Talarico appears to be a well spoken brilliant young man, who is not afraid to call out corruption. His religion is an interesting aspect to him, that I hope doesnt get in the way of good governance. I agree he's a breath of fresh air, and a strong contrast to the right wing evangelicals that consume a lot of the oxygen in the US and Canada.
Jen, nice job with this piece. But to my way of thinking, it's far too myopic. Regardless who wins this race, the deep-rooted problems in both parties need to be addressed. Problem is the public don't understand what's happening because they're not informed, and in many cases misinformed. The MSM no longer have independent investigative journalists, and most lean too far left - they're now fully partisan and Democrat attack dogs. Many news readers and writers, are outright chronic liars, although I am seeing recent signs of hope (WaPo is struggling to improve, CBS with Bari Weiss is improving, CNN is improving but has a long way to go, but MSNOW and others are still a waste of space.) The federal judiciary have been on a mission to shut down every action the president attempts, knowing fully well they're well out of their lane. House Representatives and Senators on both sides, past & present, have been dirty for decades, hiding many examples of corruption and resistance and every attempt to weed it out (e.g. investing in stocks with insider information).
Democrats have lost their way. Open borders, crime, fentanyl, trans insanity, USAID money used to covertly push leftist ideology around the world, DEI racist attacks against caucasians and Christians, corruption of the education system, parents charged by FBI for trying to protect their kids, Biden's White House hijacking Twitter and sending the DOJ & FBI to Trump's home, Harris whining against free speech and her idiotic singing about a yellow bus. Neither party has a functioning moral compass. Liars all of them. And why does no one recap Obama's history? He was certainly not the saviour most people believe, and some of us recognize that the decline of the west, started when he entered the presidency. And what the hell happened to the Democrats, with the unbelievable story of Joe Biden, who was possibly the stupidest, most corrupt and obnoxious president in US history? And what idiot decided that Kamala was a better choice? In my view both Obama and Biden should be imprisoned for their lies and attacks on Trump, and on America. And why do the Democrats have a full clown-car of representatives in the House, and the Senate? And what about Somalis and theft of taxpayer money in Minnesota and other states? Who dumped that ~80k pile of migrants into the country? Which other states does this problem exist in? The list is endless if one digs deep enough...
If the Democrats elected Jesus Christ himself, he would be silenced by his own party. The party as it is right now, is extremely dangerous, and in my view, unfit for office.
President Trump is an imperfect human, but recognized many problems nobody else has noticed, and has been fearless in his pursuit of undoing some of the damage done by both parties over many decades. If he hadn't come along for his 2 terms, the US would be closer to Marxist-Socialist regime, and the world would be lost to China.
If your purpose in writing these articles is to inform and enlighten your readers in order to help them develop an informed world-view, please consider the following...
Would you be willing to try a higher-level overview of both parties, including their key players and history in office over the past 20 years? There are scandals and clusterf**ks galore. And many were only exposed recently. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans are free of incompetence or corruption.
Please take my comments in the positive manner I intend.
Judging by the the amount of sentences, you dedicated to writing about the failures of the Democrats and then summing up Trump with 'imperfect'... It seems to me, whether you realize it or not, your words end up being partisan cheerleading. So so 2016! Jen isn't trying to solve all of America's woes, she's just pointing out that electing Talarico probably a small step in the right direction.
Although both parties deserve to be held to account for appalling failures, there is no equivalency between the narcissistic, failed businessman, and thief, leading the republican party, and any leader of the democratic party in my lifetime, and the comment above is partisan.
(I'm sorry to have met the orange mcdonald's garbage can decades ago when he was close to circling the debt restructuring bowl, utterly self-inflicted. My background in finance informed me of his consistent string of failures. We should still try to find out why, when not a single bank in N America would take his call, 1 in the EU did. His book on the topic of negotiating is manifestly useless to anyone.)
And, my 4 year old nephew spews the odd truth in between tantrums and throwing food. Is this the bar for leadership? Certainly opens the field lol.
We've always been vulnerable to small selfish people in power. The advantage to democracy, so far, has been a broadly understood process to send them packing. If the garbage can in the white house isn't allowed to become king by cowards who trade money for values in the legislative branches, there'll be a reset.
Maybe we should test candidates by saying no to them to see how they react. If the reaction suggests undiagnosed/untreated mental problems...
If my unambiguous question was confusing and you considered Biden fit for office during his 4 years despite all the evidence to the contrary, then you might want to take some time to do some research on your own...
Biden took the USA down the highway to hell for his entire term. Once it became impossible for ANYONE to hide the blatantly obvious, Kamala came close to finishing the destruction.
100 upvotes for this comment. Very accurate. A lot of it pertains to Canada. And what idiots decided that Justin Trudeau, Mark Carney were the better choice ??? Both were inserted into their start place in the politics by backroom cabals, not by voters. Voters were deceived and bamboozled.
Yes they were installed, by lies, omissions, and hidden agendas. They deceived and bamboozled Canadians and continue today, mostly by CBC swooning, and by Liberals blocking open media access to Carney. Trudeau's and Carney's buying off the CBC and their ongoing attacks on free speech and access to truth, is far more threatening to Canada's democracy. Trudeau was/is an unstable overly emotional and conflicted individual, always acting to much in response to his alleged "feelings". He socially and fiscally destroyed Canada. Deliberately. I surely hope Canadians who voted for him over the years, will one day learn from their mistakes. They are directly responsible for Canada's decline and international embarrassment, on many fronts.
Carney is clearly more intelligent and a good communicator. But there is much deception in his words. His "values" are his own. His agenda is clear to those who pay attention to details and remember... Canada is NOT a "post-national state", at least not yet. Canadians need to change their information sources and get out of the MSM for awhile.
Spot on, like in your other comments. I will just add that like for Trudeau, for Carney I have a basketful of very harsh expressions and expletives. I paid occasional attention to his doings over the decades and typed words against him ever since he was installed by the cabal as a candidate. Canada is to him just a jurisdiction to be drained into his own pockets, yes that is clearly visible already.
Trump is 'imperfect', but oh those darn Democrats are the root of all the USA's failings? How can you possibly think that way? Of course all parties and politicians come up short, and are 'imperfect'. Trump is on a completely different level of incompetence, corruption, evil, criminality, cover up, likely pedophilia. If you want to pretend its all balanced and both sides feel free, but dont call out Jen or anyone else from that evil MSMedia who identifies the depravity that is Trump and the current republican party.
I like Jen Gerson and have always followed her opinions, even when she worked for the MSM. But she is not the MSM, and thank God we have her at THE LINE. I've been a subscriber since she and Matt started it. My commentary to her article is not a criticism.
I posted what I did, because in my view the article was too narrowly focused. Most people have no idea what's going on in the world around them, and they should.
