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Trump, Conservatism, and Me
Greetings, Gentlemen and Gentle Ladies of Ricochet. I’ve been away for a while, I know.
Some of you wrote to the editors to ask what happened to me and whether they should be worried. I was touched by that. You’ve heard, then, that I’ve been working on my book, which is coming along well. But in truth, that’s not the only reason I’ve been away.
About a week ago, the Blue Yeti, who also noticed my absence, sent me a message to ask if I was okay. I was on the verge of writing, “Oh, yes, I’m fine, I’m just working on my book,” but then I stopped myself and thought, “Why not tell him the truth? It is, after all, the truth.” And so I did.
I wrote back and said that I was horrified by Trump. That I’m heartbroken for my country and for what I thought were our ideals, our decency. That it seemed to me the United States was experiencing the political equivalent of a psychotic break, one that has at best turned America into the punchline of a joke, and at worst will end the American experiment altogether. That I was exhausted from arguing about Trump. That I’ve already lived through this presidency once, in Turkey — although it took years for Erdoğan to sound the way Trump already does — and didn’t want to chronicle this story twice in my life.
“I’m outraged by Trump and what’s become of conservatism,” I wrote,
I’m depressed by all of it and sad that I’ve devoted so much of my life to a political ideology that in the end looks as corrupt to me as socialism. This hasn’t seemed like an appropriate thing to share with our entire membership, so I’ve been keeping quiet before saying anything rash — either to our members or to you. But I’ve been feeling this way now for long enough that I probably just need to say it.
So the answer, really, is that I’m not so okay. I’m quite depressed. A large part of it is an overdue reflection about my role in all of this, and a realization that whatever I believe about politics, it has no place in the conservative movement as it now exists.
The Yeti asked if he could call me. We spoke for a while. He started by trying to reassure me that I wasn’t responsible for Donald Trump’s election. This on the one hand is obviously true; but on the other, I’m not sure I can escape the responsibility for this disaster that every American shares, whether or not we supported him or voted for him. We’ve all, together, created — or failed to do enough to prevent — the conditions such that a phenomenon like this might emerge. We all share some part of the blame for allowing our country to descend into nihilism and despair; we all contributed, in some way, to the hollowing out of civic virtue, to the eradication of gravitas and dignity from the public sphere, to the conflation of reality television with reality, to the dumbing-down and the commercialization of everything, to mindless and unprincipled partisanship, to the cultivation of the imperial presidency. We are all all in some part responsible, even if our only contribution was doing too little to prevent it.
And in my case, the contribution was greater. I didn’t mean to, but I did. Ricochet, after all, was part of a gullible media that offered Trump five billion dollars’ worth of free advertising because we assumed his candidacy was just a terrific joke and great for site traffic. “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS,” Les Moonves said. I can’t say our editorial approach was more foresighted.
I’m not so full of my own sense of importance as to believe what I write has much influence over anything, but it’s a fact that for the past few decades I’ve supported myself by writing by writing about, and for, politicians and audiences who called themselves conservatives. I believed I shared a set of assumptions and values with conservative readers, or at least, I believed their assumptions and values closer to mine than those of the American left. But it turns out that a substantial cohort of those people did not share my assumptions and values. And a significant number of them are now given over to isolationism, protectionism, nativism, authoritarianism, and sheer craziness. Or outright nihilism. Not to mention opportunism. I want no part of that.
Newt Gingrich, arguing that Margaret Thatcher was the model for the Trump presidency, recently buttressed this claim by allusion to my book about Thatcher, which made me cringe. As I replied in the American Interest, the idea is utterly unserious; that he could assert this is profoundly disturbing for what it says about how little the truth matters to anyone in this perfervid political climate:
I was glad to see my largely forgotten book mentioned, but at the same time I was baffled—because the comparison is ludicrous. Readers who doubt this may consult the online Thatcher archives, which contain every known statement made by Margaret Thatcher between 1945 and 1990; or take my word for it for $12.10 on Amazon. They will find nothing to suggest that Thatcher and Trump are similar in any relevant aspect, be it their political ideals, beliefs, moral values, temperament, style, experience, intellect, competence, decorum, or probity.
