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conservatism

  • SOURCE: The Atlantic
    10/25/2020

    Amy Coney Barrett’s Judicial Philosophy Doesn’t Hold Up to Scrutiny

    by Angus King and Heather Cox Richardson

    "To put it bluntly, the whole premise of originalism is nonsense in that it pretends to make the work of the Supreme Court look straightforward and mechanical, like 'calling balls and strikes,' in Justice John Roberts’s famous phase."

  • SOURCE: Made by History at The Washington Post
    10/26/2020

    Amy Coney Barrett’s Philosophy Has Far Worse Roots Than Most Americans Know

    by Simon Gilhooley

    At the core of originalism is a fundamentally conservative effort to limit the possibilities of our constitutional order to the imagination of historical figures from the 18th century, which included racial hierarchy and support for chattel slavery.

  • 10/25/2020

    Where Ross Douthat Goes Wrong

    by Jim Sleeper

    Jim Sleeper argues that Times columnist Ross Douthat's brand of conservatism fixates on a supposed liberal cultural domination while ignoring the right's long path to consolidating power through the law, institutions and the threat of physical force. 

  • SOURCE: New York Review of Books
    10/15/2020

    The Right's War on Universities

    by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

    "From the fascist years in Europe, nearly a century ago, to our own times, right-wing leaders have accused universities of being incubators of left-wing ideologies and sought to mold them in the image of their own propaganda, policy, and policing aims."

  • SOURCE: Vanity Fair
    10/14/2020

    How QAnon Crept Into the Mind of Donald Trump

    by Jeff Sharlet

    Jeff Sharlet has long examined the role of true believers in politics. As the influence of the QAnon conspiracy theory among Trump's base comes in for scrutiny, he asks what if "he isn’t selling a dream, he’s dreaming it?"

  • SOURCE: Los Angeles Review of Books
    10/9/2020

    “Wright-Gate” and Newt’s Ruthless Playbook (Review)

    Although he had dogs ranging from a Doberman pinscher to a cocker spaniel, young Newt Gingrich took particular delight in feeding hard-boiled eggs to his extensive collection of snakes. Julian Zelizer's new book on the Republican Revolution examines his appetite for conflict and political treachery.

  • SOURCE: The New Republic
    9/29/2020

    The Elite Sisterhood of Amy Coney Barrett

    Although abortion rights are receiving much of the focus from Amy Coney Barrett's critics, writer Melissa Gira Grant argues that her participation in a decades-long conservative effort to undermine the social safety net will have broad consequences on every dimension of the lives of women who lack Barrett's privilege. 

  • SOURCE: Boston Review
    9/30/2020

    Trump’s America Remains Stuck in the Shadow of Reagan (Review)

    A reviewer of Rick Perlstein's "Reaganland" stresses that Donald Trump today presides over a corporate oligarchy that Reaganism helped build by drawing new, politically active corporate lobbyists into coalition with social conservatives.

  • SOURCE: Texas Monthly
    9/20/2020

    Are We Ready to Rehabilitate George W. Bush’s Reputation?

    by Andrew R. Graybill

    The presidency of Donald Trump has allowed supporters of George W. Bush to push for a reevaluation of a man who left office with historically high unfavorability ratings. A SMU professor digs into recent books by way of evaluating whether Dubya will get a raw deal from history.

  • SOURCE: The Atlantic
    9/10/2020

    This Republican Party Is Not Worth Saving

    by Tom Nichols

    "The hardening of the GOP into a toxic conglomeration of hucksters, quislings, racists, theocrats, and cultists is already happening. The party gladly accepted support from white supremacists and the Russian secret services, and now welcomes QAnon kooks into its caucus. Conservatives must learn that the only way out of “the wilderness” is first to vanquish those who led them there."

  • SOURCE: Vox
    8/27/2020

    Those who Like Government Least Govern Worst

    Both George W. Bush and Donald Trump represent a Republican Party soaked in contempt for, and mistrust of, the federal government. When you don’t respect, or even like, the institution you lead, you lead it poorly. When that institution is incredibly, globally important — as the US government is — leading it poorly can invite global catastrophe.

  • SOURCE: The Guardian
    8/23/2020

    How Donald Trump Cancelled the Republican Party

    by Sidney Blumenthal

    From Reagan onward, even as the fringe moved to the center and took it over, the party did not anticipate that it was slouching toward Trump. Conservatives have consistently failed to grasp the unintended consequences of conservatism.