As another example, Carney also appears to be unaware of what's going on in the world around him, or maybe he can't decide and hold a position on principle, or "values". Three recent examples; a) "Muslim values are Canadians values." (they certainly are not, although his statement is revealing); b) He said "China is the biggest threat to Canada", and a year later he climbing into bed with the CCP; c) he supported the recent US/Israel attack on Iran, and a day later, recanted. I sense that Carney doesn't have real "values", rather his values change with the political winds and his own financial interests. I dread the day he lands a majority.
Jen's piece, although well-researched and written, doesn't help inform ones' world-view. And I firmly believe the one-sided reporting and opining from the MSM deliberately fail to present a "big picture" perspective for the reader/viewer's benefit.
To construct such a weak conspiracy theory that the global “mainstream media” is somehow favoring one party or world view and ignoring all the benefits of the other is frankly just laughable. You think the thousands of streams of media and journalists have some unfounded bias against one party? Why on earth would that be? How would that be good for business? Good for advertisers? Maybe, just maybe you’ve bet on the wrong horse and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for you to hear how the majority of people feel about things. Maybe you’ve given your loyalty to a convicted felon career criminal, likely a pedophile. Maybe that’s the problem. It’s not the medias fault but please feel free to cry and yell at the clouds for how unfair the global media is to your hero.
Hhmmm... seems like you need a new hobby "sji". I have more productive things to do than respond to your posts. Ask your doctor about Valium, and meds for obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Enjoy your weekend while researching and educating yourself. Bringing intelligent discussion into this or any forum, is a better use of all of our time.
Well that's an interesting response, and inconsistent with what I posted. To be clear, both parties are flawed, and to varying degrees, corrupt. Minnesota & Minneapolis reveal a prime example of serious "sanctuary city/state" corruption. Show me any evidence of Trump corruption. And your assertion that "Trump is on a completely different level... incompetence, corruption, evil, criminality, cover-up, likely paedophilia..." - now that's actually a perfect description of Joe Biden, except you left out his law-fare against Trump, how he weaponized the DOJ, his attempt to thwart First Amendment free speech and replace it with White House Biden Administration-approved propaganda (recall FBI infestation in Twitter and Zuckerberg's exposing the bullying and forced censorship by Biden), his opening the borders while lying about it, deliberately infesting the US with many illegal and dangerous migrants (Democrat votes), blowing up US finances by paying these migrants and placing them strategically to affect future elections, the and many of those claims apply to Harris as well. Worst of all, Democrats' illegal pursuit of "sanctuary" for illegals, including seriously criminal aliens. The list is endless. And regarding alleged paedophelia, you should choose your words carefully - ABC News and George Stephanopolis were successfully sued by President Trump, and the BBC is now being sued, in both cases, for similar defamation.
Wow you’re deep down the rabbit hole of lies while working hard to avoid the completely obvious. I guess if you like people starting their own crypto to accept bribes, a 747 jet for himself, enriching him and his loser family of between 1.5-3 billion since being in office a year. The largest coverup of sex and human trafficking for what was clearly a very close relationship between him and Epstein where he very likely committed pedophilia and possibly infantacide. Nevermind dozens of illegal “emergency acts” since in power. But you believe the democrats are the bad ones, feel free. I’ll chose to live in the real world
Ahh the classic “baseless” accusations. The whole world is just fake news when it calls out the most corrupt president in history. Facts aren’t facts. It’s all fake. Only rebel media and Fox tell the truth. Surely firing all the layers of accountability and replacing the head of the pentagon, DOJ, FBI, CIA with loyal and incompetent people was great for the world and America. Anything bad was”Biden fault”. If only you could step back and realize how ridiculous you sound. Oh wait that’s all “fake news too”.
Thank you Jen, these are almost exactly my thoughts on Talarico. His Christianity is key to his electability given his John Stuart Mill liberal views. He is articulate and tolerant and perceptive and seems to have a North Star of integrity and respect for the separation of church and state.
Jesus was articulate, tolerant and perceptive and for sure anti-establishment as far as the Jewish and Roman hierarchies were concerned. Look what the power mongers did to him.
After reading you for months and seeing for the first time your residency/status, I finally know where your viewpoints and beliefs in how things ought to be come from. Definitely not from your current adopted one! As a dual national I can certainly appreciate your writings a lot better now. Thanks for all the great insights and hopefully many more to come.
A very good article, I agree with the content and see no point in me looking for a fault.
This sentence is worth highlighting for domestics political purposes: "I think what we’re seeing in America — and in other countries like CANADA, WE'RE NOT SO INNOCENT — is the long-term consequence of undermining moral language and norms under the fear that these structures were inherently judgmental and oppressive."
How do you live with someone when the foundations of their worldview differ drastically from your own, leading to differences between what you each consider to be right vs. wrong.
Open and respectful conversation and sharing of ideas and knowledge is essential. Learn together. Seeking truth from multiple sources and perspectives. You may never find absolute truth, but at least you'll be better informed. Never trust or accept news info from a single source. Learn and develop your own perspective. In doing so you'll understand the world around you, be better equipped to make your own decisions and defend your own assertions.
Leave your emotions out of it. Always! Facts don't care about anybody's feelings.
In Canada, consider multiple mainstream sources like CBC, NationalPost, Globe&Mail, GlobalNews, and yes, even TorontoSun and RebelNews, (there are many more). They all come from different angles and they all have a place. Be aware many of these organizations are federally funded (Liberal friendly), and their behaviour reflect its. In addition to the above, I like The Economist for many reasons.
Take in numerous podcasts - there are lots of these, many which are excellent. In-fact, many are better than MSM. Examples: The Hub, Mark Gurney's and Jen Gerson's The Line, Juno News, CBC's Front Burner, Peter Mansbridge's The Bridge, Brian Lilley's Full Comment, Jason James' The New Normal, Terry Glavin's The Real Story, The Paul Well's Show, The Ben Shapiro Show, The Munk Debates... (I subscribe to literally dozens...) Podcasts work well while driving...
Don't dismiss a source just because someone else tells you to or trash-talks them. If a news story is USA-based, then it's also essential to absorb what you can from left as well as right-leaning US media. CNN (recently improving), CBS (recently improving), FoxNews, NYT (terribly partisan), NY Post, WashingtonPost (terribly partisan but trying to improve), would be a good start. Be aware most of these are excessively partisan, but fortunately some are making an effort to improve and provide a balanced perspective rather than reflexively attacking certain parties and politicians they're not "aligned with". And again, there are many, many podcasts.
I would absolutely avoid social media because it rapidly polarizes peoples' opinions by assessing your natural preferences and amplifies your natural biases by pushing you a highly filtered selection, reinforcing your preferences. And censored social media is simply evil, like when the DOJ and FBI planted resources inside Twitter and "moderated" (censored) free speech to the advantage of Biden's Democrats. Some don't like X, but since Elon took it over, X is the only "social media" source that doesn't do this.
