I think Trump's own stupid antics are enough of a "bellwether" for Trump, who has likely finally peaked out and entered the downward phase of his political career with the Iran War disaster, even if the downward spiral he is in might last several years before he is gone.
That's not to say the right-wing populist energy will go away. It will instead become volatile and erratic, trying to find a new Trump to replace the old defective one. I don't necessarily feel comfortable admitting this, but right now Tucker seems to hold the best cards. On top of having high profile and being charismatic, his advantages are:
1.) He early and often called this war a disaster in the making and has indeed been proven right. To anyone suffering from the ill consequences of this war (gas prices etc.), he now has the aura of a prophet.
2.) He criticizes Trump but in a way that appeals to right-wing sentiments. Trump just recently Tweeted a meme of himself as Jesus. Whether Tucker is a true Christian or not, striking a more faithfully Christian pose than the narcissistic Trump isn't exactly hard at this point, and Tucker is successfully clearing this very low bar. Consider only his denunciation of Trump's violent rhetoric during Easter (again, Tucker just has to shoot the ball into the empty net here, he doesn't have to be a genius or even to break a sweat to look better than Donald).
3.) Like Rod, I prefer Israel to the terrorists of Hamas. With that said, Israel has self-engineered a massive PR disaster, poisoning its relations with the US. This new shift is huge and will resonate across decades. Tucker is positioning himself well to benefit from this shift.
Here's the thing. The Israelis just don't care if everybody hates them. They don't. They've placated the Arab states to their south, the territory to their north is their (bloody) sandbox, and Europeans and Americans can say what they like. In a way you have to admire it. Morgan had somebody on over the weekend, an Israeli politician, ho said the Israelis were not bombing the Lebanese, Hezbollah was.
When push comes to shove, they seem to still rely on massive subsidies and supplies of materiel from the USA. That would give us some leverage if any president had the spine to set conditions. For instance, Biden could have said, you go after Hamas, you have every reason to and you'll be doing the world a favor, but, if you want American military supplies, you will cooperate with an international force moving in behind the IDF to create a secure perimeter Gaza civilians can flee to once, not twice, not five times, once. Also, in the future, we should refuse all aid unless the west bank settlements are removed. Israel might be able to go it alone without us, but then, we are free of responsibility for what they do, or what happens to them if they miscalculate.
Do you really think Netanyahu can treat the American nation with open contempt and suffer no consequences? Come on, man. Does a latte-sipping European like me need to tell the red-blooded American that that simply is not going to happen?
My fear is that we are entering a period that incentivizes remaining in office by threatening prosecution upon leaving office. That’s not a peaceful transfer of power.
Whatever Trump’s sins, and they are many, he had not prosecuted his political opponents in his first term. The Democrats began the prosecution train, which Trump has now continued. How this ends is anybody’s guess, but I’m not hopeful here.
Your fears are justified, and I think the Supreme Court is correct to rule out prosecution for official acts. But, i think Trump actually did commit some actionable crimes, particularly trying to reverse the fact that he lost an election. Asking the secretary of state of Georgia to find 18,000 votes "because we won" and the votes to make it so much be found, is worthy of prosecution. However odious, the policies of the previous administration should not be prosecuted as crimes. Crimes against the constitution itself, which are actually defined in the statutes, should be. Making the distinction can be subject to manipulation, unfortunately. Chatter about Trump's "34 felonies" is childish -- it was the most hollow of cases, his conduct arguably did not rise to the level of criminal, and the prosecutor clearly was politically motivated. Then we have to deal with, what about Nuremberg? There are official acts that are actual crimes, but short of mass murder, we should be very careful.
Not at all. Israel will just ally itself with China and Russia, which will love to get its hands on all the high tech, especially military, that Israel currently works in tandem with the United States on. It would be a disaster for the US, which is why the Pentagon, among other US institutions, will never let it happen. The people on this thread are living in an updated dream world of Jew-haters over the centuries.
You should really check out Chinese animation spoofs of the White Eagle and his money-counting Vulture advisor as they prepare treachery and slaughter of the Persian Cats, who improvise and resist. The notion of the Celestials siding with the Zionists is ludicrous.
Israel won the 1948 and 1967 wars while under American and British arms embargoes. They fought largely with second-hand, rusty weapons smuggled over from Czechoslovakia.
This notion that Israel survives only because of some larger imperial patron is a historical trope going back to 1947. At first the Arabs thought the patron was Russia, since many of the Jews arriving in the 1880s-1890s were of Russian origin. Then under the Mandate they thought it must be the British who were the true imperial patron. Then in the 1960s, when France began to back Israel, they thought it must be them. Ever since the 1970s, they now believe that it's the United States.
It's mostly just cope to distract themselves from their own failures and societal problems.
I remember a cartoon in a mainstream publication about forty years ago showing Moshe Dayan riding a tank marked with a big placard reading "We want lebensraum."
Bullsnort. The IDF is the 2nd most lethal military in the world today, paired with the Mossad. They are our primary military ally. Europe has almost zero military forces today. Allahoop Snakbar baby….
Oh my….. Harrods has a sale on burquas today, get yours today, totally black, with especially small slits for your wife’s eyes. Just don’t beat her too hard or the taxi gangs might finish the job.
