Excellent summation, Chris. Inspiring. I’m forwarding this to my 3 children to encourage them to be the tip of the spear on this…..and to family and friends….and my state Senator, whom I badger about education reform constantly. Keep it coming.
This is the way. We need as many people as possible to back the counteroffensive against the cultural revolution. Subvert the subverters and destroy the destroyers of our society who seek to tear it all down like the symbolic statues: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/founding-fathers-statues-monuments-removed
You are the worst of the worst. Inartful is the least strong word to describe your shit-for-brains attempts at politick. You're detached from reality. Work on a farm for a year.
I'll add on to this: conservatives must be morally and ethically sound to advance the movement. We need more adherents, not more division. Trump is not the answer. He is crude, nasty, petty, and overtly seeking revenge. He is a terrible leader. Ron DeSantis can build a coalition and create lasting change. We need to do the right thing.
Dave, DeSantis is a brilliant, courageous guy. I'm forever grateful for his heroism during covid and his awesome leadership on so many issues in FL. I don't call people heroes lightly. Ron's a hero. I'd love to see him as president. But if the only guy who can get there is Trump I'll support him. We can quibble about Trump's personality and shortcomings, but he has all the right enemies. There's a reason for that.
When the system is as corrupt as ours a bomb-thrower can do a lot of good bc just disrupting that system allows other parts of the republic to regenerate (at the state level, for instance). So we shouldn't let Trump's imperfections deter us from reaping the blessings of a Trump presidency if that's our only real option.
I'm in a similar boat. I support DeSantis for president and believe he is by far the best leader in the country, but will support the conservative nominee, whether it it DeSantis, Trump, or someone else. Primary voters will decide.
Get back to your knitting, granny. Will you wait your few remaining days expecting some knight to ride in and singlehandedly save the republic? It's time the right actually engages in realpolitik.
See, this is what's sad- for Americans in general. The system is rigged- but not as a "one-party state" run by the Democrats. (If you think that, you don't know what a real one-party state looks like. And/or you aren't being honest; there are reasons why the Democratic Party Biden administration has accomplished maybe 10% of their domestic agenda campaign promises.) The system is rigged as a duopoly by the Democrat and Republican establishments. The backers and funders of the duopoly like it that way, even though it makes a joke out of the elections.
The system is rigged because it doesn't allow ranked-choice voting. That flaw has allowed the two established parties a hegemony, simply by inertia. Both parties are about as decrepit and out of ideas as it gets. Yet practical reality is inescapable- vote for one or the other, or take a chance on enabling the major-party candidate you least want in office to "achieve" victory on the basis of your spoiler ballot.
Since 1976 (Carter, 50.1%), there's been only one newly elected US president who has won with a majority popular vote (Obama, 52.9%.)
Ranked-choice voting always sums up to a true majority preference. It's absurd to object to the reform on the basis that the victor might be "the second choice of the majority." For practically all of my voting life, I've been in the position of voting for the second-worst candidate presented as a nominee by the two major parties. The cynicism of the two established parties is really that bad. Both realize that the only requirement of their nominee is that the candidate be endorsed as relatively less unacceptable than the other choices, by a plurality of the voters. (Bill Clinton won the Presidency in 1992 with 43% of the votes. Woodrow Wilson won in 1912 with 41.8%.)
I prefer the simplest sort of ranked-choice: first and second choice only. The easiest and faster to tabulate, while also providing a relevant measure of voter preferences. So, for instance, a conservative candidate mounting an independent candidacy would be able to run in the November election without incurring the hazard that they'd be taking votes from the officially ordained Republican establishment candidate (presumably the second choice of anyone with more conservative ideological inclinations), thereby enabling the Democratic Party candidate to win.
Among other things, this allows independent political movements to build their challenges to the established parties by building on a previous track record of initially tabulated 1st choice votes. Instead of as a flash in the pan. So the candidate of an independent movement might show up as the first choice of 5% in 2028 (the earliest realistic date to implement ranked-choice); and then 13% in 2032 (and also as the second choice of an increasing number of voters); and then, after that...onward and upward, perhaps.
