How Anti-Trump Intellectuals Help Trump
by Pete SpiliakosOur public figures—like Mitt Romney—often turn out to be enslaved to the ideas of bloggers and social media mavens. Continue Reading »
The Romney Disease
by Pete SpiliakosWhen they think they can get away with it, our elite Republicans disparage the idea of tax cuts for the middle class. Continue Reading »
Democrats, Republicans, and Homeless Voters
by Pete SpiliakosNeither Democrats nor Republicans understand the voters who switched from supporting Obama to supporting Trump. Continue Reading »
Trump Is No Pro-Lifer
by Robert P. GeorgeWhen candidates for high office are faking it in order to persuade a party's base that, appearances and past record to the contrary notwithstanding, they really, really are “with the program,” they step into dangerous territory. They need to say what the base wants to hear. Indeed, they need to . . . . Continue Reading »
What Kind of Nationalism Do We Want?
by Pete Spiliakos
The recent victory of the right-populist National Front in France and Donald Trumps' continued lead in the polls for the Republican nomination are exposing a hole in Western politics. A significant fraction of our population feels left out of our discussion and feels like its interests are being ignored.
Conservatives and Low-Skilled Workers
by Pete SpiliakosPeople in the Republican establishment have been suggesting that conservatives can either try to appeal to working-class whites by supporting limits to future immigration levels, or they can try to appeal to Hispanics by seeking to increase future immigration levels. The truth is that conservatives have never had to make this choice. In 2012, Republicans chose to alienate both working-class whites and Hispanics. In the future, conservatives should try to appeal to both groups by focusing on the economic priorities of those groups rather than ethnic gamesmanship.In the 2012 campaign, Romney's combination of economic priorities and immigration messaging proved especially toxic. On immigration, Romney advocated no amnesty and hoped that current unauthorized immigrants would self-deport. For Hispanics (and possibly even for Asians—among whom Romney did even worse than among Hispanics), the message was that Romney’s love for business owners was exceeded only by contempt for immigrants (legal and illegal). Continue Reading »
Why I’ll Miss Mitt Romney
by Pete SpiliakosMitt Romney was an unprincipled politician. He was an opportunist and a pragmatist. Still, it’s a pity that Romney won’t be running for president in 2016. A Mitt Romney–Jeb Bush fight might have split the Republican “establishment” and allowed an anti-establishment candidate to win. But Romney could have done more than split one faction of the Republican party. He could have nudged the platform of the Republican party’s establishment faction closer to the beliefs of grassroots conservative voters—and closer to the views of the general public. Continue Reading »
Give The People Some Respect
by Pete SpiliakosMitt Romney is a good guy. He just doesn’t want you to know it. He tithes. He helps the less fortunate. And, Rick Santorum reports, while volunteering at a homeless shelter, Romney acknowledged that the people there “are used to being ignored. Mostly by people like me.” Continue Reading »
Republicans: Listen Before You Talk
by Pete SpiliakosRonald Reagan was a “Great Communicator” largely because he was a great listener. Continue Reading »
Enough Talk About Entrepreneurs
by Pete SpiliakosIn the documentary “Mitt,” Romney talks about a business owner who was complaining about his tax burden. The business owner didn’t just pay income taxes. There were also the payroll taxes and gas taxes. Fair enough, but what about Romney’s infamous 47 percent comment in . . . . Continue Reading »
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