I don't think Tucker has a snowball's chance of getting the Republican nomination in 2028...and honestly, I don't really care anymore at this point.
I've long believed that the problems and divisions affecting our nation run very deep...beyond the power of politics or elections to address, which is why I think I'm going to be checking out of the voting scene going forward. I can no longer kid myself into believing that participation in a charade can fix anything.
I mean, consider what's happened to the Good Guys over the last year or so, intensifying since Charlie Kirk's murder and boiling over with this Iran fiasco.
I look at the cult of personality that surrounds Trump and motivates what remains of his hard-core base. I look at Trump himself with his berserk ranting and promotion of the likes of war-mongering Mark Levin, Laura Loomer, and Lindsey Graham as the new faces of his MAGA movement.
I look at the manipulative neocons and Israel-Firsters who seem to be calling Trump's shots. I look at the antisemitic nutjobs and conspiracy theorists who have a large and enthusiastic audience on the Right. The whole thing is a total zoo...beyond salvaging.
Is the zoo on "our side" preferable to the Dem-Media Party? Hell yeah. Not a high bar to get over. The ideology of the "other side" is poisonous and evil. Full stop. But is being better than the Evil Party by itself good enough? For me, it was for a lot of years. It's what drove my vote. But now I've finally had enough.
Then add in the factor of the de-moralized, clueless, herd-like masses with an attention span measured in hours. It's a Body Politic not capable of collective moral sensibility ordered toward Good.
Yup, it turns out that it's pretty easy for a nation to lose its soul. Gaining it back is a much harder proposition and involves some major trauma. We're going to find out just how major the trauma will be.
"II think I'm going to be checking out of the voting scene going forward. I can no longer kid myself into believing that participation in a charade can fix anything."
I've pretty much been in this same boat since around 2010. I toyed with the idea of writing in Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in in 2012 (I had the bumper sticker on my car to prove it) and hadn't voted in a national election since '08 before '24 only because the Dems were both incompetent and ideologically horrible. (I did vote for Trump in 2020, but entirely as a protest vote, since I had no illusions that he was going to win. I went to the polls that year with the intention of voting only in the local elections, but in line ahead of me were an elderly black couple decked out in red, white, and blue and wearing MAGA hats, so I thought "Oh, what the hell..." and ended up pulling the lever for Trump).
For the past 15 years I've concentrated my attention on local issues and local races when it comes to voting, and am happy to return to that script. I won't start caring about 2028 until the primaries, and even then I pretty much expect more of the same.
Two years ago, I used to see a car parked in my neighborhood with a bumper sticker that said "GIANT METEOR 2024". I didn't relate to the sentiment then, but boy, do I feel it now. Any sliver of hope I had that we could vote our way out of this downward spiral is gone. Perhaps I'll make a Christian version of that bumper sticker for the next presidential election. "JESUS COMING WITH CLOUDS 2028".
I don’t think Tucker is going to run, but I suspect he will be well positioned as a kingmaker to anoint the next champion of the populist right. Then again, a year is a long time in politics (primary campaigning for 2028 will be getting started a little over a year from now, which is crazy to think about).
Tucker has repeatedly said he has zero interest in going into politics, having covered that swamp for so many years. Certainly he could change his mind, but his aversion to it sounded pretty strong to me.
Well look, I have no idea where so many of you get the idea that Tucker Carlson is all that important. He has a following, certainly greater than this blogs number 1 bete noir Nick Fuentes. However, I don’t think he’s likely to run for president if he did I don’t see how he gets elected. King maker( No Kings) - how ? Why? The Democrats are probably set for a sweep. So I don’t see how this Carlson thing makes any sense.
He is reportedly the reason JD Vance is Vice President. He has influence that should not be underestimated in the lower turnout, ideological hothouse that is a primary. I’m not saying he’s going to pick the next GOP nominee, but I do think he will have some influence if he chooses to throw his weight behind someone.
The most evil thing I’ve seen from America recently is bombing a girls elementary school and killing 170 people, most of them young children. This was due to extreme hubris and desire to “look strong”. That was not the Democrats fault.
If the Democrats hadn't been so awful, in so many ways, Trump would not have been president. And if a Democrat president was presiding when the military hit a girls' school, the media wouldn't have lingered much over the story.
Both true. And I don't see this in any way as justification, just observation. Trump is a symptom/reaction to much bigger problems that are cross-partisan.
Do you think it was possible to avoid the accident if just a little more thought and research were done before deciding it was a valuable target? Or even better, didn’t start the war in the first place? As an aside, the US has schools on military bases too. Imagine if the situation was reversed.
Unfortunately the IRGC doesn’t list its equivalent of the DoD schools on the internet. There are thousands of targets that are identified by various sources and there is not enough data or time for revisiting them all. Yes, I would agree that not starting wars is a good idea! This one has been on and off since 1953.
May I ask what you find unappealing about the party? I am not 100% in agreement with them either-- but there are times I am not 100% in agreement with myself.
I too would probably find it uncomfortable having a discussion that compares the American Solidarity Party platform with that of the current Republican Party platform, John.
Bill, yup, I saw both of those Truth Social posts from Trump after I hit the button on my above comment.
I mean, what can you say. He could be trolling. Or it could be an implied statement of contempt for his MAGA base which will swallow anything. Or he could be off his rocker. Or it could be some combination of all three factors.