Political reality argues against instant success for independent movements seeking to displace the two predominating "major" parties. And I suspect that it will still come down to one or the other- the difference is the threat of insurgency displacing one or both of the ossified, stagnating parties. At minimum, this would enable the voters to keep the two established parties honest. There's no way to do that now. Voters are practically inevitably cornered into voting for the least worst choice. The only criteria of judgement is whether one thinks the other major-party guy on the ballot would be even worse.
Totally agree. Desantis is a well disciplined ex Naval Officer who would destroy the left. It's not even close. That being said I'll vote for Trump if he's the guy.
Have none of you listened to Vivek Ramaswamy's rap? He's the intelligent conservative we need as a leader. He's Trump's smart alter ego. In fact, he's the only candidate with the balls to acknowledge Trump's successes and not treat him like some sort of pariah.
Here he is--https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/08/13/ramaswamy_my_core_platform_is_to_shut_down_the_administrative_deep_state_the_three-letter_agencies.html
We can disagree in the primary, but must support the winner 100% in the general, period. One thing the Dems are great at is falling in line. Reps, not so much.
Trouble is the the GOPe types don't do this and us doing it is akin to unilateral disarmament. We must either defeat them within the Republican party or establish a new party before we can even hope to take on the leftists.
Dave. I respectfully disagree with you. DeSantis seems too nice. I believe America needs a kickass president who does not kowtow to world leaders and rinos, press, democrats or social media. Nicki Hailey? I read that she is the globalists choice.
DeSantis's source of funding, and therefore his obligations to them, are reported to be WEFFIES. Could he be a wolf in sheep's clothing at the federal level? He's done a great job at the state level. I wish he'd get back to it.
Just FYI I disagree with you on Trump’s character. He respects the average American citizen more than ANY other politician currently on the scene. Also anyone running against him right is a traitor in that they can see the weaponization of our judicial system and somehow think the same will not happen to them, then they are not smart to govern us.
While you may not agree with Trump on everything he is the one person that will not waiver and stand up to the radicals. I like DeSantis also but not for now. DeSantis has hurt himself on the campaign trail by not standing strong and making false attacks.
Trump is a symptom of US cultural rot. His crude personality was promoted in the 2016 debates by leftist media moderators who believed he was easily beatable. They only failed by promoting a known corrupt Hillary.
The 2024 mainstream media is similarly biased. Is it possible for a quality leader to emerge from debates moderated by them?
I'm asking Jessica J what end she has in mind, in the near-term - something rather oddly lacking from this article, considering the primaries are imminent.
This was an excellent piece. I see this as a battle cry for conservatives. We must makes some changes in our approach if we want to stand a chance in hell on succeeding. Thank you for being a strong voice!
Superb article. Christopher Rufo has succinctly stated the activism necessary to return to our Founders’ ideals. We who live in Florida have already experienced his and others’ successes. But we have a long way to go and must NOT let the ideal of perfect inhibit our efforts. As an original Tea Party activist I was continually frustrated by those who masked their cowardice behind the rubric of acquiring the perfect result. Forge on Christopher Rufo! We applaud you and continue to fight within our spheres of influence.
I am detecting an important theme hinted at in this article, a theme that is usually lost upon establishment conservatives: namely, that rhetoric and intentions are less important than actual results. This will shock the Fox-Ryan-McConnell-McCain-Romney-Cheney wing of Republicans, for whom gracious losing is the most important attribute.
