National Review Does The Unthinkable-- It Hires a Non-Never-Trumper, David Harsanyi, From the Federalist

Mollie Hemingway wishes her former colleague and frequent podcast partner godspeed.

David has written more than 800 articles for The Federalist, and what’s amazing is how good they all are. Another colleague says David has the best on-base percentage of any writer he knows. His writing is always a model of clarity and logic, but at the same time he always finds a way to say something that is not obvious and not said by anyone else.

...

He was an early skeptic of claims that Democrats had an issue advantage or that it was the destiny of the United States to adopt progressive policies.

A consistent classical liberal, he was able to be critical of the excesses of libertarianism and the failure of some conservatives to embrace liberty. His pieces in praise of libertarian judgmentalism, encouraging social conservatives to embrace libertarianism, skeptical of the libertarian moment, discouraging libertarians' desire to be liked by liberals, discouraging libertarians' dislike of conservatives, critiquing media failures to understand libertarianism, and so many others on the general topic hold up well.

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It's popular now to criticize the progressive and emotional Jennifer Rubin, but David was onto her failures early. He rejected the foreign policy establishment's shutting down of criticism by claiming opposition to unnecessary or poorly strategized invasions meant one was an isolationist...

This is a bit off-topic, but it's occurred to me recently that there have been two big outbreaks of calling people "anti-American" and "traitors" in the past decade and a half:

A lot of this was done -- and I was part of the group, to my shame, suggesting such things -- in trying to stamp down any opposition to the poorly conceived Iraq War. This was done, of course, almost exclusively by Republicans, including, especially, the neocons.

Including to other strong Republicans who were not so keen on wars of dubious conception. As I've been hearing from my more anti-war Republican friends a lot these past couple of years.

Now anyone opposing the establishment liberal world order, or questioning its assumptions or challenging that it produces only winners and no losers (or no losers who are worth troubling oneself over, as they're all Deplorables), is called a "RUSSIAN ASSET" and a traitor.

Democrats do this.

And again, they are joined... by NeverTrump soft social liberals/fakey-fake libertarians.

So it occurs to me that while some people venomously and stupidly attacked their enemies as sympathetic to foreign enemies from 2002 to around 2008, and while some people have done the same thing from 2016 through current moment, there is one group of people who have always done this: The (unrepentent, unreconstructed) Neocons.

Especially David Frum. And Jennifer Rubin. And Max Boot.

People who just happen to be very liberal-leaning in all ways, but with a very warlike bent.

Their first, best, and last argument in every single dispute is "YOU'RE A TRAITOR TO DISPUTE ME."

Is there anyone who disagrees with David Frum on anything who's not a traitor who owes his allegiance to a hostile foreign power?

Asking for a friend.

A friend who actually served in combat units of the Armed Forces, I mean.

Perhaps these liberals think that calling any one who disagrees with their failed vision a "RUSSIAN ASSET" makes them... sound like what they imagine Real Conservatives should sound like?

I don't know. You tell me.

Then these same people turn around and start shrieking about other people's easy resort to denigration and incivility.

The same people whose only argument for 15 years has been, "You're a traitor!!!"

Adults in the room, guys. Serious people.

Adults.

In.

The.

Room.

Take a bow, guys.

By the way, David Frum -- world champion and calling people "unamerican" -- is not an American. Well, he is, but only since late 2007, when he, it is alleged, swore allegiance to America and became a citizen.

He was a Canadian all of his life until he realized he could do more damage to the world as an American.

I really have no idea why we tolerate this person.

Unrelated, but filled with Political GAINNNZZZZ:

posted by Ace of Spades at 02:16 PM

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