Thread by @varadmehta

"The problem with The Bulwark isn't that it places a higher priority on being anti-Trump than it does on being conservative. The problem is that the people behind it won't admit it." My latest for @ArcDigi.
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If I were to sum up my column on the Bulwark in three words they'd be "@SeanTrende was right." Think of it as an amicus brief explaining why he was correct about NeverTrump's so-called endgame. arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

As @SeanTrende argued, turning to kamikaze piracy would just blow the whole thing up and prevent any second coming of the GOP establishment because even if it succeed in overthrowing Trump, the fallout would make anyone who touched the trigger radioactive. arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

"Politics is about persuasion. To persuade, one must be heard. To be heard, one must be listened to. The Bulwark will persuade few conservatives because few conservatives will listen to it in the first place." arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

"The Bulwark isn't about defending conservatism, it's about defeating Trump. What has provoked so much of the scorn being heaped on The Bulwark is the insistence of the site's editors that they are the same." arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

What do I mean when I say the Bulwark is anti-Trump first, conservative second? The Larry Hogan nonsense, that's what. "One cannot claim to want 'a serious conservative to lay the foundation for a post-Trump GOP' while simultaneously hawking Larry Hogan." arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

"People know when their intelligence is being insulted and 'Larry Hogan, conservative redeemer' looks like nothing so much as a gross insult to the intelligence of Republican voters."
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For those who missed it, here's my earlier @ArcDigi column on "The Hogan Foolusion." arcdigital.media/the-hogan-fool…

There's nothing wrong with trying to defeat Trump. It's why we have elections. But be forthright about your motives and also the consequences. Admit beating Trump is your goal, and accept that if it happens you'll never be let back into the GOP. arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

I didn't intend to write about the CPAC fiasco, but it blew up so much I couldn't avoid it. Making fun of CPAC is what you should do if you're trying to conserve conservatism. Unfortunately, the Bulwark completely screwed it up. arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

"Worse than a crime, the CPAC fiasco was a blunder, one confirming what many already believed, namely that The Bulwark is defending not conservatism but a certain vision of the Republican Party, one shorn of its more embarrassing, inconvenient elements." arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

Here's my take on the CPAC debacle. When such decidedly non-MAGA types as @469Matt, @Holden114, @NevilleD35, @_Drew_McCoy_, and @politicalmath (to name just a few) think you messed up, it behooves you to take their criticism seriously and consider that maybe you did mess up.

"Should Bulwarkism (to coin a phrase) earn a reputation as hostile to social conservatism, that would only strengthen the resolve of many Republicans that as far as the future of the party is concerned, Bulwarkism should be no part of it." arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

This will sound an odd criticism, but the Bulwark strikes me as nothing so much as revanchist. But what a peculiar kind of revanchism, trying to make the GOP safe for Jeb! again. It's never going to be 2015 again. Stop trying. Let it go. arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

Choosing being anti-Trump over being conservative is a valid choice. I'd argue that's the one the Bulwark has made. The folks running it should "own it, and admit that, when being conservative and being anti-Trump conflict, they will choose the latter." arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

I'm not ready to give up on the Bulwark yet. It has good people and publishes good stuff. But so far in its brief life its anti-Trumpism has been in tension with its conservatism. Until that tension is resolved, it will remain a flawed vessel for both. arcdigital.media/the-bulwarks-b…

The end. My thanks to @bernybelvedere and especially @NGrossman81 for their sedulous, careful editorial scrutiny. This underwent a lot of revision, more than usual for me. The piece is a lot better for their efforts.