Hi Chris. Interesting timing for your article. I am part of a slate mailer for central committee candidates in CA. It looks too political. We need to stand out. Our Republican voters are outnumbered and out organized.. I told Eli to put on the mailer something like this. If you can advise or revise, great. God - Family - Country, our American values are aligned with yours. Vote for us to restore San Diego. I got push back when I gave my 1 min talk. I reminded everyone that our first president and his cabinet prayed for guidance to govern America. That we need to get back to our founding principles. Your feedback please. Thanks! Lee
Thank you and may your writing continue to be spread far & wide influencing Americans to wake up and stand up for what is right - this piece so perfectly distills all that needs to be done!
Thank you, Chris, for being the "once more unto the breach" guy. You are an inspiration.
Couple of thoughts:
Curtis Yarvin: "there is no politics without an enemy." Our enemy is the educated class and the administrative state.
We need to replace the left's political formula that "we are the allies of the oppressed peoples in their fight against the white oppressors."
I say: "women expect to be protected." We must tell the women of America that we will protect them, from street crime, from men in the women's bathroom, sexual predators.
I say we live in Three Worlds: War World of politics and government; Market World of trust in people that demonstrate trustworthiness, and Life World of family and neighborhood. We need to trim the wings of War World, think deeply about how to broaden and deepen the trust culture of Market World, and help the lower class inhabit a safe and neighborly Life World.
I agree and applaud your New Right framework. Count me in as one of your “old guy” supporters. I like the results you have produced so far with DEI and Disney in Florida. But when you say we cannot cut the size and scope of government because “...the institutions which today shape public and private life will exist for the foreseeable future” I think you should take a look at radically doing something like Vivek Ramaswamy is saying and working towards eliminating the funding for 75% of the federal government workforce. The bureaucracy needs to be dismantled.
75% decrease in the federal workforce: This would translate to roughly 2.1 million job cuts, considering the current size of the civilian workforce is around 2.8 million.
Eliminating key agencies: Ramaswamy has identified five agencies for potential closure – the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Department of Education, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). He also wants to dismantle "bureaucratic layers" within remaining agencies.
Methods of Reduction:
Executive Orders: Ramaswamy believes the President has the authority to restructure the government through executive orders, potentially bypassing Congressional approval. He argues that a 1977 law grants such power.
Reassignment and Attrition: He plans to reassign some FBI personnel to other agencies like the Marshals Service and DEA, while relying on attrition for other reductions.
Reduction in Federal Employee Unions: Ramaswamy aims to limit the power of unions representing federal employees, potentially making it easier to implement layoffs.
Im very curious about your thoughts on Aristotle’s Politics. In it, as you are likely already aware, he cautions against this constant tug-of-war, this back and forth of power seizing, especially when collectively we haven’t seemed to ever truly understand power on a more fundamental level, particularly that it often tends to weaken us humans, rather than do any empowering. Real empowerment seems, by definition, to be a unitive thing, not a left/right thing. I admit I am not “conservative,” but I am a helluva lot more to the “right” than I ever imagined possible since 2016. I have been following your work with enthusiasm for the last year or so. I am disgusted by views I personally held less than 10 years ago. The whiplash has been wild, but necessary. I’m stoked for the work you do, honestly. But occasionally I get a little nervous about the way I imagine people will read your work, that it could rile them up rather than sober them up. I feel like we need to do this thing soberly, not revved up on hatred for “the Left” or, really, for anyone. Love is the real driving force and message of the Gospels. That should similarly be our inspiration here. The pendulum just swings back and forth and back and forth and everyone wants to have the momentum behind their movement, but very few people are willing to look at the actual apparatus that the pendulum swings from. With full respect, I’d love to see your work head more in that direction.