Generally speaking, I don't think a person...or a nation...loses their souls overnight. It's a complicated process. And in the case of the United States, it's been a process that long predates Trump. In fact, if anything, Trump is a symptom...not a cause.
Ideas on how to turn the ship around? Unfortunately, I don't think you're wrong, but goodness, I'm hoping you are (re: the trauma / fallout - looks like painful days ahead).
Melissa, the ship is like Titanic heading for the iceberg...much too large and with too much forward momentum to avoid the fateful collision.
Therefore, I think things get "turned around" only when the whole thing implodes on itself leaving the remnant of those who retained their faith and moral anchors to rebuild from the ashes.
I have ideas. But they involve optimism, solidarity and willingness to try new (and some old) ideas. Optimism being the willingness to allow competition. Free trade and increase legal immigration and guest worker programs. The fact that we impose ridiculous tariffs on solar panels and electric cars is stupid. End most zoning laws so we can build again. Solidarity being respect human life. We already say hospitals must treat everyone but we’re not backing up that mandate with universal health insurance to pay for it, and that makes the overall costs higher than they otherwise would be. Try new old things again, like increased Federalism. There’s no reason the national government should be the decider on every issue. The national government’s main role should be coordination among the states, not ruling over them. Why not let states issue work visas as they see fit for instance? Also we need to be willing to learn from other countries instead of blindly assuming we’re the best at everything.
It's been a decades long process. Trump getting elected further showed how broken the country was. I will always be glad that he won in 2016 just because it showed me how broken the U.S. is as a country.
You're right. I occasionally vote, but I have believed for years that if voting could fix things, it would be illegal. As I get older, I see the wisdom of the Founders in limiting the vote. I don't think it should be just men or just white people or property owners. If it were up to me, the age to vote would be raised to 25, a voter would have to pay taxes and they would need to know basic knowledge about U.S. government and history.
Trump’s Baby Boomer/Bad Boy contempt for traditional decorum regarding symbols of the Christian faith as well as those of normative US politics has reached a toxic stage, certainly. The problem is that the Democrats are still either in thrall to, or actually are, a malevolence out to destroy human well-being through a subtle perversion of Judeo-Christian virtues. And they show no signs of brooking any dissent, deviation, difference or demurral.
As for the Israelis, they are the fierce chihuahua that doesn’t grasp he’s not the same size as the pit bull he’s biting.
I’m rather tired of the present. I just want to retire to my library and not be molested by the swirl of stupidity and violence outside. Why that’s wrong is a good start on an answer to what’s wrong in general, I think.
Certainly on the moral plane. But I think it’s useful to identify and evaluate cultural trends and emphases. The rejection of tradition and promotion of youth begins in earnest with Voltaire and Rousseau and reached critical mass with the Baby Boomers. Up to then, such cultural attitudes were the province of social elites.
Damn if only people hadn’t read Candide and The Confessions . You are aware that people like Julius Evola argue the great break with tradition is Christianity.
You're completely right. The Trump cultists will say that he did nothing wrong. Everyone else will see that many of his policies were good but not implemented right. Plus, there was corruption and plenty of other things. I don't know if Tucker Carlson will run in 2028, but he will likely be influential on whomever decides to run.
So please Sarhaddon, explain how eliminating the “Cult of the 12th Imam, the Madhi” is so bad for Americans. Tucker is a psychopath making bank 💰 with dissent. Trump probably is not a Christian. So what? King Cyrus of Persia was not a Jew. Both are helpful to Christians. Why? YHWH’s Providence .
Cyrus was a good and just ruler as such things were reckoned in his day. When it comes to ancient potentates Trump is more along the lines of Nebuchadnezzar.
So Orbán and Fidesz were corrupt and mismanaged the economy.
Sounds like ample reason for a change. I’d note that Trump and the GOP are making exactly the same mistakes.
This, it seems, is the Achilles heel of populists. They may ride economic discontent into power but don’t actually seem to have any ideas for fixing problems beyond the usual right wing bromides about tax cuts for the rich (I just did my taxes and Trump’s “tax cut” had me paying more instead of a refund for the first time in my life. But I’m sure Elon Musk saved an extra billion or two and that’s what really counts!) and austerity (I’ve seen a lot more of what is euphemistically called “food insecurity,”—missed meals, hunger even—this year; for the first time in my life I’m buying meals for friends, not just random homeless on the streets. But hey! What about that new ballroom?).
I’ll grant Trump this: he accurately diagnosed the problems back in 2016. But this second term is proving that he has neither the knowledge nor the inclination to fix them and a complete inability to self-correct.
The problem is a simple one: too much wealth in too few hands. But what kind of bozo expects a billionaire to solve that?
Back to Orbán: Mr Dreher, how likely do you think it is that Trump undercut Fidesz in the same way he undercut Polievre and the Conservativesyy in Canada? In other words, is the Trump brand so toxic in Europe that he’s dragging down populist right parties?
I'd agree that the reason for his loss is that somewhere along the line, he lost on the "gas prices and benefits for ordinary people" front.
It's also a relevant question on what the "model right-wing society" now is. Orban is out of power, Trump has lost his marbles, whereas Netanyahu started a stupid self-destructive war. Who's the credible right-wing success story in April 2026?