In Canada, Sam Cooper's "The Bureau" is a brilliant source of factual information focused on serious issues involving Canada, USA, China, India, Russia and others. Sam covers many topics - especially on China's CCP interference and UFWD penetration into Canada, Chinese global fentanyl trafficking including through Canada, and the Liberals' irrational behaviour while downplaying Canada's involvement in fentanyl trafficking (note: 2 mg of fentanyl would kill the average adult), Canada's RCMP & CSIS have been refusing to collaborate with US security agencies, with ample evidence the federal Liberals have been behind it all. These and more, are good reasons why Five Eyes intelligence no longer trust Canada and won't confide in them regarding highly volatile issues like the US/Israel attack on Iran. This story is a recent and very real eye-opener and explains all the drama surrounding tariffs, conflict, and threats.
Get your head around all of the above sources, and eventually you'll filter them down to a less overwhelming feed, and you'll understand what's really going on in Canadian politics, American politics, European politics, the present war, and many other important topics.
Beyond this, always keep an open mind.
If you choose to try the above suggestions, you'll be taking the "RED PILL" for awhile... (figuratively).
Always be skeptical of politicians who never answer the question put to them. Or who habitually provide nonsensical "word-salad" responses, or who answer a question different from the one they were just asked. Watch for those who change their position from day to day. Or those who act over-emotionally to issues. And those caught in a major lie and scandal, and refuse to come clean on it. Make mental notes on those media who appear to be overly friendly with a political party or person, and those who are blatantly hostile to a different party without good reason. Watch for multiple media sources making the same announcement on an issue, the same day, using the exact same words - ask yourself how that could happen. Watch Question Period for the Canadian federal government - you might be surprised to see the nonsense that goes on here. Youtube has lots of recorded sessions to watch; past & present; e.g. governments of Chretien, Harper, Trudeau, Carney. It's a real eye opener. And look for coverage of federal "committee" meetings chaired by Liberals. You may be surprised to see with your own eyes, the level of juvenile behaviour and corruption in that forum.
Well, it was a rhetorical question, but thanks for your response!
I do much of what you suggest, although I don't have time to spend on that many sources, especially the ones I know to be untrustworthy. Keeping up with The Economist, Globe&Mail and TheLine is as much as I have time for.
My real point was that yes, you can keep an open mind, but at some point when your basic (foundational, worldview) premises are contrary to those with whom you are conversing, it's going to be difficult to continue. Like Tevye's monologue in Fiddler on the Roof, at some point you are going to have to say "There is no other hand!"
On the other hand, if you have no basic, foundational, worldview premises, that won't be a problem ...
I recommend CS Lewis' "The Abolition of Man" on this topic. (It's a slim book - but you can get a Kindle of his complete works for just a couple bucks - a steal!)
And always pay attention to a government who tries to disarm the public and introduces legislation to suppress or shut down free speech. What Carney's Liberals are pushing hard on right now, are real examples...
Agree, as long as they do not force me to believe what they believe or spout their beliefs as mine. From what I have heard from Talarico, he is a Christian who actually follows Christ’s teachings and still doesn’t believe that any church has a place in the state. I see him as someone whose faith will guide his decisions, but his faith will not be his decisions.
But “six genders” is too far away from reality for someone whose role would include enacting or upholding sex-based protection for women when it comes to prisons and sports, among other things.
So your response to this article talking hopefully about a rare-these-days exception to extremism and purity tests is to … say that this guy fails a purity test
There are people born with various gradations of both male and female genitals. Some of them are fertile, and are tremendous human beings. We should not be rigid about only two biological genders.
True enough. My main point is that it is not helpful to make the lives of these people needlessly miserable; I will add that the looney gender-war fanaticism of the wokey "progressivists" is destructive an all manner of ways.
In response to this string of comments: People are conflating sex and gender. Sex is biological, there are two (with a miniscule number of exceptions), while gender refers to the social role the person expresses. The reason I fear this is because in my lifetime bigotry and racism have been so interchangeable that bigotry has disappeared and now everyone is a racist which diminishes what a racist is. People are also conflating pedophilia with hebephilia but that will be lost on most so I give up.
The entire "gender" topic has arrived in the mainstream only recently. To me it seems to be a deliberate distraction, a "grenade" tossed into the zeitgeist to distract and draw everyones' focus from more significant things leaders are doing.
Nobody denies there are those in this situation (a tiny minority), but there seems to a rush to fully accept every new concept put out there (like the LGBT... alphabet soup), and shove it down everyones' throat. Enough is enough. When it comes to irreversibly medicating or even butchering kids, hiding it from parents, and demanding everyone accept it or be trash-talked and called bigots, it's time to shut it down. Other countries as they come to realize their mistakes, now face litigation and liability, and are reversing the over-progressive actions. Adults? Fill your boots. Adults grooming kids? That's where it stops. For most youth, this is simply gender dysphoria, a psychiatric disorder and no hormone-altering medications, surgeries or "affirming" will ever change that.
And to Dennis' point, I see these pejoratives - *ist, *phobe, "bigot" and others, put out there by those who have nothing intelligent to say. It's disappointing.
Remember where all this crap started... Obama... and Trudeau. All that's required to shut this down and go back to normal, is to stop following their mindset. Both are malevolent fools.
Transgenderism is not the central point of conflict here. Nobody cares if there is a new letter or symbol added to LGBTQ2S+ (good luck keeping up this this growing list), so long as it doesn't impose behavior and beliefs against them.
It is the "progressives" continuously shoving this delusion down everyone elses' throats, forcing "newly declared rights" for a tiny fraction of society, and imposing new laws including mandatory speech, grooming of children in schools and government overreach. This insanity is fully funded by those who continue their attempts to create conflict and division through society. Penises in girls & womens' locker rooms, boxing rings and prisons? Seriously? WTAF??? Who could ever defend such insanity?
And "bootyjuice" has already proven his inability to do his job, evidenced by numerous operational failures as Transportation Secretary. His (and others') obsession with DEI, gay-trans nonsense... could there be correlation?
I admire your hope. Wish I had your guarded optimism.
I've seen little evidence that the Democratic Party has learned much, if anything, from getting their asses handed to them by MAGA and Trump in Nov 2024, except to double down on the BS that led to the loss, and to strive to become more like MAGA and Trump in their approach (that is, respectability and candor be damned) save outliers like Talarico in Texas.
Exhibit A is the way Mr. Photogenic Politician (AKA Democrat Ken Doll, AKA Gavin Newsom) has changed his approach since Trump was elected. Tough Guy Ken Doll. I assume he will be the presumptive presidential nominee for the Dems in 2027.
I hope your more rosy forecast (though you do have guarded provisos throughout your piece) is the correct view, and that the USA can return to sanity. I really hope so.
It is not hard to agree with your positive assessment of Talrico.
One thing that was on full display during the primary contests in Texas was the scale of political funding that the major candidates drew upon. Tens-of-millions of US dollars were expended.
The growth of "no limits" political funding in the United States, particularly since the infamous "Citizens' United" ruling of the US Supreme Court in 2010, has been striking. These inflows of money (underwritten by rich individuals and business interests) have certainly supercharged corruption and extremist positioning throughout US society and politics.
