If our society is currently “habituated to highly regulated, feminized environments that any hint of force causes apprehension,” then we need examples of strong, fearless decisions and leadership to show us another way our society can function.
I’m not advocating cruelty. However, if all actions of force are done by stealth methods, we will never reacclimatize to another way of governing and organizing our society that values strength of character and determination to do the tough things necessary for rooting out evil and graft.
As I write this, a crew of decidedly unfeminized men are moving dirt, pouring concrete, rerouting storm drains, leveling driveway entrances, soon to lay asphalt to rebuild our ancient well-worn road. Yes they are regulated. Every reverse is announced by loud back up beeps. When someone nicked a gas line, sheriff, EMTs, boss all showed up, they stopped work until it was safely restored. They have been moving heavy machinery, some of which I didn't know existed (road miller?), as if choreographed in a ballet by Balanchine. To watch for the past three weeks has been a gift. What has this to do with the essay? I don't know if it is power or nuance, but these guys have a job to do, and they get it done. Rain or shine. Thanks to leadership and fearless dedication to a job.
Yes, I'm sympathetic to your view here. I guess Christopher would argue that results matter, and getting results with his tactics get us into a better place now, and that it's a longer term project to, let's say, defeminize the public sphere.
Correct. This is the same old argument between walking the middle vs. raising the flag and charging ahead. The culture needs to be corrected to win the war. Rufo is arguing tactics, but tactics must further an over-arching long-term strategy to win the war. We must re-acclimate culture to the truth that force is sometimes both necessary and very good. We must de-feminize the culture. That is only accomplished by bold and open action that achieves results. And that is to say nothing of the value of simply being honest in our intentions. The ideological ball is not moved by action we cannot take credit for - you end up perhaps achieving results in the short term, but no one knows how or why and so no one can connect dots to ideas and leadership.
If we follow the same tactics of subterfuge as the enemy, we become indistinguishable from them in the end and no cultural, political or moral capital is generated to carry forward the movement.
Not only is it often necessary and good - it often works.
Our society may have renounced force, but it seem to me that in that environment, he who can use force effectively wins. They may be accused of winning "unfairly" - but who cares, that's a loser's lament. So let the losers lament. Because the only way we can get lasting change is to undermine/dismantle/change this feminized environment, rather than playing along with its rules.
We have capitulated and kowtowed to their delicate sensibilities for too long. They have no problem forcing us out of jobs into jabs and masks, and even trying to take your children from you if you refuse to sexualize or mutilate them.
“In our age of delicate sensibilities, reforms must be pursued through proxies and abstraction”
I agree. This is why I love the appt of Marco Rubio as SS, where he has shown remarkable ability to gently but decisively answer attacks by the media without intimidating. No one doubts his commitment to the Trump Doctrine but they can’t accuse him of bullying.
Yeah, the jet deal looks kind of bad, but so does the Pres riding around in a 40-year old plane... The real scandal here is Boeing's failure to deliver a new Air Force 1.
"looks bad" , to who ? The democraps. Don't care . The USA saved the Middle East from Saddam Husain. He would have taken both Qutar and UEA . So the democraps can GTH!
I really like the ‘Do More. Say Less. Way Less!’ I was just thinking last night about how much Obama did, say on deportation, that wasn’t even questioned, simply because of his style. I think it was Thomas Sowell who remarked on how ‘pretty’ Obama talked. Trump is the opposite. He’s loud and blunt and often crude. While this is downright refreshing to many, it also creates a huge backlash that creates obstacles and delays. I absolutely get the point about wanting to change the ‘feminization’ of the culture. It is maddening. But it’s a reality and we need results to address how crazy things have become. Honestly, it’s starting to look like all the DEI crap and related GroupThink is so deeply imbedded, it will be impossible to root it out, even if Trump could do subtlety
Yes. It will. You can even say it is. Present tense. But exactly how do you propose accomplishing that? It’s not just ‘feminization. It is the propaganda fed to those who have lost (if they ever had) the ability to think critically, independent of what they are told by the group with whom they align. Remember ‘common sense’? Well, it has become increasingly uncommon.
And here’s the piece that really gets me. This didn’t just happen. It’s been going on for decades, well funded, starting in the universities, and spreading out to all other institutions, including government. By the time I realized something was happening, it just seemed silly. The pronouns. The modern areas of study in higher education. Liberalism run amuck. But only very recently did it become crystal clear that this isn’t a joke. It is deadly serious. So again, how exactly do you root it out?