To be fair, the idiocies of the woke are still a big factor in favor of the right-wing. But it would go a lot better if there was a credible right-wing success story to point to (and I don't mean "someone wins an election", I mean "someone wins an election and creates a society of such prosperity and cultural coherence that it's undeniable to everyone").
The difference between now and the 80s when Ronald Reagan (whatever the long term baleful effects of his actions) did give us some years of prosperity, is glaring as bright as a supernova. The frozen job market, IMO, is a huge red flag and forebodes uglier things to come.
Do you think much of the bad job market is due to A.I. taking over so many functions? Or is it just bad economic policy? I am curious and don't know enough to have an opinion.
NO, AI really isn't that far along yet where it can wholly replace people. The current job market, beginning in 2023, is a reaction against the extraordinary period called the Great Resignation in 2021-22 when workers disastified with their jobs and especially with too-low salaries were quitting in droves and moving to higher paid jobs, putting upward pressure on wages or the first time in decades. C-suite leaders freaked out and came up with the strategy of not firing anyone except the absolute worst employees (instead of the annual layoff ritual to pump up stock prices) while also shutting down hiring.
AI has played a side role however: its use by HR departments has become a huge barrier to even getting one's foot in the door as it seems to tuned to find reasons not to hire an applicant based on the scantest and vaguest resume information. In 2023 I had my resume scanned by an online tool and the return was nothing good about me (and in years past I had no trouble getting responses to resume submissions when it was mainly humans analyzing applicants who made it past the necessary qualifications).
Yeah, and imagine if half of the AI doomer predictions turn out to be true, it's going to be a bloodbath as far as the eye can see. President Tucker Carlson might be the least of our worries if AI-induced unemployment becomes a real thing.
Reagan was able to succeed because conservative policies were the right answer to the problems facing the country at the time. Taxes were too high, business was over regulated, we needed a strongly free market president to help fix those things. It's not that different than FDR being the right answer in the 1930s to a government that wouldn't do anything (for right wing ideological reasons) to mitigate the worst effects of the Great Depression: we needed some democratic socialism and we got it. What is Trump the right answer to? I'm not a Trump fan at all, but I can recognize that the left shit the bed on immigration and wokeness, and that Trump was a good answer to those problems specifically even if his fixes were characteristically cruel and poorly thought out. He's not a very good answer to any of the other problems facing our nation and his massive personal flaws mean he can't just do no harm in the areas where his instincts suck.
I agree. We should. Just as we would denounce anyone interfering in our elections. It is not the business of other governments to tell people of any sovereign nation how to vote. At most, we might announced in advance that if X policy is adopted, we will not support it. They can still vote for it, knowing we won't be on board. But we should be careful even about that. This does have some antecedents though. Poland once had an elective monarchy, that is, a small body of hereditary electors made the decision (no doubt a model for our own electoral college in some respects). Neighboring monarchies spent substantial sums bribing electors to make the decision said neighbors preferred. The general populace, in that instance, was never consulted anyway.
Can't speak for other countries but in the U.S. the entrenched two-party system and the elites who benefit from it will not allow an actual populist, right or left, to gain traction. See Lasch's "The Revolt of the Elites." Note that Lasch was a leftist economically, but leaned right socially.
We do have a lot of "blue liberals," and I mean that in the old-school sense of the color blue, just as "Red Tory" uses the old school meaning of red. Not that Boris Johnson was much of a red, or a Tory, or anything particularly coherent.
The U.S. has never had much of a "Red Tory" tradition, or anything really like it, other than the agrarian-distributist stream on the Old Right. Hard to make an impact though, given the strong fiscal libertarianism of many paleo-conservatives.
What Del Noce saw happening in Europe in the 60's/70's has followed suit here. The "technocratic right" has pushed all the other conservatisms to the margins. There's something darn near poetic about the fact that Lasch and Russell Kirk died within a couple months of one another in '94.
Re: I just did my taxes and Trump’s “tax cut” had me paying more instead of a refund for the first time in my life.
Well, at least you don't have to fret about why your refund hasn't come yet! Last year I had mine in three weeks. It's approaching two months now and all the IRS can say is they have received my paperwork. Three groans for Elon Musk and his fecklessly stupid personnel cuts.
That would be hard to say as my income was fundamentally different, in size and type. This was my easiest tax return in many years, but because I had just two sources of income (and a very tiny third source that barely figured, one which in some past years had dominated).
Not old enough yet to benefit from that 6K tax deduction that the BBB included for seniors.
Agreed. I would prefer if billionaires as a class did not exist. Owning a few million is one thing but no one should be allowed to have billions. It's far too much.
I could care less if billionaires exist.Sorry” too much” is a standard “without any real meaning generally constructed out of a kind of politicized envy based on zero sum economics. Getting rid of billionaires won’t solve anything. Although if the state could seize their money whole new administrative bureaucracies could be created and financed until they run out of money.
Someone having more money than some poor countries is immoral. They only got that money from screwing people over and not paying their employees what they should be paid.
Ideally there should be some maximum spread between the C level salaries and the lowest paid workers under them. I saw a comparison of the difference on that spread between the US and many other countries-- ours is outrageously larger than anyone's, and by at least an order of magnitude. If the CEO's pay goes up so should everyone else's-- and if a company can't afford that then the CEO's pay stays down too.