What does it mean, then, when a respected senior American politician makes this argument in a respected American newspaper? We’re not, after all, talking about an archaic figure known to us only through a disputed Delphic verse. Margaret Thatcher is very nearly a contemporary. She died in 2013. What she believed is as well known as the formula for the area of a triangle. It would be one thing if the newly Trumpesque Gingrich had in his article renounced Margaret Thatcher and her ideals. That would have been surprising, to be sure, but it would have at least made sense. But this is not what he did: He instead made his actual memories of Thatcher vanish in an act of mental thaumaturgy, and returned from his underground dungeon lair with a shape-changed new version of history.
I told the Blue Yeti all about this, and told him that basically, I’d prefer never to write about politics again. I’m exhausted with it, growingly cynical, and deeply pessimistic. When I finished, I expected him to say that he was sorry to hear it, and to accept my resignation.
But instead, he asked me to write about what I’d just told him, all of it. He said I wasn’t alone in feeling this way, and told me that more people than I realized shared my sentiments. I don’t quite remember what he said next, except that he seemed sincere in thinking I should write about this, and adamant that my point of view was one that should still be represented here. He said that if the Trump presidency implodes, or explodes, someone will have to make the case for classical liberalism and the vigorous virtues, since the conservatives who’ve eagerly hopped in bed with the Id in the White House won’t seem particularly credible after that. He suggested — kindly — that I pull myself together.
I figured he was probably right. “Pull yourself together and get back to work” is, usually, good general advice.
So, are there any more of you out there who are feeling like me? Or will I have to do this single-handedly? I will, I guess, if I have to, but it would be nice to know I’m not alone.
Published in General
Yes. I see that you did.
If it makes everybody feel better–it only made me laugh????????,
Then candidate Trump should have attacked the things he’s done since then. Again, I’m not saying civility means that McCain is a war hero therefore one cannot criticize his actions as a Senator. If Trump had attacked McCain as an enemy of the 1st Amendment for authoring McCain-Feingold, I’d have nodded vigorously in agreement.
Instead he went low and attacked McCain for getting captured, saying he prefers people that don’t get captured, thereby impugning the honor of all of our P.O.W.s.
Welcome @andrewgordon! Please post more often, you own words apply to members like you as well:
Hi Claire: I noticed your recent coining of the term Putinversteher with regard to Trump in the context of an NR book review in which you seemed to go to some lengths to downplay any Muslim “threat” to Europe. Ironically, the review appeared in the same issue as a second piece on the (alleged) disaster that is the Netherlands. I’d certainly like to hear a bit more on these themes when the time suits.
Of course character matters when voting for President, otherwise why were we so afraid of the Clinton Crime Family, so upset about private email servers, the Clinton Foundation, and so on? The Clintons are politicians too, right? So what if they tell blatant lies and sell access to their administration to the highest
bidderdonor, isn’t that what all politicians do?We can’t criticize one candidate’s character and then turn around and give the other guy a free pass just because he’s on our team, that’s the very definition of a double standard.
As for the lesser of two evils: I voted 3rd party, I was very happy to see Clinton lose, I agree she is completely unfit for the presidency. If you have 2 evil candidates running, and the less evil one wins, one can still be worried for the future of the Republic based on the fact that the slightly-less-evil candidate is now in office…
Hey, Claire. I can’t tell you what I think about that because we have rules governing civility here and I am not on Twitter. Bet you can guess, though.
Claire says:
The making of Trump goes back a very long way; “Boxers or briefs”, “gee he is too dumb to know what a supper market scanner is” and I am sure even way before those incidents.
With Hillary as the choice I am not sure there was a way to stop the “Trump train”. Now that he is here perhaps “we” need to find a way to make sure he stays on a positive course. So perhaps engagement may be a better course than withdrawal.
Ya know, it’s funny. I hear about PT and his tweeting, how his tend towards the un-presidential (I’m not disagreeing; but I will state I’m not smart enough to know if it’s helping or hurting)
Many people whom I used to take seriously I simply don’t anymore because I read their tweets.. @Claire is an example.