While I personally celebrate each sign of “Taking Back America”, I agree that more nuance might be prudent. However, considering the need to move quickly and decisively to cut out the rot which has come dangerously close to destroying the country, I’m not sure there is time to waste on crafting a gentler looking takedown of those that have sought to destroy our entire system.
I agree with the way Trump is handling things and I don't think it's going to alienate the people who voted for him he can't undo 40 years of corrupting criminal government in four years unless he does it aggressively
"If the defenders of traditional values ever did really get their act together (and the votes to back it), what kind of fight-back could they mount? They have left it late. It would need to be an unashamedly sledgehammer legislative approach, pursued with Machiavellian sleight of hand."
I don't think most Americans, even liberals, actually are worried about this. I think the ones who answer polls or always online or that the progressive left press promotes are. I don't know a single person, even my old-school-liberal 83 year old mother, complaining. It's all online and in blue cities. Quite frankly, I don't care. Move fast, break things, wake some people up.
How in God's name did the Board at New College approve the hiring of Santa Ono as the new president of the university? Why was he the only finalist? His past at Michigan has shown him to be DEI to the core. I hope the Florida legislature blocks the appointment.
Trump has a blunt and bombastic way of speaking, and this is probably both his greatest virtue and his biggest weak point.
Since he got started back in the day, it seems to me that a big reason he stirs up so much blowback and the cause of the metastasizing of TDS is because he takes such delight it telling idiots that they are idiots. During his first term, I often found myself wishing he would just tone down the twittering a little while simultaneously cheering him on. His message is often lost due to the manner in which he gives it and instead of hearing and thinking about what he is saying, people react emotionally to the way he says it. The better way to convert someone to your way of thinking is to convince them with your argument rather than simply telling them how stupid they are. Trumps confrontational manner about EVERYTHING sometimes doesn't help him.
Ronald Reagan is often referred to as the Great Communicator because he had a talent for telling people unpleasant truths and making it all sound so reasonable. He had a way of telling people they were an idiot that didn't result in his target getting so pissed off. He could tell someone to go to hell and they might enjoy the trip.
And, yes. I thought it was a mistake to have Elon Musk constantly publicly crowing about the waste and abuse that he was finding. They should have been just quietly closing things, canceling things, and firing people and then found a much quieter or more subtle way of publicizing the results.
But, I do love it and I hope he sustains the pace because our bloated government is destroying our country.
Also, keep in mind that almost everything he has done so far can be undone just as fast unless those idiots in Congress get off their fat asses and pass legislation to make the reforms permanent.
I liked Elon and his list of ridiculous waste - unbelievable how those NGO grifters managed to suck taxpayer dollars out of USAID. Equally unbelievable what taxpayer dollars were blown on…truly stupid stuff. Even he was incredulous when he listed the graft! I think publicizing in that manner was needed to wake people up to the rot.
Bravo! Unless conservatives learn how to use the same psychological buttons that got general public to suffer from this suicidal caricature of compassion to the invaders who pretend to be victims, nothing will change.
Stealth is an approach but subtlety and nuance are irrelevant in pursuit of pragmatic (and urgent) reestablishment of genteel society. The left wing radicals have demonstrated that the only thing that will recalibrate society is to replace abstraction with demonstration of reality that needs to cater fairly to everyone within the bounds of Western Civilization mores.
Exceptionally astute. I am a solid conservative in a deep blue university setting and can attest to the “hear no evil, see no evil” mentality. This, while violent crime escalates. Fingers crossed from your lips to Trump’s ears.
I appreciate this view. Maybe we should encourage our media to compare Trump to other strong leaders in our past: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Rosevelt, Reagan. Maybe comparing Trump to past presidents in our media would get some people to even look back at history.
Ryan’s Wife here - and I disagree!
If our society is currently “habituated to highly regulated, feminized environments that any hint of force causes apprehension,” then we need examples of strong, fearless decisions and leadership to show us another way our society can function.
I’m not advocating cruelty. However, if all actions of force are done by stealth methods, we will never reacclimatize to another way of governing and organizing our society that values strength of character and determination to do the tough things necessary for rooting out evil and graft.
As I write this, a crew of decidedly unfeminized men are moving dirt, pouring concrete, rerouting storm drains, leveling driveway entrances, soon to lay asphalt to rebuild our ancient well-worn road. Yes they are regulated. Every reverse is announced by loud back up beeps. When someone nicked a gas line, sheriff, EMTs, boss all showed up, they stopped work until it was safely restored. They have been moving heavy machinery, some of which I didn't know existed (road miller?), as if choreographed in a ballet by Balanchine. To watch for the past three weeks has been a gift. What has this to do with the essay? I don't know if it is power or nuance, but these guys have a job to do, and they get it done. Rain or shine. Thanks to leadership and fearless dedication to a job.