In the 60s, the average CEO made about 20 times what his lowest worker made. It makes sense for the boss to make more. Now, some CEOs made 400 or more times what their average employer makes. "For the love of money is the root of all evil." Though I disagree with Paul. It's not the root of all evil. Just a lot of evil.
Be careful with the notion of what "populist" means. Liberals have been denouncing "populists" as enemies of all that is good and right, including civil rights laws, for decades. But, the original People's Party was left-leaning in substance, if not in rhetoric, and far from classically Marxist. It was a close ally of the Socialist Party of America (Debs's party) and there was a lot of overlap. It is also true that after the southern nobility crushed the populists, they revived a pseudo-populist stalking horse that was "white" and relied on Jim Crow to keep some crumbs for "white" ordinary people.
Excellent piece, especially in terms of what this looks like from the inside. That the young especially voted en masse for Magyar is hardly surprising. I don’t know what he’s like as a speaker, his charisma factor, but he’s young and handsome, and Orban looks tired out.
As one would expect, after so many years fighting. Hats off to him.
Do you think Magyar will cave on immigration? Hope not, but the drift looks to me like: Will cave. Slowly, but … cave.
The ace in the hole for Peter Magyar is that he is so right-wing coded. The Hungarian opposition figured it out - the Hungarians are fine with switching out Orban, but only in exchange for another right-winger.
The obvious analogy here is Poland - the Law and Justice (right-wing populist) party were defeated by Donald Tusk (a centre-right normie conservative).
Yes and no. In Poland you had an explicitly Catholic party replaced by a secular oriented party. In Hungary, you’re having a party that pays lip service to Christianity to one that doesn’t. I’m not commenting on whether that’s good bad or neither.
Well, yes. Hungary won't be one of the first choices for refugees. For now. But there are Islamic people coming as refugees to most of the countries of Europe, . Large numbers remain unemployed.
Hungary is a little different, we do not have "welfare" here. Presently, people have to work if able bodied. Even as a streetcleaner, government paid. I see these workers every day in the streets, in their yellow vests. I do not know but what refugees - (right now our only refugees are Ukrainian) would be treated the same way. Or would have been, under Fidesz/Orbán.
But refugees will eventually wish remain here. Much of the West will head further downhill. This will be a good place. And so they will come here.
Another problem - this one current: Refugees, thes of thousands, being assigned here by EU quota. Hungary probably won't escape this under Magyar, this is the fear.
Very smart of the Hungarians. I wish it was that way in the U.S. The only people I think should get welfare are people too disabled to work and mothers who have young children. Even then, I would prefer the mothers to work. I hope that Magyar doesn't open the borders to foreigners.
<<<I hope that Magyar doesn't open the borders to foreigners.>>>
I have the story - here is a quote from Magyar's press conference today when asked about ending the fines Hungary receives for not taking migrants. Magyar will - calling them "asylum seekers" instead of "illegal migrants." They can come here, apparently not thorough the southern border, Magyar claims, but coming is not a problem.
Here is the important quote from Magyar, just now word for word, far more than he said before the election - note the term "asylum seekers":
"There are many European countries that were able to comply with the European law on asylum seekers and still stop illegal migrants from coming to their countries. And this is what we are going to do. Hungary has a strong stance on illegal migration and we will maintain our fence on the border. We would like to protect Hungary and Europe from illegal migration. There are legal forms of migration which we accept. We will find a way not to pay this fine any longer. "
Nothing but lies from him. The EU wants Hungarians replaced and Magyar will either do what they want or if bucks their orders, they will come after him.
I think of Muslims the same way regular Americans think of black people. If most of what you learn about Muslims is day-to-day interaction 95% of your sample will be hard-working local business owners, the occasional co-worker, the guy who helped you get your driver's licence etc.
If all you know of Muslims is Twitter, than 95% of your sample size is whatever phantasmagorical cherry-picked selection of Muslim criminals RadioGenoa and the other professional grifters are blaring about this week. I know their Tweets are very eye-catching, and some of them are based on real events, but even so - unless you deliberately rented an apartment in the most criminal ghetto area of Europe (or are an obsessive urban decay voyeur), their takes are extremely slanted and far from reality.
That's also Rod's problem - the guy doesn't really live in Europe, he lives on Twitter.
There is truth to this, but it doesn't matter. Average citizens have never voted for more immigrants. But the rich and the politicians they own do and ignore the voters. All groups prefer to put their own group first if there isn't something to bring them together. The more immigrants of any group, the more they will change things to benefit themselves. It will be a replacement of the local culture.
There is no group called "Muslims". In actuality, there are Kurds, Turks, Iranians, Egyptian Arabs, other Arabs, Yemenis, Afghanistanis, Pakistanis, Indonesians and so on.
To add to this, there are subdivisions inside ethnic groups. Pro-mullah Iranians and anti-mullah Iranians have about as much in common as you and a transsexual member of antifa. The solidarity across this swathe of groups is very limited.
To add to this, there is an extensive list of incentives (both punishments to avoid and perks to obtain) for selling out your original culture and becoming modernized and Westernized. Rod's blog is covered from top to down with laments about the inability of Christians to resist modernity. Why would people from Muslim countries have a magical resistance to this influence?