I’ll check it out, thanks for the tip! I’m currently a 44 year old senior at SFSU (yes, THAT SFSU lol -- and yes it’s as bad as they say it is). Honestly, taking a class on Aristotle’s Politics was extremely illuminating, both the material of the text, and the response of so many marxists in that class squirming in their seats. I realized the Politics can too easily be read to pin Aristotle as a “neutral” player. But that’s not at all what he’s getting at. He’s urging a sober and more thorough view of the power structure which exists on a spectrum from tyranny to anarchy. He thoroughly outlines all the ways “right” and “left” can be compromised and weakened by these extreme forces. He, in a similar yet more grounded vein as Heraclitus, argues that it is only in appreciating the true nature of things -- to whatever limited extent we humans are able -- that all things are in flux, and that there are beneficial offerings in the most surprising spaces, that are making themselves available to us constantly, often from “the other side”, that can serve as balancing, pacifying forces, rather than toppling, devastating ones. He is advocating for a balance point that is not static, but dynamic, requiring our constant, reverent attention, which requires radical sacrifice (and, honestly, prayer), which requires the occasional humble acceptance of these “gifts from the other side” that can serve us ALL, rather than the few, or just one’s own “side.” We’ve done enough toppling and crumbling, dividing and further fragmenting. It’s the repeating cycle of humanity, it’s Biblical, it’s Israel roaming for FORTY years lost and dumbed down in the desert. I am starting to believe real power looks different. In other words, I am understanding Jesus more clearly when he says the first shall be last. Again, I deeply appreciate your work. There is such a clarity and resolution behind your words. I’m looking forward to where this leads.
Chris, I'm an "old guy" - of the generation who, historically, dies in the fight against the totalitarian so that the next generation can rebuild/restore/renew. I'm ready for that if need be, whether literally or metaphorically. My encouragement comes in leaders like you who have a vision, based in tradition while imagining the future, and back it with concrete steps. You used a Christian analogy and so shall I: the book of James teaches that "faith without works is dead." In the same way, posts and manifestos are nothing without the actions that realize them. Thanks for showing all of us - and particularly my young adult/teen kids - what that synchronization looks like if we are to forge a hopeful future.
Men, men, men! Write big you may, but it was Elise Stefanik who fired that short heard round Harvard Yard! She hauled up three college presidents and cleaned their clocks! Who of you wise guys has done anything like it!
Haley killed DeSantis & the rest in the debates. It boggles this old lady's mind that you can aim at such pretensions when your party is about to re-elect a pinnacle of debasement - a cowardly whipped dog who won't even show is face in open debate. You are yet terrified to leave his acrid embrace. Heal thyself!
Excellent summation, Chris. Inspiring. I’m forwarding this to my 3 children to encourage them to be the tip of the spear on this…..and to family and friends….and my state Senator, whom I badger about education reform constantly. Keep it coming.
This is the way. We need as many people as possible to back the counteroffensive against the cultural revolution. Subvert the subverters and destroy the destroyers of our society who seek to tear it all down like the symbolic statues: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/founding-fathers-statues-monuments-removed
There is a place where strong, optimistic, God fearing people go. Join Convention of States. https://conventionofstates.com/?ref=57705
It is a trap. If you think leftists cheat in elections now, watch out for the conventions that rewrite the Constitution.
Looks good in principle, but I don't see any proposed amendments yet. Have any been drafted?
You are the worst of the worst. Inartful is the least strong word to describe your shit-for-brains attempts at politick. You're detached from reality. Work on a farm for a year.
Watch it. Gratuitous insults will earn you a ban.
Why do you keep liking that clown's posts? You call for the utmost of mindful action, then you endorse a halfwit politics of memes.
You do want a ban, then.
Sorry, are hard questions disallowed in this revolution? I thought something was supposed to be different about it.
Great!
I'll add on to this: conservatives must be morally and ethically sound to advance the movement. We need more adherents, not more division. Trump is not the answer. He is crude, nasty, petty, and overtly seeking revenge. He is a terrible leader. Ron DeSantis can build a coalition and create lasting change. We need to do the right thing.
Dave, DeSantis is a brilliant, courageous guy. I'm forever grateful for his heroism during covid and his awesome leadership on so many issues in FL. I don't call people heroes lightly. Ron's a hero. I'd love to see him as president. But if the only guy who can get there is Trump I'll support him. We can quibble about Trump's personality and shortcomings, but he has all the right enemies. There's a reason for that.