If there is one lesson to draw from all that here in Canada, it is that we must fight very hard against efforts by well-connected businesses and wealthy individuals to achieve a similar free-for-all when it comes to political funding.
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.
Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness, and pride of power, and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear ... Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offence, shock the world far more than they are doing now."
"The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community."
This is the core fault of the left, the further left correlated with worse results, relying on "ideas" justified by handpicked stats, and studies of other peoples' studies that conveniently provide support.
Sometimes it looks like the far right, at least as destructive, is just more overt, not wasting as much time parsing and ranking identities for their deserving treatment, or the endless manufactured justifications.
I could smugly revel in Canadian moral superiority but I live in a part of Canada that is represented in Parliament by a member who lives with his family more than 1000km away from his electoral district, representing the governing party he specifically fought against in an election just 10 months ago.
A scenario where Talarico defeats Paxton and delivers a Texas Senate seat to the Democrats might, just might finally break through the right wing information bubble and wake people up to the disaster of hyperpartisan fixation. Texas politics has been thoroughly dominated by the Republican Party for decades, and no Democrat has been elected to a statewide office since 1994. That's led to all the dysfunctions and corruption of a 1-party state that should be all too familiar to Albertans who've lived with the PCs and UCP for decades. Losing a Texas Senate seat would have a shock like the NDP's 2015 victory in Alberta, but there'd be no easy excuse about splitting the vote between 2 right wing parties.
A Democratic win is still a pretty big stretch, though. Texas is still a center-right state, even though its population has been tilting increasingly towards the urban populations more friendly to Democrats. Democrats have sabotaged themselves before in Texas by trying to campaign on a national platform that's far too left wing to be palatable to Texas's political centrists. Talarico is also a more progressive candidate than his opponent Jasmine Crockett, at least in terms of policy positions on things like gun rights. Crockett was far more partisan, though, and that left voters with the impression that *she* was more progressive because she gave a full-throated voice to Democratic positions in contrast to Talarico's quieter "kumbaya" Presbyterian schtick.
Still, a midterm election favoring Democrats, combined with a Democratic candidate who's not offensively in your face about progressive positions, plus an utterly loathsome Trump-identified creature like Ken Paxton as an opponent... Could be interesting, or yet another case of the Democrats' Charlie Brown taking another run at Lucy holding the football.
This article: one more step on the way to Jen Gerson becoming Paul Kingsnorth
(In seriousness: I think it’s becoming accepted wisdom on all but the extreme Social Justice Left that liberalism has the seeds of its own demise in it, because it’s been obvious that the end state of mindless consumption, AI slop, porn, gambling, unbridled capitalism … what Kingsnorth calls “The Machine” leaves a void in people that is causing the current widespread anguish in society. But what do you replace it with? Christianity? Why that religion and not others? If The Line is going to go in this direction it’s a crowded field of great writers already, although Jen G I think is a great enough writer to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.)
Liberalism, like capitalism, are both caricatures of the ideal slowly dismantled by our interventions. In both cases cumulative adjustments, bolt-ons, arbitrary fences and limits, work-arounds, are turning them into rube goldberg machine systems that inevitably disappoint, feeding conspiracy theories about corruption. And also corruption.
Marxism is a very weak system, relying on humans to make choices for other humans, and that sounds just as sad and grey as it's murderous history. Obviously humans should fight for their lives against marxism because life is about choices, trying things, possibility. Preserving that is love.
I don't have a good answer; haven't done any work, and probably not qualified, however I fear the pendulum will swing again too far towards automatons and cinderblocks, and suicides will skyrocket.
"What I find fascinating is that while Talarico derives his own views from actual scripture and serious theological study — and my own beliefs are mostly just a pastiche cobbled together from drug experimentation and intensive meditation retreats — I don’t see much daylight between his faith and my own."
I couldn't love you more than I do at this moment.
"This is the rot of the American political system and, no, it’s not just limited to the Republican Party. Though one side sure as hell is certainly putting on a much bigger, uglier and more dangerous show than the other, these are the types of candidates that get elected because they hijack the most broken and extreme elements of the polity for their own personal advancement. They are the embodiment of a mentality that will elect anything, no matter how morally degraded, as long as it’s willing to hit the other side harder."
Not so fast. How did we get from "A" to "B"? Had Americans elected the most qualified candidate in 2012, Donald Trump would still be a gameshow host selling steak knives on late-night TV.
The principled right tried it your way, Jen, and your way doesn't work. The Republican Party changed when the rules of the game changed.
"Citizen's United" made money the god of American politics overnight. There have been lots of small regressions, but this mother-fucker turbo-charged the decline. Americans used to brag, "Any kid can grow up to be President"now amended to "any kid can purchase the Presidency." If the theocracy folks win, democracy is done in the U.S.
No, but I think it goes more like "As Republicans, we tried principled conservatism, and we tried playing by the rules of a modern, civil society. It didn't work, so we changed our strategy to match that of our opponent."
To answer your question, I would be perfectly happy to gain the whole world, at the cost of losing myself.
Well said Jen!
Talarico appears to be a well spoken brilliant young man, who is not afraid to call out corruption. His religion is an interesting aspect to him, that I hope doesnt get in the way of good governance. I agree he's a breath of fresh air, and a strong contrast to the right wing evangelicals that consume a lot of the oxygen in the US and Canada.
Here's hoping then, that " left wing evangelicals" are not as ideological as " right wing evangelicals ". The whole " wing" thing makes me crazy...
Jen, nice job with this piece. But to my way of thinking, it's far too myopic. Regardless who wins this race, the deep-rooted problems in both parties need to be addressed. Problem is the public don't understand what's happening because they're not informed, and in many cases misinformed. The MSM no longer have independent investigative journalists, and most lean too far left - they're now fully partisan and Democrat attack dogs. Many news readers and writers, are outright chronic liars, although I am seeing recent signs of hope (WaPo is struggling to improve, CBS with Bari Weiss is improving, CNN is improving but has a long way to go, but MSNOW and others are still a waste of space.) The federal judiciary have been on a mission to shut down every action the president attempts, knowing fully well they're well out of their lane. House Representatives and Senators on both sides, past & present, have been dirty for decades, hiding many examples of corruption and resistance and every attempt to weed it out (e.g. investing in stocks with insider information).
Democrats have lost their way. Open borders, crime, fentanyl, trans insanity, USAID money used to covertly push leftist ideology around the world, DEI racist attacks against caucasians and Christians, corruption of the education system, parents charged by FBI for trying to protect their kids, Biden's White House hijacking Twitter and sending the DOJ & FBI to Trump's home, Harris whining against free speech and her idiotic singing about a yellow bus. Neither party has a functioning moral compass. Liars all of them. And why does no one recap Obama's history? He was certainly not the saviour most people believe, and some of us recognize that the decline of the west, started when he entered the presidency. And what the hell happened to the Democrats, with the unbelievable story of Joe Biden, who was possibly the stupidest, most corrupt and obnoxious president in US history? And what idiot decided that Kamala was a better choice? In my view both Obama and Biden should be imprisoned for their lies and attacks on Trump, and on America. And why do the Democrats have a full clown-car of representatives in the House, and the Senate? And what about Somalis and theft of taxpayer money in Minnesota and other states? Who dumped that ~80k pile of migrants into the country? Which other states does this problem exist in? The list is endless if one digs deep enough...