And @claire, I know you don’t like or respect Scott Adams. But he’s a guy who loves his country as much as the next person and is reasonable and edifying in his blog posts, his tweeting and his Periscopes. And he’s smarter than most. I think he sees what many miss.
Let me recommend him to anyone who is feeling like I was 8 months ago; I felt like I was living in an alternate universe. We are all watching the same movie but seeing different things.
I think most of us want what’s best for our country. But the people on the right who think that what’s best for our country is to convince everyone that PT is “bat-***” crazy, kneecap him so he can’t accomplish anything, and/or get him impeached are very, very dangerous.
We need to figure out how to watch and see the same movie. I’ve had some success in my personal life. My Hilarie voting, gay-married couple immigrant friends have been more reasonable and open minded than many of my friends on the right.
Can I ask Claire and others a question that was posed to me by someone:
Obama worked behind a screen of deception and secrecy about his many policies. He used executive orders left and right, bypassing proper channels to push his progressive agenda to the last day. He kept much of Obamacare, TPP, etc. in the dark – details that were not available to everyone until they were passed. He did all of this with a wry smile, with the flag in the background. The press was behind him, Europe thought he walked on water. He whispered into mikes he thought were off to Russian heads of state. Trump is pushing a conservative agenda, but he is out front about it all, actually too much, with Twitter, and communicates directly, over the press, since he feels they are biased towards him. So in what ways are they different, other than style? Each has an agenda that they are pushing forth. Is perception of one style over the other better? Which do you prefer? Is there more danger in one over the other?
I would also ask Claire to maybe start another new post and clarify her concerns. Claire – You mentioned the President of Turkey and compared Trump to him, although Trump is way ahead in his totalitarian views that took Erdogan years to develop, you said. That is a strong statement, but needs to be clarified. Please be specific in your comparisons, other than you are concerned or worried by the election outcome, and Trump’s actions to date. This will clarify a different perspective for many.
Man Clair you live under the EU Rulership and its a bigger dictatorship than even the worst Trump can due. Lee Pen is way worse than Trump any day and a actual racist and your current country might actually elect her. Get your heads out of the weeds and get some prospective you have to much of a Good old days mentality and you should know better because you actually know history.
Europa has it so much worse than we have in the U.S. so I don’t know why you are so depressed about your home country when the place you live is in way worse shape.
I’d love to read that as well.
Many have argued that, regardless of whatever totalitarian impulses Trump might harbor, our long-established system of checks-and-balances will restrain him. So far, we have one test case to go on: Trump’s travel ban was blocked by the courts.
So how did he respond? After some angry Twitter venting about “so-called judges,” he today signed a revised order that the WaPo describes as “a dramatic departure from Trump’s original ban.” I haven’t had time to review the details yet, but so far it seems like the system is working as intended, and Trump is playing by the rules.
A budding totalitarian would have heeded the advice of his more hotheaded supporters, invoked Andrew Jackson’s “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it,” and pushed ahead with the original order. If the Republic can survive the Jackson administration, I’m fairly confident it can weather the Trump era as well, at least based on his behavior so far.
This is truth. By the virtue of being a federation of states alone we have a much stronger immune system to Totalitarian government. Authoritarian is arguable though — but I’m a weirdo who needs no more evidence that the office of the Presidency is just bad for Representative Democracy. On the Jackson parallel — it is significant. Particularly the upbraiding of political elites (which I do admit I enjoy) and the Wheel of Cheese taking form in PDT’s twitter account.
Really, I want him to do well because I love my Country and I want us to do well. My criticisms always come from that place. I think my reactionary blowback was due to being mollified by Flynn’s replacement and his SOTU. He could have easily ridden that success to positive approval ratings. But this ongoing tempest is just nauseating. And I know the Rust Belt states, the reason for his victory didn’t pit him in office becAuse they liked him more than Romney rather than they hated Clinton and NAFTA. Keep in mind these places voted by a 20k margin to elect Obama over Romney. And elected Trump by a lesser margin over Hillary.
Im upset because what he’s doing makes absolutely no damn sense to me.
And you find that different from the words, actions, and nature of other prominent political figures?
Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, to name 4 that pop to mind: show me where they’ve behaved in such a fashion.
“Now who’s being naive?”
