2008 Eurodam, after a small fire in the kitchen caused the emergency alarms to sound after midnight. The captain made several announcements to assure us all would be ok. Steyn imitated the captain, accent and all,  in true Steyn fashion. I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. Then next funniest one was Rob and Roman Genn on stage, don’t remember the year but I have a clip. 

    Having you and Rob on is a mandatory thing for cruise success. We can’t survive on serious discussions alone. Y’all aren’t standup comics but something magical happens once you are together. I enjoyed especially watching you do the podcast on the Allure of the Seas and the icing on the cake was the zip line riders behind you. At least 3 ricochet couples did our part booking cabins so they could add speakers. Maybe next time.

     

    • #58
  29. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    I would love to be “in” as I am like every other human being. I’ll never have enough money to buy my way in.

    Access costs a lot of money, that much is clear.

    I will never be “in”. 

     

    • #59
  30. Red Herring Coolidge
    Red Herring
    @EHerring

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    I would love to be “in” as I am like every other human being. I’ll never have enough money to buy my way in.

    Access costs a lot of money, that much is clear.

    I will never be “in”.

     

    At least they let you “in” with ads rather than block your access like many newspapers. My print subscriptions are limited to NR, Astronomy ( my hobby), Conservative Chronical (replaced newspaper and has weekly punditry), Air Force Magazine (my profession), and Claremont Review of Books (I am a big book reader). To have money to enjoy life, I cancelled season tickets to several sports. They just weren’t worth it once they started their political BS. My kids are working adults doing well. You still have kids to support. Family first, just like it should be, just like it once was for me.

    • #60
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