Aimless Populism, Blind Nationalism
At this point, some conservatives need a clearer vision of what they're trying to conserve.
I hope you all had a great holiday season. I am finally back home and in a semi-normal routine again. Prior to New Year’s Eve, I spent just one night of the previous eight in my own bed (not an ad, but I can’t sleep in anything other than my SleepNumber bed at this point - everything else feels wrong).
I managed to take my own advice (for the most part) and avoided the political side of Twitter/X long enough to actually enjoy a break for a change. When I went back to check on Twitter at various points, I’d found I missed some… interesting stories. I’ll get to those shortly, but before I do, I wanted to say something about the new year.
Happy New Year
As 2023 wraps up and 2024 begins, I have to start by thanking a lot of you. Slowly, the number of subscribers to this Substack has grown, and while I don’t have the super numbers of the bigger publishers here, I am grateful for each and every one of you. A handful of you have even pledged money should I ever start charging for content, and I appreciate your support.
As of January 10, I’ll have been on the radio for two years. My on-air home, NewsTalk 96.5 KPEL, has been an absolute blessing, and I know several of you found your way here from listening to me on the air. More of you are folks I’ve known for years - some from my childhood, even - and many of you have stumbled across this Substack through the site’s network.
Without y’all making the effort to sign up, and without the stats showing me y’all are reading, this might have been another project I’d have given up on. But it means a lot that you’re all still here. So, I want to thank you and if I could properly do so in person, I would.
Tucker Carlson vs. Ben Shapiro
For reasons I’m not totally clear on, Tucker Carlson decided over the holiday period to go after Ben Shapiro. Both men are conservative commentators, each with their own following. I’ve agreed with some things both men have said, though I tend to listen to Shapiro quite a bit more.
I find Carlson’s latest venture - a series of Twitter/X shows where he interviews people in a very “Just Asking Questions” format. These people he platforms are people who are, in some cases, not conservative at all (people like Kevin Spacey and Andrew Tate). I know why he does so: These are people that the left and others want to see de-platformed, and having been de-platformed himself, Carlson wants to poke the “censors” in the eye.
Carlson is a populist. Populism seeks to replace the way things are with the way things should be according to a large, loud group of people. It aims to take power from the powerful and give it back to the citizens, but historically populism has gone after strawmen that didn’t really create the problems people are complaining about.
I understand where he is coming from when it comes to foreign entanglements. The American foreign policy establishment has lied and manipulated information to justify conflicts across the globe that drain American resources and really do nothing to fix anything or truly defend any American interests. But that distrust of foreign entanglements in general has led Carlson to stake out some odd positions of late, and Israel is one of them.
Carlson accused Shapiro of “not caring” about the United States, a bizarre and frankly outrageous claim. Shapiro is one of the best defenders of conservatism and American interests, and he does so from an intellectual perspective we don’t have many of those left on the conservative side. To say he doesn’t care about America is a baseless claim meant to undermine him without refuting him - something Carlson obviously can’t do.
Aimless Populism
This is a problem that the populists have. They embrace these positions without being able to defend them completely, leading to bizarre attacks and lame defenses. Populism for the sake of populism won’t achieve goals. It is a lot easier to tear down a system than it is to build a new one, but the populist movements of the moment only seem interested in tearing stuff down. They have no plan for what comes next.
This is aimless populism that is destructive for the sake of being destructive. It is reminiscent of the Antifa crowds burning down American cities in 2020 - and some of you may not like the comparison, but that’s where it’s headed. Maybe not literally burning down the system, but with the same goals. The modern populist movements are based on tearing down, burning down, destroying, etc. the current system, but what is the goal when it’s done?
“We put in our people”? Great. You need decades to build a “new” system and you don’t have decades in office. You have, at best, eight years. You may luck out as Republicans did and get a third term with a direct successor, but George H.W. Bush proved successors aren’t continuations. They are brand new people with new ideas of their own.
That’s not to say that change is impossible. Some things are quite achievable. The overturning of Roe v. Wade didn’t just happen in four years. It took decades of work by activists in the judicial sphere to make it happen, with groups getting the right politicians in the right places. You can thank Trump, but you’d also need to thank Mitch McConnell, the folks who recruited and trained the right activists, the judges, the Federalist Society, and so many others.
Blind Nationalism
Conservative nationalism is facing a similar problem. It’s fine enough to say “We’re not getting involved in foreign wars,” and that’s not necessarily a wrong position. But it’s incredibly simplistic and fails to note that nationalism is based on national interests. Sure, in a vacuum it is not in our national interest to get involved in a war between Russia and Ukraine. But we don’t exist in a vacuum. In reality, Russia is a geopolitical foe that has actively worked against American interests time and time again. Ukraine is a gateway to our allies in Europe. Not standing up for Ukraine puts our interests at risk and creates more headaches for the United States.
Likewise, in a vacuum Israel vs. Gaza is a very regional conflict. Outside of that bubble, however, is Iran, which is actively trying to destroy an American ally in Israel and also wants to see America destroyed. If it succeeds and extends its influence in the Middle East, it deeply impacts a lot of American interests in terms of global stability, energy, and peace.
Nationalism should be focused on the best interests of the nation. That doesn’t preclude foreign entanglements, but it does require meaningful ones. Burnout from Iraq and Afghanistan doesn’t justify ignoring actual American interests going forward.