So…. New Hampshire. The final numbers aren’t in. The commentary has only just begun. It wasn't awful for Nikki Haley. But it wasn’t great either. We can agree she needs to win South Carolina, her home state. Perhaps we can also agree that a path forward for Haley is not to appeal to the reason of Trump loyalists, but to appeal to the 60+ percent who don’t want Trump or Biden. They can either have some third party rando, or they can vote for Haley now. Perhaps there’s a coalition of disgusted Dems, Republicans, and independents who will see the appeal of that case. We’ll cover it all on the pod with our friend Josh Kraushaar, coming tomorrow.
One of my favorite daily reads is Jim Geraghty over at National Review. And Tuesday, he was especially favored because he previewed what the next 9+ months are going to look like before the elections. In short, “DEMOCRACY IS AT STAKE.” He followed with an epic rant about the all the Biden problems we are meant to ignore because, ahem, DEMOCRACY IS AT STAKE. He writes:
Democracy is at stake, which is why we must ignore the allegations about a romantic relationship between Fulton County DA Fani Willis and the chief prosecutor in the election-interference case.
Democracy is at stake, which is why we must pretend that Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas was correct when he asserted, “The border is closed. The border is secure.”
Democracy is at stake, which is why we must ignore the fact that the Biden administration has released 1 million people into the country under immigration-parole authority, and that 2.4 million migrants have been allowed into the country to stay for future asylum hearings.
Democracy is at stake, which is why we must pretend not to notice that the Consumer Price Index, the widely cited metric for inflation faced by American families, is up a cumulative 17.1 percent between when Biden took office and November 2023.
Remember, DEMOCRACY IS AT STAKE, and that’s why the Democratic Party backed Trumpy candidates with its own money in the midterms, and is now desperately praying he will be the 2024 GOP candidate. Because he’s the only one Biden can beat.
This is everything that is wrong with America’s dystopian political landscape. Cancel culture is wrong unless I am canceling you. Government spending is wrong unless you’re spending it on me. Racism and bigotry are wrong unless you’re white or Jewish, or white and Jewish, in which case, bugger off. Terrorism is wrong if you’re targeting preferred social and cultural groups; totes ok if you’re targeting colonialists or imperialists or somesuch. And of course, subverting democracy is only OK if I’m doing it. You’ve heard this, read it, thought it before.
Another thing. The Trump hysterics (the ones who really do think the end of democracy is nigh) are doing a fine job alienating Trump skeptics and non-hysterics. Sure, there’s a lot to dislike, even abhor, about our former president. It would be better to have Nikki Haley. But the Hitler stuff is just dumb hyperbole. Read this smart piece from the WSJ’s Holman Jenkins for more in this vein.
Back to the hypocrites. We should also call out the foreign policy version of the political Januses. I had a shooting-fish-in-a-barrel piece yesterday about the incredible failures of the United Nations, so we can start there. Where was the UN when the Yemeni government was oppressing the Houthis a decade ago? Where was the UN when Hezbollah serially violated Security Council resolutions barring arms transfers from Iran? Where is the United Nations on the question of the Uyghurs in concentration camps in China? There are thousands of examples.
Then there are the do-gooders who have ranged themselves with Hamas and Iran against the evil Jews in the Israel-Hamas war. Self-professed humanitarians, almost to a one, these buffoons were silent in the face of Syria/Iran/Russia’s murder of half a million Syrians; silent in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; silent in the face of Iran’s assault on its own women; silent on the shameful Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan that left millions prey to Islamist fanatics.
These points have been made before, but they bear endless repeating. Syria, China, Ukraine, Iran… and so many more. Plus: if you didn’t care when Barack Obama violated the Constitution, no one wants to hear your plaints about Trump. If you didn’t care about Bill Clinton and his intern, no one wants to hear your views on women’s rights. If you didn’t care about Barack Obama deporting tens of thousands, no one wants to hear your views on immigration.
Either you care, regardless of party, about our borders, about human freedom, about the constitution, about democracy, about terrorism, and women, and human rights, or you don’t. And for the most part, too many political loudmouths just don’t.