If the Democrats elected Jesus Christ himself, he would be silenced by his own party. The party as it is right now, is extremely dangerous, and in my view, unfit for office.
President Trump is an imperfect human, but recognized many problems nobody else has noticed, and has been fearless in his pursuit of undoing some of the damage done by both parties over many decades. If he hadn't come along for his 2 terms, the US would be closer to Marxist-Socialist regime, and the world would be lost to China.
If your purpose in writing these articles is to inform and enlighten your readers in order to help them develop an informed world-view, please consider the following...
Would you be willing to try a higher-level overview of both parties, including their key players and history in office over the past 20 years? There are scandals and clusterf**ks galore. And many were only exposed recently. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans are free of incompetence or corruption.
Please take my comments in the positive manner I intend.
Judging by the the amount of sentences, you dedicated to writing about the failures of the Democrats and then summing up Trump with 'imperfect'... It seems to me, whether you realize it or not, your words end up being partisan cheerleading. So so 2016! Jen isn't trying to solve all of America's woes, she's just pointing out that electing Talarico probably a small step in the right direction.
Although both parties deserve to be held to account for appalling failures, there is no equivalency between the narcissistic, failed businessman, and thief, leading the republican party, and any leader of the democratic party in my lifetime, and the comment above is partisan.
(I'm sorry to have met the orange mcdonald's garbage can decades ago when he was close to circling the debt restructuring bowl, utterly self-inflicted. My background in finance informed me of his consistent string of failures. We should still try to find out why, when not a single bank in N America would take his call, 1 in the EU did. His book on the topic of negotiating is manifestly useless to anyone.)
And, my 4 year old nephew spews the odd truth in between tantrums and throwing food. Is this the bar for leadership? Certainly opens the field lol.
We've always been vulnerable to small selfish people in power. The advantage to democracy, so far, has been a broadly understood process to send them packing. If the garbage can in the white house isn't allowed to become king by cowards who trade money for values in the legislative branches, there'll be a reset.
Maybe we should test candidates by saying no to them to see how they react. If the reaction suggests undiagnosed/untreated mental problems...
Did you suggest mental capacity testing during Biden's administration?
You mean the administration of Biden’s corpse? I’ll assume the Q is rhetorical.
If my unambiguous question was confusing and you considered Biden fit for office during his 4 years despite all the evidence to the contrary, then you might want to take some time to do some research on your own...
Biden took the USA down the highway to hell for his entire term. Once it became impossible for ANYONE to hide the blatantly obvious, Kamala came close to finishing the destruction.
Thank God for President Trump!
sure, lol.
DT was a thief, a failure, a misogynist, an adulterer, a liar, and a narcissistic fool BEFORE he was elected.
Trust me, "Democrats' failings", is a very long list.
100 upvotes for this comment. Very accurate. A lot of it pertains to Canada. And what idiots decided that Justin Trudeau, Mark Carney were the better choice ??? Both were inserted into their start place in the politics by backroom cabals, not by voters. Voters were deceived and bamboozled.
Yes they were installed, by lies, omissions, and hidden agendas. They deceived and bamboozled Canadians and continue today, mostly by CBC swooning, and by Liberals blocking open media access to Carney. Trudeau's and Carney's buying off the CBC and their ongoing attacks on free speech and access to truth, is far more threatening to Canada's democracy. Trudeau was/is an unstable overly emotional and conflicted individual, always acting to much in response to his alleged "feelings". He socially and fiscally destroyed Canada. Deliberately. I surely hope Canadians who voted for him over the years, will one day learn from their mistakes. They are directly responsible for Canada's decline and international embarrassment, on many fronts.
Carney is clearly more intelligent and a good communicator. But there is much deception in his words. His "values" are his own. His agenda is clear to those who pay attention to details and remember... Canada is NOT a "post-national state", at least not yet. Canadians need to change their information sources and get out of the MSM for awhile.
Spot on, like in your other comments. I will just add that like for Trudeau, for Carney I have a basketful of very harsh expressions and expletives. I paid occasional attention to his doings over the decades and typed words against him ever since he was installed by the cabal as a candidate. Canada is to him just a jurisdiction to be drained into his own pockets, yes that is clearly visible already.
Trump is 'imperfect', but oh those darn Democrats are the root of all the USA's failings? How can you possibly think that way? Of course all parties and politicians come up short, and are 'imperfect'. Trump is on a completely different level of incompetence, corruption, evil, criminality, cover up, likely pedophilia. If you want to pretend its all balanced and both sides feel free, but dont call out Jen or anyone else from that evil MSMedia who identifies the depravity that is Trump and the current republican party.
I like Jen Gerson and have always followed her opinions, even when she worked for the MSM. But she is not the MSM, and thank God we have her at THE LINE. I've been a subscriber since she and Matt started it. My commentary to her article is not a criticism.
I posted what I did, because in my view the article was too narrowly focused. Most people have no idea what's going on in the world around them, and they should.
As another example, Carney also appears to be unaware of what's going on in the world around him, or maybe he can't decide and hold a position on principle, or "values". Three recent examples; a) "Muslim values are Canadians values." (they certainly are not, although his statement is revealing); b) He said "China is the biggest threat to Canada", and a year later he climbing into bed with the CCP; c) he supported the recent US/Israel attack on Iran, and a day later, recanted. I sense that Carney doesn't have real "values", rather his values change with the political winds and his own financial interests. I dread the day he lands a majority.
Jen's piece, although well-researched and written, doesn't help inform ones' world-view. And I firmly believe the one-sided reporting and opining from the MSM deliberately fail to present a "big picture" perspective for the reader/viewer's benefit.
To construct such a weak conspiracy theory that the global “mainstream media” is somehow favoring one party or world view and ignoring all the benefits of the other is frankly just laughable. You think the thousands of streams of media and journalists have some unfounded bias against one party? Why on earth would that be? How would that be good for business? Good for advertisers? Maybe, just maybe you’ve bet on the wrong horse and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for you to hear how the majority of people feel about things. Maybe you’ve given your loyalty to a convicted felon career criminal, likely a pedophile. Maybe that’s the problem. It’s not the medias fault but please feel free to cry and yell at the clouds for how unfair the global media is to your hero.
"... weak conspiracy theory ..." :-P Hilarious.
CS, If you don't know or even suspect that the MSM isn't politically biased and bought-off, well, I don't know what to tell you...
Turn off CBC News and consider doing some research.
