Most importantly, while I thought Rich was overly glib in describing Trump as a “badass,” I absolutely and full-throatedly celebrated Trump’s decision to launch the strikes against Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. I’ve been saying for years that America should do this and I’m not going to change my position just because it’s Trump who does it. I’ve been very harshly critical of this administration, but this was the right decision. Garry Kasparov said something similar. Even Adam Kinzinger praised the decision. What bothered me about the #nevertrump movement during the first admin was that they let their hatred of Trump blind them to any good decisions he made. I’ve never voted for him. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t celebrate his nominations of Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch. And it doesn’t mean I don’t think this was a good decision (I’ll admit, I was surprised he actually did it).
Let me state for the record that the bunker busters on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan was a good thing. Taken in isolation. But two things: We don't know the results with regard to how much uranium was put out of commission, and the intelligence community says the homeland's danger level has been heightened. So I am reluctant to say we've ushered in a new era of mideast comity.
And yes, Barrett, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch were excellent moves. I guess if I would add a "but" to that, it would be, "but look at the crud that comes out of this guy's mouth all day long every day."
Compared to the alternative of letting Iran get the bomb or pretending the JCPOA was working, I’ll take a short-term elevation in threat to the homeland in exchange for a battered and nuclear-free Iran.
I think Rich is often too simplistic in his columns. That said, there isn’t nothing to the point he’s making in the clickbait-titled piece about Trump being a moderate. I’ve held for years that Trump is sort of a centrist in American political life. Centrism doesn’t mean being a squish who wants everyone to get along. It means you’re in between the positions of the right and left. National Socialism is sort of a centrist movement and that certainly wasn’t a movement based on compromise. Trump was never a conservative and was always too left-wing for me. I’ve been saying that since 2015 and I’m not going to suddenly denounce him as “far-right,” because the idiot left uses that term to describe anyone they hate.
I strongly disagree with the premise of your argument. It is absolutely not too late to call balls and strikes. One of the things I admire about the Dispatch and National Review is their willingness to do just that. Steve Hayes and Jonah Goldberg have taken a back seat to no one on what’s left of the sane right in their criticism of Trump. And both praised the recent strikes.
I share your dismay with Rich Lowry’s newfound admiration of Trump, although I detected a bit of that in him going back to 2017 so I wasn’t totally surprised. But I have been surprised how harshly critical many at NR have been of Trump since the inauguration. Especially Andy McCarthy, who has been condemning him in the harshest terms and who I thought was gone to Trumpism at one point.
Most importantly, while I thought Rich was overly glib in describing Trump as a “badass,” I absolutely and full-throatedly celebrated Trump’s decision to launch the strikes against Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. I’ve been saying for years that America should do this and I’m not going to change my position just because it’s Trump who does it. I’ve been very harshly critical of this administration, but this was the right decision. Garry Kasparov said something similar. Even Adam Kinzinger praised the decision. What bothered me about the #nevertrump movement during the first admin was that they let their hatred of Trump blind them to any good decisions he made. I’ve never voted for him. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t celebrate his nominations of Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch. And it doesn’t mean I don’t think this was a good decision (I’ll admit, I was surprised he actually did it).
Let me state for the record that the bunker busters on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan was a good thing. Taken in isolation. But two things: We don't know the results with regard to how much uranium was put out of commission, and the intelligence community says the homeland's danger level has been heightened. So I am reluctant to say we've ushered in a new era of mideast comity.
And yes, Barrett, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch were excellent moves. I guess if I would add a "but" to that, it would be, "but look at the crud that comes out of this guy's mouth all day long every day."
Compared to the alternative of letting Iran get the bomb or pretending the JCPOA was working, I’ll take a short-term elevation in threat to the homeland in exchange for a battered and nuclear-free Iran.
I think Rich is often too simplistic in his columns. That said, there isn’t nothing to the point he’s making in the clickbait-titled piece about Trump being a moderate. I’ve held for years that Trump is sort of a centrist in American political life. Centrism doesn’t mean being a squish who wants everyone to get along. It means you’re in between the positions of the right and left. National Socialism is sort of a centrist movement and that certainly wasn’t a movement based on compromise. Trump was never a conservative and was always too left-wing for me. I’ve been saying that since 2015 and I’m not going to suddenly denounce him as “far-right,” because the idiot left uses that term to describe anyone they hate.
I strongly disagree with the premise of your argument. It is absolutely not too late to call balls and strikes. One of the things I admire about the Dispatch and National Review is their willingness to do just that. Steve Hayes and Jonah Goldberg have taken a back seat to no one on what’s left of the sane right in their criticism of Trump. And both praised the recent strikes.
I share your dismay with Rich Lowry’s newfound admiration of Trump, although I detected a bit of that in him going back to 2017 so I wasn’t totally surprised. But I have been surprised how harshly critical many at NR have been of Trump since the inauguration. Especially Andy McCarthy, who has been condemning him in the harshest terms and who I thought was gone to Trumpism at one point.