Assessing the Obama Legacy—Against His Own Mileposts
by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review The president’s stated priorities have not turned out well. In his 2016 State of the Union address, President Obama summarized his achievements. That same night, the White House issued a press release touting Obama’s accomplishments. Now that he will be leaving, how well did these initiatives listed in […]
Trump’s Russia “Reset”?
by Victor Davis Hanson// Defining Ideas Throughout the 2016 election, the American Left venomously attacked Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. He was rightly accused of diminishing freedom both inside Russia and within neighboring nations, of gobbling up Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, and of eyeing the NATO member Baltic states for his next intervention. But Putin’s […]
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From an Angry Reader: I love the Angry Reader section of your website, particularly your responses. I want to be an Angry Reader and see what you have to say about my valid, thoughtful points so here goes. How can anyone support Donald Trump (I call him DT because he gives me the dt’s, heh, […]
The Twin Pillars of Progressive Prejudice
By Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Universities and the media: arrogant, ignorant, and ripe for reform In media land, Donald Trump is a reckless tweeter; Barack Obama’s outreach to GloZell and rapper Kendrick Lamar is just kicking back and having fun (Lamar’s latest album portrayed the corpse of a judge to the toasting merriment of […]
‘Clever Fox’ Mattis
By Victor Davis Hanson// National Review The Mattis appointment as defense secretary could prove to be Trump’s most inspired, even given the nightmarish mess brewing abroad. But the media blitz has overdone the idea that Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis is somehow a frenzied, “let me at ’em” gung-ho warrior. He may be certainly all that […]
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From an Angry Reader: Clinton lost because of Republican voter suppression, Comey and Russian hacking. Trump is the establishment. He Pence and his appointments will cripple America for years. You should remove your head from Trumps ass. People like you are the problem. Victor Davis Hanson’s Reply: Dear Repeat Angry Reader Raye Harper, You cite […]
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From an Angry Reader: Hello Mr Hanson. I read your articles on Townhall.com and have a question on something you wrote in Enemies Of Language. In your article you refer to Nazi Germany as having been “right wing.” This is a question that I have been wanting to pose so many times when reading articles […]
Beware the Law of Unintended Consequences
by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Moderation and humility help politicians avoid results contrary to what they earnestly want. The mix of politics and culture is far too complex to be predictable. Even the best-laid political plans can lead to unintended consequences, both good and bad — what we sometimes call irony, nemesis, or […]
A Party of Teeth-Gnashers
By Victor Davis Hanson//National Review The broken record of racism/sexism/homophobia plays on and on and on. After the Democratic equality-of-opportunity agenda was largely realized (Social Security, Medicare, overtime, a 40-hour work week, disability insurance, civil rights, etc.), the next-generation equality-of-result effort has largely failed. What is left of Democratic ideology is identity politics and assorted […]
Enemies of Language
by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review What would happen if conservatives started to change the words we use for political ends? Throughout history, revolutionaries of all stripes have warped the meaning of words to subvert reality. And now here we go again, with another effort — spearheaded by the media and universities — to use […]
The Progressive Disintegration
The self-destruction of so many failed progressive gods. By Bruce Thornton // Front Page A month ago, progressives were having a conniption fit over Trump’s refusal to accept the outcome of the election. So of course, now that Trump has won, they are rioting, vandalizing, staging “cry-ins,” ditching class, group-hugging, tweeting threats, calling names, seeking […]
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From an Angry Reader: The new kind of Republican party is part 1930’s Nazi and 1950’s Dixiecrat. Raye Harper —————————— Victor Davis Hanson’s Reply: Dear Angry Reader Raye Harper, Since you assert rather than argue or explain, it is hard to fathom what you are getting at. But in the spirit of the Angry Reader, […]
Who Are Wise, Who Not?
by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Insight often comes not from an Ivy League degree but by way of animal cunning, instinct, and hard work. “Cleverness is not wisdom.” — Euripides, the Bacchae At the height of the sophistic age in classical Athens, the playwright Euripides asked an eternal question in his masterpiece, the Bacchae: […]
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From an Angry Reader: She WON the popular vote!!!!! Victor Davis Hanson’s Reply: Dear Angry Reader Suzanne Williams, I got your point without the capital letters and the five exclamation marks. As a general rule the resort to exclamation is a reflection of an absence of argument. Let words speak for themselves—and in your case […]
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From an Angry Reader: To Victor Hanson: f**k all y’all motherf**king f**kers unlubed with a f**king broom handle, you elitist motherf**king uniparty pieces of sh*t. Victor Davis Hanson’s Reply: Dear Angry Anonymous Foul Reader who mailed from 4m6sm1+2ewjjnl72o2x0@guerrillamail.com, Even though in cowardly fashion you did not print your name, you did offer a more unique form […]
Trump’s Bizarre Winning Formula
by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Reformulating the Republican message, Donald Trump was able to exploit political mistakes that the Democrats have made. The Democratic party handed Donald Trump a rare opportunity to make radical changes to the electoral map that could last for years to come. First, the Democrats gave Trump a […]
The Appointment Game
The Corner The one and only by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Everyone is playing the “what if” recommendation game. For what little they would be worth in an ideal world, here would be four of my slightly unorthodox recommendations: First, Larry Arnn, Hillsdale College president, for secretary of education. No one, for obvious reasons, […]
The “Deplorables” Get Their Say
By Craig Bernthal Most of the pundits I’ve been reading on the Democratic side who have decided to explain this election chalk up the Trump victory to an America which turned out to be far more racist and misogynistic than they’d ever believed. Among the most hysterical and bitter was Garrison Keillor in the […]
Carpe Diem, Mr. Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Forgive, but do not forget, and be the strong horse. While we speak, a jealous age will have fled. Seize the day! Trust as little as you can in tomorrow. The Latin poet Horace’s advice of carpe diem— to seize the day and not worry about tomorrow — […]
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Comment from an Angry Reader: I’m sure it was fun exercising your giant brain, but my surprise and I imagine most “liberals” was that enough Americans were willing to vote for what appears to be a sociopath. He disqualified himself for me when he openly espoused physical violence against those who disagree with you. Basically […]