George W. Bush was disappointing on a lot of fronts but I don’t believe he was frequently accused of sexual assault. I don’t think it’s entirely off base to say that Trump is outside the norm on that front, or else Clinton and JFK wouldn’t stand out quite so much as they do.
This is only partially true, in my opinion, and in my case. I am one who finds him to be a low character for reasons too numerous and too familiar to bear repeating.
But there is also policy. Some of his policies I like a lot. But I differ on trade. I differ on entitlements. I differ on paid family leave. I differ on his strong-arming of companies to stay in the country. That said, I differed with Hillary on almost every policy issue, so it was never about voting for her.
There is also ability, which is different from character. I worry about his knowledge base and whether he understands issues in more than a superficial way.
So, there are concerns that many have that are not so easily pigeonholed as “I’m embarrassed to be associated with such a low character.”
Very well said.
Absolutely. I’m glad you saw that review! I didn’t coin the term Putinversteher, it’s a well-known phenomenon in Germany.
The review, when I submitted it, was more than 5,000 words long — I found the book very thought-provoking. Of course, they had to pare it down to 1,800 words to fit it in the magazine. But I originally made the points you read using many more examples, and I substantiated many of those arguments more thoroughly. I’ve asked NR if they’d object to my publishing the original version here. (They own 1,800 words of it, so it would require their permission.) If they do, I will; and if that’s not okay with them, I’ll rewrite it without the parts that were published and post it here. It will make for a good discussion.
For those interested to how I felt about the 2012 election, you can read it here. I actually made concrete predictions.
https://m.facebook.com/andrzej.kozlowski1/posts/10151186385753673
In fact, I also made some tentative ones about last one (probably not what you expect):
This might also interest some:
https://www.mimuw.edu.pl/~akoz/History/TrumpWarCrimes.pdf
Although I am a professor of mathematics I write a lot on history, especially if Japan, where I lived 25 years. Most of my writings can be found here;
https://www.mimuw.edu.pl/~akoz/History/index.html
@andrzejkozlowski, being this far into comments, going off topic is expected, so: I really like the avatar. Any special significance to it?
Yes! Nobody wants Claire to feel bad and we all wish her the best. [Redacted]
Why she’s not filling us in on European news is just baffling to me, there’s a lot going on over there, yet she write one diatribe after another against Trump…?
No no, not group think, at least I don’t see it that way. We want debate, ideas, and even arguments among friends here on conservative and center-right policies. But let’s cut to the meat of the matter, she voted for Hillary Clinton, she announced that she did so. I don’t see how you walk back from that and continue on as a writer for a conservative site.
To all the “nevers” who gave in and voted for DT, I raise my wine cooler to you and toast the old saw: “Thank you for your support.” If you find yourself regretting that decision, do what I do. Keep a picture of Hillary in your wallet. Take it out and look at it. If that doesn’t work immediately, find the nearest bar and order another Bartles and James. If that doesn’t work, try Vodka straight up. It worked for the Russians.
You obviously can be a “writer for a conservative site” whatever your beliefs (if they want your articles), but it raises the question “are you a conservative”?
I cannot make the case that voting for Hillary was better for the conservative cause than voting for Trump, but maybe Claire can. Voting for Hillary could be mischievous, erroneous, or wrong — I do not see “right” or “correct” as an option for someone who wants government to trend more conservative rather than less. The best case I can make out is that some saw Hillary as less effectively authoritarian than Trump, that divided government would trend more conservative than unified government under Trump.
If so, I would characterize such a vote as “mischievous” — intended to be strategic overall without regard to the particular suitability of a candidate for a specific office. Events since the election have put the lie to that strategy.
Republicans are capable of divided government without aid of an opposition. They would have been as weak and puerile with Hillary as President — and the Supreme Court would gallop, not drift, left.
If Claire can see that now, then hurrah! If not, well…what’s happening in Europe?
I’m sure others here did too and for Bernie Sanders. We need diversity of thought – something that is getting lost in the halls of learning – and we know where that leads….
Would that boost the Russian economy?
You keep a picture of HRC in your wallet? Brave man. I prefer to keep mine on my gun range targets. I call it motivation. Well, my accuracy has improved anyway.