In fact, even for Muslims that never left their home countries, Westernization is extensive. For example, fertility rates have started dropping like a rock across Islamic nations. This is a Western cultural trend reaching Muslim shores (after a short latency/delay period). If you look at the map you can see it even having a geographic factor - countries close to Europe in culture or geography get hit first. So Turkey and Iran are under 2.0 fertility (less than 2 kids per woman) already, Yemen and Chad (further away from the blast radius) are not.
Yes, I think he will cave. The EU will force it in order to get money - though he will get some for dismissing many the upper judiciary brance which (sort of similar to the Supreme Court) is mostly Fidesz. - He can do that due to the two-thirds majority.
And...charisma? Nem! Nincs! No! Have look at the link, scroll down a bit to the video - I know it is an Al Jazerra site - google served it up - but it''s erm...Magyar's victory speech. Please!
OK, the Hungarian was simple enough for me, four sentences in a row before he said something I did not know (first time that happened in this difficult language, I usually can only get one or two sentences, though I recognize many words.) But look at him - the flat delivery the total lack of personality. The Hungarians know he is not qualified, polls say the majority, including his voters, do not think he is qualified. They wanted "change" anyway, in a lesser of two evils way. The USA knows how that line (change) worked in 2008.
In some ways, it seems similar to the last election in the UK. People were dissatisfied with the economy, the NHS, immigration (the list goes on), and the Tories had been in power for over a decade. The Tories, in my view, rightly deserved to be tossed out. Unfortunately, the only viable opposition at that point was Labour, and they have predictably made everything worse.
As a Christian, conservative European I agree that Orban’s push to regulate mass migration and to reform a bureaucratic and sclerotic EU speaks for him. But I think you are missing a point that also cost him the win. Corruption and a lack to go after criminals is not the only thing on peoples mind. His subservience to Russia makes many Hungarians wonder what the guy is up to. And don’t confuse that with a righteous wish for a peace in the Ukraine. Negotiations are good and needed. But the Russian side unfortunately shows zero readiness to negotiate at all. And many conservatives and Christians like me simply can’t fathom to see the butchers of Butcha at our doorsteps. And we/they know that we have to do much more for our defense and not just ask the US to do the job for free!
But to make a long story short: with our history in mind any party at the right needs to have beside a clear stance on migration, Christian values and economic growth a stringent position regarding the threat Russia poses for everything we stand for! If not they shouldn’t be elected.
I completely agree on the Russia element. Rod did not mention the leaked call between Orban and Putin. That couldn’t have played well at all. Meanwhile he highlight a leaked call re: Maidan in Ukraine. I have family connections to that country, still have cousins and family there. Let’s grant the Ukrainians some agency (and recognize their anti-Russian imperative) on what they wanted / want to be free of Russian influence and control. To Rod’s point, there’s all sorts of meddling these days (and always has been) but why overstate the U.S.’s in Ukraine (and Hungary) and understate Russia’s there or in Hungary? Let’s be real here.
Oh, of course I agree that western Ukrainians were sincere in wanting their country to be more Western-oriented and less Russia-oriented. My point was simply that the US absolutely interfered there. Big powers do it all the time.
Your ignoring the recent revelations about the Orban government's groveling toward Putin is a puzzling oversight, Rod. That Hungarian foreign minister's actions, in particular, is why that Roger Wicker tweet above exists. How do you not see that?
Also, since you're planning to move Austria, why not be more direct about the nature of Orban's role in Fidesz corruption. It's not just Orban's failure to address the corruption problem - it's that he seems to actively enable it!
It takes a while for new people to develop the connections and skills needed to pull off big time corruption. Given enough time they will. Which is why the Hungarians need to be ready to boot these guys out next cycle if they and their offspring start posting pics of themselves partying with oil sheikhs and sporting rolodexes and diamonds.
"The EU loves to promote itself as 'defending democracy,' but it’s very important for Americans to understand that 'democracy' is when voters choose candidates with the EU stamp of approval."
Agree except change "EU" to "Global Elite" and you will be accurate.
Ever notice how many people talk about "defending democracy" here? As you post, even a Republican does so. I wonder what that means? Then add in the "Russian interference" angle. Where have we heard this before?
Democracy means whatever benefits the elites. It's a word they have twisted, like so many others, to mean what they choose it to mean. Just like Humpty Dumpty said in the Alice books.
Magyar is a liar who will do what it takes to get EU funds. Open the borders a good deal more if that is what it tkes - and it will. Magyar, with his two-thirds parliament majority, can address "judicial corruption" (the upper eschelons were Fidesz appointed.) and that will win back some EU funds. - - Do you not see that this amounts to an EU dictatorship by funding, however?
We will certainly see additional funding for the near-permanant stalemate of a Ukraine war, with much cost to the Hungarian taxpayer if it is funded as Brussels wishes.
I doubt Magyar ever had politics of his own. Everyone, even his voters, know he is a drunken turncoat puppy microwaver with little charisma. The voters wanted change, however. Inflation is under control here now. Hungary was never rich compared to some other European countries, and ordinary people do not have what Americans have. Health care needs help, teacher salaries did at least go up about 30%, and they are bad everywhere. Voters made a mistake. It does looke like probably 53-47 or so (Tisza and vs non-Tisza) but that will translate to two-thirds in parliament due to narrow constituiency wins, if I understand it.