Yes, I'm sympathetic to your view here. I guess Christopher would argue that results matter, and getting results with his tactics get us into a better place now, and that it's a longer term project to, let's say, defeminize the public sphere.
Correct. This is the same old argument between walking the middle vs. raising the flag and charging ahead. The culture needs to be corrected to win the war. Rufo is arguing tactics, but tactics must further an over-arching long-term strategy to win the war. We must re-acclimate culture to the truth that force is sometimes both necessary and very good. We must de-feminize the culture. That is only accomplished by bold and open action that achieves results. And that is to say nothing of the value of simply being honest in our intentions. The ideological ball is not moved by action we cannot take credit for - you end up perhaps achieving results in the short term, but no one knows how or why and so no one can connect dots to ideas and leadership.
If we follow the same tactics of subterfuge as the enemy, we become indistinguishable from them in the end and no cultural, political or moral capital is generated to carry forward the movement.
Not only is it often necessary and good - it often works.
Our society may have renounced force, but it seem to me that in that environment, he who can use force effectively wins. They may be accused of winning "unfairly" - but who cares, that's a loser's lament. So let the losers lament. Because the only way we can get lasting change is to undermine/dismantle/change this feminized environment, rather than playing along with its rules.
We have capitulated and kowtowed to their delicate sensibilities for too long. They have no problem forcing us out of jobs into jabs and masks, and even trying to take your children from you if you refuse to sexualize or mutilate them.
No more. FAFO
Opposite but equal force.
Opposite and overwhelming force. ( there fixed it for you).
“In our age of delicate sensibilities, reforms must be pursued through proxies and abstraction”
I agree. This is why I love the appt of Marco Rubio as SS, where he has shown remarkable ability to gently but decisively answer attacks by the media without intimidating. No one doubts his commitment to the Trump Doctrine but they can’t accuse him of bullying.
i've been impressed. Honestly, I didn't know he had it in him.
Yeah, Marco has kicked it into a higher gear... He's gonna give JD a run for his money in '28.
He seems pretty hard core black and white to me. Rubio gets away with it because he has support of Senator class
Rubio seems a very low key guy and very calm. Can he even act angry? He hides emotions very well
Well stated.
Less showmanship; more concrete action.
Getting the Jet from Qatar - bad idea.
Picking on reporters - why? Just tell them to be quiet, Move on.
On deportation: time to move on. Just deport. Ignore the judges.
Do more, say less. Much less.
Your work is of profound importance Mr. Rufo. Thank you.
Yeah, the jet deal looks kind of bad, but so does the Pres riding around in a 40-year old plane... The real scandal here is Boeing's failure to deliver a new Air Force 1.
"looks bad" , to who ? The democraps. Don't care . The USA saved the Middle East from Saddam Husain. He would have taken both Qutar and UEA . So the democraps can GTH!
On deportations. I think they are making them ‘YUGE’ on camera to send a strong message to others that coming to America illegally is a VERY bad idea.
I really like the ‘Do More. Say Less. Way Less!’ I was just thinking last night about how much Obama did, say on deportation, that wasn’t even questioned, simply because of his style. I think it was Thomas Sowell who remarked on how ‘pretty’ Obama talked. Trump is the opposite. He’s loud and blunt and often crude. While this is downright refreshing to many, it also creates a huge backlash that creates obstacles and delays. I absolutely get the point about wanting to change the ‘feminization’ of the culture. It is maddening. But it’s a reality and we need results to address how crazy things have become. Honestly, it’s starting to look like all the DEI crap and related GroupThink is so deeply imbedded, it will be impossible to root it out, even if Trump could do subtlety
We have no choice; it must be rooted out. Otherwise the country will be destroyed.
Yes. It will. You can even say it is. Present tense. But exactly how do you propose accomplishing that? It’s not just ‘feminization. It is the propaganda fed to those who have lost (if they ever had) the ability to think critically, independent of what they are told by the group with whom they align. Remember ‘common sense’? Well, it has become increasingly uncommon.
And here’s the piece that really gets me. This didn’t just happen. It’s been going on for decades, well funded, starting in the universities, and spreading out to all other institutions, including government. By the time I realized something was happening, it just seemed silly. The pronouns. The modern areas of study in higher education. Liberalism run amuck. But only very recently did it become crystal clear that this isn’t a joke. It is deadly serious. So again, how exactly do you root it out?