When the system is as corrupt as ours a bomb-thrower can do a lot of good bc just disrupting that system allows other parts of the republic to regenerate (at the state level, for instance). So we shouldn't let Trump's imperfections deter us from reaping the blessings of a Trump presidency if that's our only real option.
I'm in a similar boat. I support DeSantis for president and believe he is by far the best leader in the country, but will support the conservative nominee, whether it it DeSantis, Trump, or someone else. Primary voters will decide.
Oh, what a mealy mouth!
Get back to your knitting, granny. Will you wait your few remaining days expecting some knight to ride in and singlehandedly save the republic? It's time the right actually engages in realpolitik.
I'm hoping Ramaswamy gets enough traction to be a real contender in '28.
See, this is what's sad- for Americans in general. The system is rigged- but not as a "one-party state" run by the Democrats. (If you think that, you don't know what a real one-party state looks like. And/or you aren't being honest; there are reasons why the Democratic Party Biden administration has accomplished maybe 10% of their domestic agenda campaign promises.) The system is rigged as a duopoly by the Democrat and Republican establishments. The backers and funders of the duopoly like it that way, even though it makes a joke out of the elections.
The system is rigged because it doesn't allow ranked-choice voting. That flaw has allowed the two established parties a hegemony, simply by inertia. Both parties are about as decrepit and out of ideas as it gets. Yet practical reality is inescapable- vote for one or the other, or take a chance on enabling the major-party candidate you least want in office to "achieve" victory on the basis of your spoiler ballot.
Since 1976 (Carter, 50.1%), there's been only one newly elected US president who has won with a majority popular vote (Obama, 52.9%.)
Ranked-choice voting always sums up to a true majority preference. It's absurd to object to the reform on the basis that the victor might be "the second choice of the majority." For practically all of my voting life, I've been in the position of voting for the second-worst candidate presented as a nominee by the two major parties. The cynicism of the two established parties is really that bad. Both realize that the only requirement of their nominee is that the candidate be endorsed as relatively less unacceptable than the other choices, by a plurality of the voters. (Bill Clinton won the Presidency in 1992 with 43% of the votes. Woodrow Wilson won in 1912 with 41.8%.)
I prefer the simplest sort of ranked-choice: first and second choice only. The easiest and faster to tabulate, while also providing a relevant measure of voter preferences. So, for instance, a conservative candidate mounting an independent candidacy would be able to run in the November election without incurring the hazard that they'd be taking votes from the officially ordained Republican establishment candidate (presumably the second choice of anyone with more conservative ideological inclinations), thereby enabling the Democratic Party candidate to win.
Among other things, this allows independent political movements to build their challenges to the established parties by building on a previous track record of initially tabulated 1st choice votes. Instead of as a flash in the pan. So the candidate of an independent movement might show up as the first choice of 5% in 2028 (the earliest realistic date to implement ranked-choice); and then 13% in 2032 (and also as the second choice of an increasing number of voters); and then, after that...onward and upward, perhaps.
Political reality argues against instant success for independent movements seeking to displace the two predominating "major" parties. And I suspect that it will still come down to one or the other- the difference is the threat of insurgency displacing one or both of the ossified, stagnating parties. At minimum, this would enable the voters to keep the two established parties honest. There's no way to do that now. Voters are practically inevitably cornered into voting for the least worst choice. The only criteria of judgement is whether one thinks the other major-party guy on the ballot would be even worse.
Totally agree. Desantis is a well disciplined ex Naval Officer who would destroy the left. It's not even close. That being said I'll vote for Trump if he's the guy.
He bends with the political winds and lacks the courage of his professed convictions. He should keep his Governor's gig.
Ad hominem. disqualified.
Are you some sort of self-appointed judge of posting rhetoric or an AI bot?