The Magyar voters, many of them, seemed innocent to the fact that a promise to end corruption is hollow. Especially from this former Fidesz-man who got plenty of corrupt benefits of his own, in the millions. But such a promise is rather holow from just about anyone. Politics is done with corruption here. I sometimes wonder if you can succeed without. it.
Magyar's first announcement after his victory speech was about putting people from Fidesz in jail.
I'm going to be a little "off" today probably because my heart hurts so much for my beloved country. A beacon of freedom and courage to the world. To come to this.
A friend does see one possible siver lining: European parliament elections in 2029. Hungarians will know what Magyar has wraught. They can then send even more Fidesz/Mi Hazánk to the EU.
It’s a pity that Europe lost its most sensible leader. I expect he will now be prosecuted for his “crimes “ against the EU elite consensus. It’s been clear since the Romanian election debacle that the EU has no interest in democracy.
I wonder how you will feel about Vienna. 30 years ago it was the wonderful place that Ethan Hawke and Julia Delpy were strolling through in Before Sunrise. I’ll be interested to read your impressions of Vienna today.
Austria is the most prosperous country in Europe. Banking center, etc. Still wears a patina of Catholic Christianity. Stores are closed on Sunday. Tithing is mandatory. Etc. So I too will be interested to hear what Rod thinks.
Ugh, gross, raising my American First Amendment hackles. Churches should be supported by the Faithful, not swilling at Caesar's trough (or using Caesar to go after the people).
My husband's niece and her family officially left the Church because they couldn't afford the Church tax.
Check out the numbers of Muslims in Vienna and the proportions of Muslim children in its schools. The President of Austria recently urged Austrian women to "voluntarily" wear headscarves to spare offense to Muslims. None of this bodes well for the future.
Only register church members have to pay the Church Tax, so thousands of Catholic in Germany and Austria disaffiliate every year to save money. The huge financial resources of the Catholic Church in Germany are derived from this tax. But once disaffiliated, people cannot receive the sacraments, have a church funeral, or be buried in a church cemetery. As I recall, the system was put in place under Bismark, to compensate for Church properties confiscated during the Kulturkampf but in the long run, the results are sadly negative.
I've been in Peru these last 2 weeks and there were elections here yesterday. Since there were many candidates, no one received 50 plus 1 and there will be a runoff election soon. Political posters and rallies were everywhere we went but I wonder if any of these candidates are truly popular. Supposedly, 4 of the last 5 presidents are either in jail or facing indictments for corruption. In any case, voting is mandatory in Peru, fines if you don't.
Even here in the southern part of Peru, the effects of the war in the Persian Gulf have hit hard in the way of fuel costs. A cab driver told me that before the war a liter of gas was 16 soles but now it's 26. All Peruvians work hard to put food on the table for their families and to make ends meet, but our illegal war faraway is causing hardship for the locals.
The effects of our Persian Gulf misadventure are global, from airline tickets to food production. I've felt compelled to apologize to Peruvians for the recklessness of our government and also to let them know that most Americans don't support this BS.
As you have read on this esteemed site, there are still plenty of muleheaded conservatives who think the war is well worth while. These folks don't understand that in a democracy, political parties that produce economic pain are usually turned out of office.
At our church Paschal feast yesterday I was talking to a guy about the woes of my retirement investments. He has a lot of experience in futures market and he advised me to invest in grain futures as that's going to explode as northern hemisphere planting this spring is way down especially in the world's poorer countries as fertilizer becomes unaffordable.
You're having investment issues and you think it's a good idea to bet on futures in the commodities market? Good way to lose everything. The best investment advice is always to purchase a basket of stocks or index funds consistently over time.
My main 401K is professionally managed by Morgan Stanley, a former employer. They do a great job and as a former employee I am not charged a fee. Of course they cannot work miracles and in a bad market the best they can do is cut the losses.
Gas expensive, flights expensive. Everybody in the world hates us now. Maybe time to see the USA. But not too far from home, gas too high. Going to the OBX this summer with the fam. Probably as far as we’ll venture for awhile. Got to set aside more $$$ for gas.
I have travel planned for this summer. A reunion in Michigan in June, a big family birthday celebration in Toledo for my to-be-90 years old cousin, and in August a trip up the east coast and ultimately all the way to Newfoundland. Crossing my fingers on gas prices (I may fly to the Toledo event, but the others are road trips).
Well, Snowbird Season in Florida is ending and the tide is starting to go out. March this year was its usual madhouse crush of people, from addled old folks to drunken college kids. Be a relief if things were a bit less delirious. I stopped down at my usual Sunday evening haunt, the Parkshore Grill, last night. The place was still doing a land office business, with three large parties, including a dozen Quebecois carrying on in their raucous French dialect like a flock of magpies.
Peru’s political class is infamous for its corruption. It’s a shame - the country has vast latent wealth, and some of the best cuisine in the world. On the flip side, the traffic in Lima is horrendous and the state has weak institutions and weaker leaders.
I went a Chinese restaurant there with my grandmother once. She ordered a whole pigeon which showed up with the head still attached, beak and all. It was rather memorable.
