Join Victor Davis Hanson and cohost Jack Fowler to analyze what we learn from this election: the polls and polling, the new rules of voting, the Republican Party split, the Trump factor, and the culpability of the party leadership.
Menu
Seems like you’re putting the blame on Democrats mastering voting manipulation and a civil war within the Republican Party. That sounds right (barring further evidence). The problem is that Trump is a malignant narcissist (anyone who’s worked under one or two can spot it). He’s a lion in the house, and will devour it if he isn’t given his meat. Unfortunately, his meat is constant upheaval fuelling unending loyalty tests to feed his fragile ego. He’s not a tragic hero. He builds up only to have something to be admired for and then smash to intentionally start the cycle all over again. So… At what point does the damage he’s done outweigh the past benefits?
Utter rout of Republicans
For awhile VDH has said some really questionable things but I like many got into VDH around 2019/2020 for his WW2 work. Anyways VDH has been wrong a bit lately and he skips over that:
1. He was pushed the vaccine and called anti vaxxers (many of whom realized they didn’t properly test mRNA vaccines) as crazies.
2. Attempting to normalize homosexuality in the Republican party. (Half the reason we are so on fire for Trump is his willingness to push back hard against all LGBTQ issues until they are back in the mental institutions)
3. His wrong interpretations of westerns (“Shane” is a lousy western. The farmer’s wife all but tries to cheat on her husband with Shane and the farmer acknowledges it. There’s a reason why Eastwood changed that part in Pale Rider). VDH is one of those guys who thinks “High Noon” is good rather than like the rest of us and John Wayne who mostly reject it once we hear about it being whinny a McCarthyism analogy.
4. He is claiming he’s a solid Trump guy but even in his argument for Trump he essentially says he’s just a Sherman or gunfighter like character who needs to leave after the battle is finished.
I tend to feel VDH is a lefty professor who is on our side now because the classics got dropped in most colleges. Frankly I tend to feel he’s atheist, and his arguments for DeSantis expect you to forget why we turned on Bush for not fighting back or that moderates/establishment GOP failed in 08 and 12.
Thank you for having the honesty and integrity to say you got it wrong on the Red Wave. Your willingness to engage is self-analysis and self-criticism makes your voice all the more powerful and relevant.
Trump 2024 Begins…
I hear season 2 will have better special effects since the first season pretty much spent their whole wad on January 6th. Kind of a predictable ending -big Lotr type siege- but first season is always about setting up the characters and needs some kind of epic finale. Maybe this season, the red-wedding, I mean Red Wave, will finally show up.
Trump is great, tenacious, a living legend. Another guy is Elon Musk. No one ever demostrated what it really takes to be truly successful like these guys. America’s future remains bright!! I love the U.S.A.
Turnout this year in Washington State is about 71% of that seen in 2020. This year’s Senate race has Smiley with 70% of the Republican vote in 2020. Her opponent, incumbent Murray, gathered 72% of the votes cast for Democrat Governor Inslee in 2020. The reality of politics in Washington State is that Smiley’s only chance to win was to mobilize every voter for Culp, and 70% is far short of the target. These values will change as ballots are “cured” and thousands more are discovered in a closet in some obscure building, but the problem is clear. The Republicans did not offer solutions based on a nationwide theme that would enroll the disaffected. Instead, all we saw was a battle of egos by the “leaders” of the party.
Ron DeSantis seems too provincial, lacking international streetwise perspective for foreign relations
IMHO the “Red Wave” was never going to happen; too many followers following the followers–a concept The Left loves. Thanks for reading.