Maybe one day I'll cook up an essay with examples, but I don't feel like it at the moment.
Both Trump and DeSantis need to cooperate instead of fighting each other
Have none of you listened to Vivek Ramaswamy's rap? He's the intelligent conservative we need as a leader. He's Trump's smart alter ego. In fact, he's the only candidate with the balls to acknowledge Trump's successes and not treat him like some sort of pariah.
Here he is--https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/08/13/ramaswamy_my_core_platform_is_to_shut_down_the_administrative_deep_state_the_three-letter_agencies.html
Too brown for whom?
The problem with DeSantis is that he doesn’t know how to campaign to win a Presidential election.
We can disagree in the primary, but must support the winner 100% in the general, period. One thing the Dems are great at is falling in line. Reps, not so much.
Trouble is the the GOPe types don't do this and us doing it is akin to unilateral disarmament. We must either defeat them within the Republican party or establish a new party before we can even hope to take on the leftists.
Dave. I respectfully disagree with you. DeSantis seems too nice. I believe America needs a kickass president who does not kowtow to world leaders and rinos, press, democrats or social media. Nicki Hailey? I read that she is the globalists choice.
DeSantis's source of funding, and therefore his obligations to them, are reported to be WEFFIES. Could he be a wolf in sheep's clothing at the federal level? He's done a great job at the state level. I wish he'd get back to it.
It's astonishing that you all are speaking as if DeSantis and Haley are the only alternatives to Trump.
Just FYI I disagree with you on Trump’s character. He respects the average American citizen more than ANY other politician currently on the scene. Also anyone running against him right is a traitor in that they can see the weaponization of our judicial system and somehow think the same will not happen to them, then they are not smart to govern us.
While you may not agree with Trump on everything he is the one person that will not waiver and stand up to the radicals. I like DeSantis also but not for now. DeSantis has hurt himself on the campaign trail by not standing strong and making false attacks.
Dave, I am so glad to hear somebody else sees the big picture 👍🏽
You are 100% correct Dave! Spot on. We’re headed in the wrong direction with a man of his character. And character MATTERS
Trump is a symptom of US cultural rot. His crude personality was promoted in the 2016 debates by leftist media moderators who believed he was easily beatable. They only failed by promoting a known corrupt Hillary.
The 2024 mainstream media is similarly biased. Is it possible for a quality leader to emerge from debates moderated by them?
Keep saying this loudly. Please.
Yes, and all of us need to say it as loudly as we dare, as well as act upon it
Thanks!
Apropos of this article - to what end?
Are you unable to comprehend what he wrote? Or are you trolling?
I'm asking Jessica J what end she has in mind, in the near-term - something rather oddly lacking from this article, considering the primaries are imminent.
Still trying to decide if you're trolling or whether you're somewhere on the autism spectrum.
This is called arguing. I'm arguing with you. This is an argument. Respond. Where do Rufo's revolutionaries stand on the upcoming contest?
Trolling they love me
This was an excellent piece. I see this as a battle cry for conservatives. We must makes some changes in our approach if we want to stand a chance in hell on succeeding. Thank you for being a strong voice!
You are not alone. There are patriots everywhere. Join Convention of States. https://conventionofstates.com/?ref=57705
Superb article. Christopher Rufo has succinctly stated the activism necessary to return to our Founders’ ideals. We who live in Florida have already experienced his and others’ successes. But we have a long way to go and must NOT let the ideal of perfect inhibit our efforts. As an original Tea Party activist I was continually frustrated by those who masked their cowardice behind the rubric of acquiring the perfect result. Forge on Christopher Rufo! We applaud you and continue to fight within our spheres of influence.
This is such an important article. Great mind Rufo. I’ll vote for you any time!
I am detecting an important theme hinted at in this article, a theme that is usually lost upon establishment conservatives: namely, that rhetoric and intentions are less important than actual results. This will shock the Fox-Ryan-McConnell-McCain-Romney-Cheney wing of Republicans, for whom gracious losing is the most important attribute.