"doing some research..."
It's been established for some time now that anyone can find support for any opinion on the internet. You could just say,
"I'm absolutely, completely, unmovable and convinced, on my mother's deathbed, that this is true!"
Kinda the same.
a) "Muslim values are Canadians values." (they certainly are not, although his statement is revealing);
This is most interesting. How does Carney think they are the same and how do you say they are they not the same?
Hhmmm... seems like you need a new hobby "sji". I have more productive things to do than respond to your posts. Ask your doctor about Valium, and meds for obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Enjoy your weekend while researching and educating yourself. Bringing intelligent discussion into this or any forum, is a better use of all of our time.
Well that's an interesting response, and inconsistent with what I posted. To be clear, both parties are flawed, and to varying degrees, corrupt. Minnesota & Minneapolis reveal a prime example of serious "sanctuary city/state" corruption. Show me any evidence of Trump corruption. And your assertion that "Trump is on a completely different level... incompetence, corruption, evil, criminality, cover-up, likely paedophilia..." - now that's actually a perfect description of Joe Biden, except you left out his law-fare against Trump, how he weaponized the DOJ, his attempt to thwart First Amendment free speech and replace it with White House Biden Administration-approved propaganda (recall FBI infestation in Twitter and Zuckerberg's exposing the bullying and forced censorship by Biden), his opening the borders while lying about it, deliberately infesting the US with many illegal and dangerous migrants (Democrat votes), blowing up US finances by paying these migrants and placing them strategically to affect future elections, the and many of those claims apply to Harris as well. Worst of all, Democrats' illegal pursuit of "sanctuary" for illegals, including seriously criminal aliens. The list is endless. And regarding alleged paedophelia, you should choose your words carefully - ABC News and George Stephanopolis were successfully sued by President Trump, and the BBC is now being sued, in both cases, for similar defamation.
Wow you’re deep down the rabbit hole of lies while working hard to avoid the completely obvious. I guess if you like people starting their own crypto to accept bribes, a 747 jet for himself, enriching him and his loser family of between 1.5-3 billion since being in office a year. The largest coverup of sex and human trafficking for what was clearly a very close relationship between him and Epstein where he very likely committed pedophilia and possibly infantacide. Nevermind dozens of illegal “emergency acts” since in power. But you believe the democrats are the bad ones, feel free. I’ll chose to live in the real world
CS, Your baseless accusations speak volumes. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
BTW my "rabbit-hole" runs deep and is built on evidence. I don't form my opinions based on "lies" nor "feelings" nor watching CBC.
Be well.
Ahh the classic “baseless” accusations. The whole world is just fake news when it calls out the most corrupt president in history. Facts aren’t facts. It’s all fake. Only rebel media and Fox tell the truth. Surely firing all the layers of accountability and replacing the head of the pentagon, DOJ, FBI, CIA with loyal and incompetent people was great for the world and America. Anything bad was”Biden fault”. If only you could step back and realize how ridiculous you sound. Oh wait that’s all “fake news too”.
Wow, impressive rant, none of it based on fact. Your partisanship is duly noted.
💯
Talarico and Buttegieg for a ‘squeaky clean’ Democratic Party ticket? :)
The only moral thing voters could really do in the US, given what the two main parties have descended to, is to spoil their ballot.
Thank you Jen, these are almost exactly my thoughts on Talarico. His Christianity is key to his electability given his John Stuart Mill liberal views. He is articulate and tolerant and perceptive and seems to have a North Star of integrity and respect for the separation of church and state.
Fingers crossed.
Jesus was articulate, tolerant and perceptive and for sure anti-establishment as far as the Jewish and Roman hierarchies were concerned. Look what the power mongers did to him.
bang on! Yes, we get the politicians we deserve. I fervently hope we deserve better. Canada is not exempt. Just delayed
I look forward to every word you write ( or speak, on your podcast). Keep it up please ♥♥
After reading you for months and seeing for the first time your residency/status, I finally know where your viewpoints and beliefs in how things ought to be come from. Definitely not from your current adopted one! As a dual national I can certainly appreciate your writings a lot better now. Thanks for all the great insights and hopefully many more to come.
I'm a Canadian citizen who has been living in Alberta for 16 years. JG
OK I read the opening statement in your message. Guess it was either hypothetical or in the past. My bad for assuming too much.
A very good article, I agree with the content and see no point in me looking for a fault.
This sentence is worth highlighting for domestics political purposes: "I think what we’re seeing in America — and in other countries like CANADA, WE'RE NOT SO INNOCENT — is the long-term consequence of undermining moral language and norms under the fear that these structures were inherently judgmental and oppressive."
That sentence stood out for me too.
How do you live with someone when the foundations of their worldview differ drastically from your own, leading to differences between what you each consider to be right vs. wrong.
My suggestion Mark, for what it's worth:
Open and respectful conversation and sharing of ideas and knowledge is essential. Learn together. Seeking truth from multiple sources and perspectives. You may never find absolute truth, but at least you'll be better informed. Never trust or accept news info from a single source. Learn and develop your own perspective. In doing so you'll understand the world around you, be better equipped to make your own decisions and defend your own assertions.
Leave your emotions out of it. Always! Facts don't care about anybody's feelings.
In Canada, consider multiple mainstream sources like CBC, NationalPost, Globe&Mail, GlobalNews, and yes, even TorontoSun and RebelNews, (there are many more). They all come from different angles and they all have a place. Be aware many of these organizations are federally funded (Liberal friendly), and their behaviour reflect its. In addition to the above, I like The Economist for many reasons.
Take in numerous podcasts - there are lots of these, many which are excellent. In-fact, many are better than MSM. Examples: The Hub, Mark Gurney's and Jen Gerson's The Line, Juno News, CBC's Front Burner, Peter Mansbridge's The Bridge, Brian Lilley's Full Comment, Jason James' The New Normal, Terry Glavin's The Real Story, The Paul Well's Show, The Ben Shapiro Show, The Munk Debates... (I subscribe to literally dozens...) Podcasts work well while driving...
Don't dismiss a source just because someone else tells you to or trash-talks them. If a news story is USA-based, then it's also essential to absorb what you can from left as well as right-leaning US media. CNN (recently improving), CBS (recently improving), FoxNews, NYT (terribly partisan), NY Post, WashingtonPost (terribly partisan but trying to improve), would be a good start. Be aware most of these are excessively partisan, but fortunately some are making an effort to improve and provide a balanced perspective rather than reflexively attacking certain parties and politicians they're not "aligned with". And again, there are many, many podcasts.
I would absolutely avoid social media because it rapidly polarizes peoples' opinions by assessing your natural preferences and amplifies your natural biases by pushing you a highly filtered selection, reinforcing your preferences. And censored social media is simply evil, like when the DOJ and FBI planted resources inside Twitter and "moderated" (censored) free speech to the advantage of Biden's Democrats. Some don't like X, but since Elon took it over, X is the only "social media" source that doesn't do this.
