Sigh. OK, so my 2c on the 1619 project. It seems like most of the disagreement is two sides talking past each other (surprise). 1/
Conservatives are largely talking about the rollout theme, that 1619 is the actual founding of America. Libs are talking about the essays, which . . . don't always do such a great job of supporting the rollout theme. 2/
Like, from the essays I've read, the actual theme is more "slavery and race are really important, and touches aspects of America in ways you wouldn't think about." Some are more radical than others, but for an example. 3/
the Kevin Kruse essay on traffic in Atlanta probably shouldn't be all that controversial on its own terms. There's not a whole lot of doubt that racial considerations played a large role in how interstates were laid out, 4/
although, as with most things, that is tied in with other concerns like class, land cost, preserving traditional neighborhood integrity, etc. Also not too controversial that race plays a role in public transportation; see, e.g., the lack of a metro stop in Georgetown. 5/
I also very much doubt that Kruse blames Atlanta traffic on slavery. It might affect the specific form traffic takes and some of the severity, but traffic congestion is pretty much the norm in cities of Atlanta's size. So why would people interpret it that way? 6/
I come back to the framing. The Times rollout suggested an argument that slavery is the most important factor in America, so the priors were set a certain way. I think by-and-large the essays didn't even try to deliver on that, but I do think that's why we're where we are. 7/7
(it didn't help that a lot of these contentions are controversial, and only one side was presented, but I don't think its inherently problematic for a magazine to do a symposium with an express point of view) 7/8
A friend suggests that this is an urban legend, which is almost too bad.
On supposed conservative hypocrisy re Gay (setting aside whether plagiarism really =s "canceling") there's a deep split among conservatives going back to the (highly consequential, in hindsight) @DavidAFrench vs. @SohrabAhmari fight. Rufo, Linsday and Gov. DeSantis 1/
are clearly in the Ahmari camp. That camp basically boils down to "if they want a war, we'll give them a war good and hard." There's no hypocrisy there. They're clear that they're coming for lefties, even if it means losing some conservatives in the process. 2/
The conservatives in the French camp have been, from what I can see, ambivalent about the Gay affair. Some are willing to be gracious, some think the plagiarism can be separated from the motivation of those who bring it, some are genuinely undecided. 3/
The biggest re-alignment of the last 100 yrs -- the sudden movement of Black voters from Republicans to Democrats -- caught both parties utterly flat-footed in 1936. In some ways it made no sense: Democrats still had segregationists throught their party. 1/
But for most, the economic issues trumped the social issues (interestingly, wealthier Blacks stayed Republican until the 1960s). Rs didn't fully appreciate those voters weren't coming back until the 60s. Italians flipped R in 1940 because of a speech FDR gave. 2/
In 2000, everyone, and I mean like @CharlieCookDC and @StuPolitics (both of whom I followed religiously at the time) were skeptical about WV going R. Even at the time, I doubt if anyone appreciated where it would be in 20 years.NH did a similar move in reverse from '88 - '96. 3/
I've been saying this over and over again, but: This is why inflation is so destructive to presidencies. With unemployment, overwhelming # of people are still employed, lots of unemployed expect to get hired back, etc. When you get your job, it's largely done. 1/
Inflation is different. People at all income levels notice it, whether it's the $10 happy meal or the $150 Outback delivery or [whatever good someone really rich buys and notices, I don't know]. 2/
You notice it when you think about moving, and realize the interest rate on the loan you could get is like 3x what you're paying. If you have credit card debt or floating debt, your interest on that explodes. 3/
Trump has double digit leads on being able to best handle the economy, inflation, crime, securing the border, the Ukraine War, and the Israeli conflict. Biden has a double digit lead on abortion rights. Everything else is single digits which sounds good except . . . 1/
things like healthcare policy and social security are *supposed* to be double digit Democratic leads. But what really catches my eye are the personal attribute questions. 3/
Today is my son Judson's 16th Birthday. Sixteen years ago, I thought about how on today we'd drive together to the DMV, get his driver's license, and how proud I'd be of him for passing, and frankly myself for teaching him how to drive, the way my Dad taught me and his him. 1/
That's not how today is going. Judd was diagnosed with autism at age 2.5. At the time, his doctor said he just had a "touch" of autism. I viewed it as a roadbump. To the extent I'm smart, it isn't in a traditional way, it's in a "think way outside the box" way. 2/
(today I recognize that ability to make weird connections no one else does as my own form of autism-ish behavior, which I've been able to redirect in a positive way, but anyway). I knew I could fix this, the way I'd been able to fix almost every other problem I'd encountered. 3/
I continue to hold to the position that we should not prosecute former presidents or candidates for the presidency except in extreme circumstances. I thought the NY indictment fell far short of that threshold. This one is different.
Basically, it is true the president shouldn't be above the law. If Trump had actually shot someone on Fifth Avenue, yes, he should have been prosecuted. If they had found hookers buried in the basement of Trump Tower -- which would not have surprised me -- indict.
At the same time, prosecutors exercise considerable discretion in which crimes to pursue and to not pursue. And if there are people who wouldn't be prosecuted for the crime the President/candidates should more-or-less automatically be in that bin.