Right, rhetoric is measured on its practical achievements. That's the ultimately test.
Hi Chris. Interesting timing for your article. I am part of a slate mailer for central committee candidates in CA. It looks too political. We need to stand out. Our Republican voters are outnumbered and out organized.. I told Eli to put on the mailer something like this. If you can advise or revise, great. God - Family - Country, our American values are aligned with yours. Vote for us to restore San Diego. I got push back when I gave my 1 min talk. I reminded everyone that our first president and his cabinet prayed for guidance to govern America. That we need to get back to our founding principles. Your feedback please. Thanks! Lee
I'm not sure I can help with your specific challenge, but it sounds like you're getting organized. Good luck!
Just saw a new promo that Vivek Ramaswamy did on YouTube that invoked the founding fathers. It was brilliant. You should check it out.
I simply cannot understand why so many here ignore Ramaswamy. It's like he doesn't exist.
Well said Mr. Rufo! (as always)
Thank you and may your writing continue to be spread far & wide influencing Americans to wake up and stand up for what is right - this piece so perfectly distills all that needs to be done!
Thank you, Chris, for being the "once more unto the breach" guy. You are an inspiration.
Couple of thoughts:
Curtis Yarvin: "there is no politics without an enemy." Our enemy is the educated class and the administrative state.
We need to replace the left's political formula that "we are the allies of the oppressed peoples in their fight against the white oppressors."
I say: "women expect to be protected." We must tell the women of America that we will protect them, from street crime, from men in the women's bathroom, sexual predators.
I say we live in Three Worlds: War World of politics and government; Market World of trust in people that demonstrate trustworthiness, and Life World of family and neighborhood. We need to trim the wings of War World, think deeply about how to broaden and deepen the trust culture of Market World, and help the lower class inhabit a safe and neighborly Life World.
Nicely stated!
The educated class as the enemy is reminiscent of Mao's cultural revolution and Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. Sounds extreme?
I agree and applaud your New Right framework. Count me in as one of your “old guy” supporters. I like the results you have produced so far with DEI and Disney in Florida. But when you say we cannot cut the size and scope of government because “...the institutions which today shape public and private life will exist for the foreseeable future” I think you should take a look at radically doing something like Vivek Ramaswamy is saying and working towards eliminating the funding for 75% of the federal government workforce. The bureaucracy needs to be dismantled.
Agreed. Bureaucracy needs to be radically reduced and reshaped.
Here's a breakdown of Ramaswamy's approach:
Scale of Reduction:
75% decrease in the federal workforce: This would translate to roughly 2.1 million job cuts, considering the current size of the civilian workforce is around 2.8 million.
Eliminating key agencies: Ramaswamy has identified five agencies for potential closure – the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Department of Education, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). He also wants to dismantle "bureaucratic layers" within remaining agencies.
Methods of Reduction:
Executive Orders: Ramaswamy believes the President has the authority to restructure the government through executive orders, potentially bypassing Congressional approval. He argues that a 1977 law grants such power.
Reassignment and Attrition: He plans to reassign some FBI personnel to other agencies like the Marshals Service and DEA, while relying on attrition for other reductions.
Reduction in Federal Employee Unions: Ramaswamy aims to limit the power of unions representing federal employees, potentially making it easier to implement layoffs.
36% of the civilian Federal workforce is accounted for by the Defense Department alone. Just saying. I'll leave it to readers to do the math.