While I personally celebrate each sign of “Taking Back America”, I agree that more nuance might be prudent. However, considering the need to move quickly and decisively to cut out the rot which has come dangerously close to destroying the country, I’m not sure there is time to waste on crafting a gentler looking takedown of those that have sought to destroy our entire system.
I agree with the way Trump is handling things and I don't think it's going to alienate the people who voted for him he can't undo 40 years of corrupting criminal government in four years unless he does it aggressively
What is (rightly) being argued here is to learn from Machiavelli. As I wrote in this piece back in the dark days of 'peak woke': https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/p/invasion-of-the-virtue-signallers
"If the defenders of traditional values ever did really get their act together (and the votes to back it), what kind of fight-back could they mount? They have left it late. It would need to be an unashamedly sledgehammer legislative approach, pursued with Machiavellian sleight of hand."
I agree with Trump he's got four years to undo 40 years of corrupt and criminal government do it do it now and do it right
I don't think most Americans, even liberals, actually are worried about this. I think the ones who answer polls or always online or that the progressive left press promotes are. I don't know a single person, even my old-school-liberal 83 year old mother, complaining. It's all online and in blue cities. Quite frankly, I don't care. Move fast, break things, wake some people up.
Chris,
How in God's name did the Board at New College approve the hiring of Santa Ono as the new president of the university? Why was he the only finalist? His past at Michigan has shown him to be DEI to the core. I hope the Florida legislature blocks the appointment.
It was Florida State, not New College!
It was the University of Florida. And Ono might work out fine. https://www.gainesville.com/story/news/education/campus/2025/05/09/university-of-michigan-faculty-glad-to-see-dr-santa-ono-depart-for-uf/83511435007/
It's not New College It's really University of Florida.
Trump has a blunt and bombastic way of speaking, and this is probably both his greatest virtue and his biggest weak point.
Since he got started back in the day, it seems to me that a big reason he stirs up so much blowback and the cause of the metastasizing of TDS is because he takes such delight it telling idiots that they are idiots. During his first term, I often found myself wishing he would just tone down the twittering a little while simultaneously cheering him on. His message is often lost due to the manner in which he gives it and instead of hearing and thinking about what he is saying, people react emotionally to the way he says it. The better way to convert someone to your way of thinking is to convince them with your argument rather than simply telling them how stupid they are. Trumps confrontational manner about EVERYTHING sometimes doesn't help him.
Ronald Reagan is often referred to as the Great Communicator because he had a talent for telling people unpleasant truths and making it all sound so reasonable. He had a way of telling people they were an idiot that didn't result in his target getting so pissed off. He could tell someone to go to hell and they might enjoy the trip.
And, yes. I thought it was a mistake to have Elon Musk constantly publicly crowing about the waste and abuse that he was finding. They should have been just quietly closing things, canceling things, and firing people and then found a much quieter or more subtle way of publicizing the results.
But, I do love it and I hope he sustains the pace because our bloated government is destroying our country.
Also, keep in mind that almost everything he has done so far can be undone just as fast unless those idiots in Congress get off their fat asses and pass legislation to make the reforms permanent.
I liked Elon and his list of ridiculous waste - unbelievable how those NGO grifters managed to suck taxpayer dollars out of USAID. Equally unbelievable what taxpayer dollars were blown on…truly stupid stuff. Even he was incredulous when he listed the graft! I think publicizing in that manner was needed to wake people up to the rot.
Trumps base loves it.
Bravo! Unless conservatives learn how to use the same psychological buttons that got general public to suffer from this suicidal caricature of compassion to the invaders who pretend to be victims, nothing will change.
Stealth is an approach but subtlety and nuance are irrelevant in pursuit of pragmatic (and urgent) reestablishment of genteel society. The left wing radicals have demonstrated that the only thing that will recalibrate society is to replace abstraction with demonstration of reality that needs to cater fairly to everyone within the bounds of Western Civilization mores.
Elon is already gone because he experienced the Blob who is using unlimited forces to oppose him and are winning through illegal judiciary actions.
The X factor in play is a serious majority of People do not follow the MSM anymore; they go here, podcasts, etc. We will see.
Exceptionally astute. I am a solid conservative in a deep blue university setting and can attest to the “hear no evil, see no evil” mentality. This, while violent crime escalates. Fingers crossed from your lips to Trump’s ears.
Perfectly assessed.
I appreciate this view. Maybe we should encourage our media to compare Trump to other strong leaders in our past: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Rosevelt, Reagan. Maybe comparing Trump to past presidents in our media would get some people to even look back at history.
https://www.thetoptens.com/leaders/greatest-republican-presidents/
"encourage our media" Uh huh. The ones that copy and paste each others' headlines?Which is all most folks swallow these days.