In Canada, Sam Cooper's "The Bureau" is a brilliant source of factual information focused on serious issues involving Canada, USA, China, India, Russia and others. Sam covers many topics - especially on China's CCP interference and UFWD penetration into Canada, Chinese global fentanyl trafficking including through Canada, and the Liberals' irrational behaviour while downplaying Canada's involvement in fentanyl trafficking (note: 2 mg of fentanyl would kill the average adult), Canada's RCMP & CSIS have been refusing to collaborate with US security agencies, with ample evidence the federal Liberals have been behind it all. These and more, are good reasons why Five Eyes intelligence no longer trust Canada and won't confide in them regarding highly volatile issues like the US/Israel attack on Iran. This story is a recent and very real eye-opener and explains all the drama surrounding tariffs, conflict, and threats.
Get your head around all of the above sources, and eventually you'll filter them down to a less overwhelming feed, and you'll understand what's really going on in Canadian politics, American politics, European politics, the present war, and many other important topics.
Beyond this, always keep an open mind.
If you choose to try the above suggestions, you'll be taking the "RED PILL" for awhile... (figuratively).
Always be skeptical of politicians who never answer the question put to them. Or who habitually provide nonsensical "word-salad" responses, or who answer a question different from the one they were just asked. Watch for those who change their position from day to day. Or those who act over-emotionally to issues. And those caught in a major lie and scandal, and refuse to come clean on it. Make mental notes on those media who appear to be overly friendly with a political party or person, and those who are blatantly hostile to a different party without good reason. Watch for multiple media sources making the same announcement on an issue, the same day, using the exact same words - ask yourself how that could happen. Watch Question Period for the Canadian federal government - you might be surprised to see the nonsense that goes on here. Youtube has lots of recorded sessions to watch; past & present; e.g. governments of Chretien, Harper, Trudeau, Carney. It's a real eye opener. And look for coverage of federal "committee" meetings chaired by Liberals. You may be surprised to see with your own eyes, the level of juvenile behaviour and corruption in that forum.
Best of luck!
Well, it was a rhetorical question, but thanks for your response!
I do much of what you suggest, although I don't have time to spend on that many sources, especially the ones I know to be untrustworthy. Keeping up with The Economist, Globe&Mail and TheLine is as much as I have time for.
My real point was that yes, you can keep an open mind, but at some point when your basic (foundational, worldview) premises are contrary to those with whom you are conversing, it's going to be difficult to continue. Like Tevye's monologue in Fiddler on the Roof, at some point you are going to have to say "There is no other hand!"
On the other hand, if you have no basic, foundational, worldview premises, that won't be a problem ...
I recommend CS Lewis' "The Abolition of Man" on this topic. (It's a slim book - but you can get a Kindle of his complete works for just a couple bucks - a steal!)
And always pay attention to a government who tries to disarm the public and introduces legislation to suppress or shut down free speech. What Carney's Liberals are pushing hard on right now, are real examples...
Okay, but Talarico also believes there are “six biological genders”
https://x.com/swipewright/status/2029242317228708298?s=46&t=TBXlgl_QJ_Vrfjh87G7CYw
I don't require someone to believe all the same things I do to be considered good.
Agree, as long as they do not force me to believe what they believe or spout their beliefs as mine. From what I have heard from Talarico, he is a Christian who actually follows Christ’s teachings and still doesn’t believe that any church has a place in the state. I see him as someone whose faith will guide his decisions, but his faith will not be his decisions.
Yes, he seems perfectly normal and good.
https://x.com/jamestalarico/status/1258788884185518082?s=20
I understand and agree with you, to a point.
But “six genders” is too far away from reality for someone whose role would include enacting or upholding sex-based protection for women when it comes to prisons and sports, among other things.
So your response to this article talking hopefully about a rare-these-days exception to extremism and purity tests is to … say that this guy fails a purity test
Purity test? More like a reality test.
The bar is pretty low these days, isn’t it?
I get the emotional charge of this issue; still, we don't have the luxury of making the perfect the enemy of the best we've got right now.
Also, 6 genders us not a position supported by the bible. Which is the text, like it or not.
It's not the text that's the problem... it's the interpretation.
There are people born with various gradations of both male and female genitals. Some of them are fertile, and are tremendous human beings. We should not be rigid about only two biological genders.
The fact there are exceptions to the rule doesn't change the fact that these are outliers and/or genetic anomalies and not by definition, the norm.
True enough. My main point is that it is not helpful to make the lives of these people needlessly miserable; I will add that the looney gender-war fanaticism of the wokey "progressivists" is destructive an all manner of ways.
Completely agreed. And it appears to be deliberate.
In response to this string of comments: People are conflating sex and gender. Sex is biological, there are two (with a miniscule number of exceptions), while gender refers to the social role the person expresses. The reason I fear this is because in my lifetime bigotry and racism have been so interchangeable that bigotry has disappeared and now everyone is a racist which diminishes what a racist is. People are also conflating pedophilia with hebephilia but that will be lost on most so I give up.
The entire "gender" topic has arrived in the mainstream only recently. To me it seems to be a deliberate distraction, a "grenade" tossed into the zeitgeist to distract and draw everyones' focus from more significant things leaders are doing.
Nobody denies there are those in this situation (a tiny minority), but there seems to a rush to fully accept every new concept put out there (like the LGBT... alphabet soup), and shove it down everyones' throat. Enough is enough. When it comes to irreversibly medicating or even butchering kids, hiding it from parents, and demanding everyone accept it or be trash-talked and called bigots, it's time to shut it down. Other countries as they come to realize their mistakes, now face litigation and liability, and are reversing the over-progressive actions. Adults? Fill your boots. Adults grooming kids? That's where it stops. For most youth, this is simply gender dysphoria, a psychiatric disorder and no hormone-altering medications, surgeries or "affirming" will ever change that.
And to Dennis' point, I see these pejoratives - *ist, *phobe, "bigot" and others, put out there by those who have nothing intelligent to say. It's disappointing.
Remember where all this crap started... Obama... and Trudeau. All that's required to shut this down and go back to normal, is to stop following their mindset. Both are malevolent fools.
Transgenderism is not the central point of conflict here. Nobody cares if there is a new letter or symbol added to LGBTQ2S+ (good luck keeping up this this growing list), so long as it doesn't impose behavior and beliefs against them.
It is the "progressives" continuously shoving this delusion down everyone elses' throats, forcing "newly declared rights" for a tiny fraction of society, and imposing new laws including mandatory speech, grooming of children in schools and government overreach. This insanity is fully funded by those who continue their attempts to create conflict and division through society. Penises in girls & womens' locker rooms, boxing rings and prisons? Seriously? WTAF??? Who could ever defend such insanity?
And "bootyjuice" has already proven his inability to do his job, evidenced by numerous operational failures as Transportation Secretary. His (and others') obsession with DEI, gay-trans nonsense... could there be correlation?
I admire your hope. Wish I had your guarded optimism.