Im very curious about your thoughts on Aristotle’s Politics. In it, as you are likely already aware, he cautions against this constant tug-of-war, this back and forth of power seizing, especially when collectively we haven’t seemed to ever truly understand power on a more fundamental level, particularly that it often tends to weaken us humans, rather than do any empowering. Real empowerment seems, by definition, to be a unitive thing, not a left/right thing. I admit I am not “conservative,” but I am a helluva lot more to the “right” than I ever imagined possible since 2016. I have been following your work with enthusiasm for the last year or so. I am disgusted by views I personally held less than 10 years ago. The whiplash has been wild, but necessary. I’m stoked for the work you do, honestly. But occasionally I get a little nervous about the way I imagine people will read your work, that it could rile them up rather than sober them up. I feel like we need to do this thing soberly, not revved up on hatred for “the Left” or, really, for anyone. Love is the real driving force and message of the Gospels. That should similarly be our inspiration here. The pendulum just swings back and forth and back and forth and everyone wants to have the momentum behind their movement, but very few people are willing to look at the actual apparatus that the pendulum swings from. With full respect, I’d love to see your work head more in that direction.
I need to go back a re-read the Politics. It's been awhile. But Larry Arnn at Hillsdale has a online course on Aristotle that I'd highly recommend.
I’ll check it out, thanks for the tip! I’m currently a 44 year old senior at SFSU (yes, THAT SFSU lol -- and yes it’s as bad as they say it is). Honestly, taking a class on Aristotle’s Politics was extremely illuminating, both the material of the text, and the response of so many marxists in that class squirming in their seats. I realized the Politics can too easily be read to pin Aristotle as a “neutral” player. But that’s not at all what he’s getting at. He’s urging a sober and more thorough view of the power structure which exists on a spectrum from tyranny to anarchy. He thoroughly outlines all the ways “right” and “left” can be compromised and weakened by these extreme forces. He, in a similar yet more grounded vein as Heraclitus, argues that it is only in appreciating the true nature of things -- to whatever limited extent we humans are able -- that all things are in flux, and that there are beneficial offerings in the most surprising spaces, that are making themselves available to us constantly, often from “the other side”, that can serve as balancing, pacifying forces, rather than toppling, devastating ones. He is advocating for a balance point that is not static, but dynamic, requiring our constant, reverent attention, which requires radical sacrifice (and, honestly, prayer), which requires the occasional humble acceptance of these “gifts from the other side” that can serve us ALL, rather than the few, or just one’s own “side.” We’ve done enough toppling and crumbling, dividing and further fragmenting. It’s the repeating cycle of humanity, it’s Biblical, it’s Israel roaming for FORTY years lost and dumbed down in the desert. I am starting to believe real power looks different. In other words, I am understanding Jesus more clearly when he says the first shall be last. Again, I deeply appreciate your work. There is such a clarity and resolution behind your words. I’m looking forward to where this leads.
Chris, I'm an "old guy" - of the generation who, historically, dies in the fight against the totalitarian so that the next generation can rebuild/restore/renew. I'm ready for that if need be, whether literally or metaphorically. My encouragement comes in leaders like you who have a vision, based in tradition while imagining the future, and back it with concrete steps. You used a Christian analogy and so shall I: the book of James teaches that "faith without works is dead." In the same way, posts and manifestos are nothing without the actions that realize them. Thanks for showing all of us - and particularly my young adult/teen kids - what that synchronization looks like if we are to forge a hopeful future.
"Faith without works is dead." Yes, great point!
Men, men, men! Write big you may, but it was Elise Stefanik who fired that short heard round Harvard Yard! She hauled up three college presidents and cleaned their clocks! Who of you wise guys has done anything like it!
Haley killed DeSantis & the rest in the debates. It boggles this old lady's mind that you can aim at such pretensions when your party is about to re-elect a pinnacle of debasement - a cowardly whipped dog who won't even show is face in open debate. You are yet terrified to leave his acrid embrace. Heal thyself!
Haley-Bolton in 2024! World War III or bust!
Your tea is getting cold, granny.
Elisabeth Cady Stanton was a creep who should have kept to her knitting as well.
Haley and Liberty!
I agree re Stefanik and Haley but am also wondering if you could be the Ruth Beveridge who was friends with my mother Joanne.
This is the way.
We are people of The Way.
אמת.