I've seen little evidence that the Democratic Party has learned much, if anything, from getting their asses handed to them by MAGA and Trump in Nov 2024, except to double down on the BS that led to the loss, and to strive to become more like MAGA and Trump in their approach (that is, respectability and candor be damned) save outliers like Talarico in Texas.
Exhibit A is the way Mr. Photogenic Politician (AKA Democrat Ken Doll, AKA Gavin Newsom) has changed his approach since Trump was elected. Tough Guy Ken Doll. I assume he will be the presumptive presidential nominee for the Dems in 2027.
I hope your more rosy forecast (though you do have guarded provisos throughout your piece) is the correct view, and that the USA can return to sanity. I really hope so.
Thank you for this op-ed.
It is not hard to agree with your positive assessment of Talrico.
One thing that was on full display during the primary contests in Texas was the scale of political funding that the major candidates drew upon. Tens-of-millions of US dollars were expended.
The growth of "no limits" political funding in the United States, particularly since the infamous "Citizens' United" ruling of the US Supreme Court in 2010, has been striking. These inflows of money (underwritten by rich individuals and business interests) have certainly supercharged corruption and extremist positioning throughout US society and politics.
If there is one lesson to draw from all that here in Canada, it is that we must fight very hard against efforts by well-connected businesses and wealthy individuals to achieve a similar free-for-all when it comes to political funding.
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.
Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness, and pride of power, and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear ... Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offence, shock the world far more than they are doing now."
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1943
One of my faves comes from Bonhoeffer:
"The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community."
This is the core fault of the left, the further left correlated with worse results, relying on "ideas" justified by handpicked stats, and studies of other peoples' studies that conveniently provide support.
Sometimes it looks like the far right, at least as destructive, is just more overt, not wasting as much time parsing and ranking identities for their deserving treatment, or the endless manufactured justifications.
I could smugly revel in Canadian moral superiority but I live in a part of Canada that is represented in Parliament by a member who lives with his family more than 1000km away from his electoral district, representing the governing party he specifically fought against in an election just 10 months ago.
Writing an article critical of another country's politics = moral superiority? Then there's plenty to go around!
Not feeling it.
A scenario where Talarico defeats Paxton and delivers a Texas Senate seat to the Democrats might, just might finally break through the right wing information bubble and wake people up to the disaster of hyperpartisan fixation. Texas politics has been thoroughly dominated by the Republican Party for decades, and no Democrat has been elected to a statewide office since 1994. That's led to all the dysfunctions and corruption of a 1-party state that should be all too familiar to Albertans who've lived with the PCs and UCP for decades. Losing a Texas Senate seat would have a shock like the NDP's 2015 victory in Alberta, but there'd be no easy excuse about splitting the vote between 2 right wing parties.
A Democratic win is still a pretty big stretch, though. Texas is still a center-right state, even though its population has been tilting increasingly towards the urban populations more friendly to Democrats. Democrats have sabotaged themselves before in Texas by trying to campaign on a national platform that's far too left wing to be palatable to Texas's political centrists. Talarico is also a more progressive candidate than his opponent Jasmine Crockett, at least in terms of policy positions on things like gun rights. Crockett was far more partisan, though, and that left voters with the impression that *she* was more progressive because she gave a full-throated voice to Democratic positions in contrast to Talarico's quieter "kumbaya" Presbyterian schtick.
Still, a midterm election favoring Democrats, combined with a Democratic candidate who's not offensively in your face about progressive positions, plus an utterly loathsome Trump-identified creature like Ken Paxton as an opponent... Could be interesting, or yet another case of the Democrats' Charlie Brown taking another run at Lucy holding the football.
This article: one more step on the way to Jen Gerson becoming Paul Kingsnorth
(In seriousness: I think it’s becoming accepted wisdom on all but the extreme Social Justice Left that liberalism has the seeds of its own demise in it, because it’s been obvious that the end state of mindless consumption, AI slop, porn, gambling, unbridled capitalism … what Kingsnorth calls “The Machine” leaves a void in people that is causing the current widespread anguish in society. But what do you replace it with? Christianity? Why that religion and not others? If The Line is going to go in this direction it’s a crowded field of great writers already, although Jen G I think is a great enough writer to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.)
Liberalism, like capitalism, are both caricatures of the ideal slowly dismantled by our interventions. In both cases cumulative adjustments, bolt-ons, arbitrary fences and limits, work-arounds, are turning them into rube goldberg machine systems that inevitably disappoint, feeding conspiracy theories about corruption. And also corruption.
Marxism is a very weak system, relying on humans to make choices for other humans, and that sounds just as sad and grey as it's murderous history. Obviously humans should fight for their lives against marxism because life is about choices, trying things, possibility. Preserving that is love.
I don't have a good answer; haven't done any work, and probably not qualified, however I fear the pendulum will swing again too far towards automatons and cinderblocks, and suicides will skyrocket.
"What I find fascinating is that while Talarico derives his own views from actual scripture and serious theological study — and my own beliefs are mostly just a pastiche cobbled together from drug experimentation and intensive meditation retreats — I don’t see much daylight between his faith and my own."
I couldn't love you more than I do at this moment.
"This is the rot of the American political system and, no, it’s not just limited to the Republican Party. Though one side sure as hell is certainly putting on a much bigger, uglier and more dangerous show than the other, these are the types of candidates that get elected because they hijack the most broken and extreme elements of the polity for their own personal advancement. They are the embodiment of a mentality that will elect anything, no matter how morally degraded, as long as it’s willing to hit the other side harder."
Not so fast. How did we get from "A" to "B"? Had Americans elected the most qualified candidate in 2012, Donald Trump would still be a gameshow host selling steak knives on late-night TV.
The principled right tried it your way, Jen, and your way doesn't work. The Republican Party changed when the rules of the game changed.
"Citizen's United" made money the god of American politics overnight. There have been lots of small regressions, but this mother-fucker turbo-charged the decline. Americans used to brag, "Any kid can grow up to be President"now amended to "any kid can purchase the Presidency." If the theocracy folks win, democracy is done in the U.S.
So, play by the rules of some game to gain power/wealth etc. instead of the rules of life you know to be true?
How do you think that works out for the people who try it? What about entire societies?
What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose himself?
No, but I think it goes more like "As Republicans, we tried principled conservatism, and we tried playing by the rules of a modern, civil society. It didn't work, so we changed our strategy to match that of our opponent."
To answer your question, I would be perfectly happy to gain the whole world, at the cost of losing myself.
Both sides are morally bankrupt then? Is that the point? Maybe...
There are more than two “sides” to US politics, but I would agree that both major Political Parties are fuelled by deeply questionable morals.
"The body politic, anesthetized by wealth, submits to surgeons who will say the Hippocratic Oath, but not mean it."
Man this sounds like AI.
It isn't. AI bores me.
AI pisses me off. Plagarism.
Which LLM are you using?...because it sounded brilliant to me.