<<You can’t plausibly read a broad international message out of this result. Parties aligned with Orban’s vision will continue to grow in popularity here in Europe, because people are increasingly fed up with mass migration.>>
Oh, but sadly, I think you can. The so-called "far-right" generally has to have a majority of voters and constituencies - over 50% to govern. They are the only ones genuinely against mass migration. Other parties will not align with them to form a government. They are labeled "far-right", code word for racist. This lie, put out by the left-wing press, is largely believed by all but their own voters. It is even believed by "conservatives" who are not labeled far-right.
The European parliament has the "European People's Party," : CDU, Tisza, some others. They are falsely labeled right-wing. Then there are the "Patriots for Europe": Fidesz, the French "National Rally" and others. Then there is "Europe of Sovereign Nations" which includes the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and others.
While Fidesz held the line on mass migration very well, I think only those aligned with the Sovereign Nations in the rest of Europe are nor really likely to hold the line. And can they win elections there? The graph Rod shared shows the "hard right". They are 24%. Another 24% are labeled conservative. Many believe lies. The CDU winning after falsely claiming it would hold the line on immigration. It is sad.
Diverging slight as I am not sure where else to put this, so I will say it here - my Iranian friends in Hungary are miserable about this election. Islamists will be able to enter here. And for Jews, will they still have the current safest place for them in the world?
Thanks as always for the very informative and stimulating post. May I comment about a stylistic issue, namely your decision to quote the profanity of the Fidesz supporter. I understand the rationale, but there are ways to indicate that profanity was used with quoting it verbatim or in full. Conservatives don't have to be prudes but surely we are right to insist on maintaining certain standards in polite discourse, regardless of how much such standards may be flouted by society at large.
When quoting others I find it OK to included the four letter words they use. Podcasts doing so should come with an advance warning, as in "Don't play this at work/church etc."
Conceivably he could end up as president, sooner not later. The Republicans of 1900 thought the vice presidency was safe place to stash Theodore Roosevelt. And no one outside Michigan had ever heard of Gerald Ford before 1973. On the downside Lincoln's choice of Andrew Johnson in 1864 on a national unity ticket was his single worst mistake.
I had heard of Gerald Ford. Lincoln’s choice of Johnson was not a mistake. It was a pretty smart move. Unfortunately, Lincoln wasn’t counting on getting assassinated .
Lincoln choosing Johnson was like Mary Queen of Scots marrying Lord Darnley-- a good match of paper (he had a claim to both the English and Scottish thrones) but as things worked out a total disaster. We are still paying dearly for Johnson's failure to work with the Republicans in Congress and his inability to decide what he wished to do more-- punish the old plantocracy of the South or keep the newly freed slaves down and out.
One of the horrors of last night was coming into the square in Pest and seeing the drinking revelers, waving flags, dancing around, with a song playing very loudly, Abba's, "The Winner Takes it All."
He could reinvent himself several ways, several times over. He's the author of Hillbilly Elegy, which is almost diametrically opposite the perspective he had presented as a Trump protege. He also can return to his Ohio roots in any number of plausible ways. I occasionally hope he will morph into something I could vote for, although I'm not sure if I could trust him.
He just wrote a book about becoming Catholic & Trump attacks the Pope for not being a Trump stooge. He went to Pakistan & took Usha along, the Pakis hate Indians. Trump posts a blasphemous picture of himself as Jesus. Poor JD, the only way he could have a worse week is if a Haitian immigrant had actually eaten his cat.
Thanks for the laugh! I'm one tired guy today after Saturday's late night Liturgy and all the feasting I did yesterday keeping me up with heartburn last night.
Trump isn't clever eough to have thought this out but Islamabad was a poisoned chalice for J.D. (Read Ignatius today--they very well might go back to the table.) J.D. had a chance to resign two weeks ago, but he can't now without looking like a coward. It remains true that everybody associated with this administration is going to have ruined reputations. Stunts like the image and Truth Social thing sent out last night not only make Trump look crazy, they make everybody around him look servile.
White people will be a plurality in the US for as far out as one cares to look. And of course the definition can be expanded, as it has in the past, by roping in East Asians (who assimilate very well) and Hispanic peoples, most of whom are majority European in ancestry and certainly in language and religion. We've already seen movement toward the GOP by Hispanics under the rather hostile Trump. Think how that could progress under Rubio or DeSantis.
No the definition cannot be expanded. I would be interested in your stats about Hispanic ancestry and no, they vote for their interests above whatever ‘social conservative’ bona fides trad cons keep saying. I’ve seen exactly zero evidence for that conclusion.
Of course it can, and historically is has been. The Irish, the Italians and Greeks, Christian Middle Easterners, Jews and Slavs were all outside the "charmed circle" but other than some fringe neo-Nazis still thumping Mein Kampf everyone thinks of those people as "white".
Question: Do you think Marco Rubio does not qualify as white? The other Cubans of Florida? At my church we have some folks with names like 'Hernandez" but they speak English like a native and if you passed them on the street you would not think of them as anything but darker-haired European-descendants.
And good grief everyone not a fool votes for his own self interest. Ideally, his enlightened self-interest, but observing politics both here and abroad there's less enlightenment around than we all like to think.
They are European. All you cited are 1/2 or more European in origin. American Indians are not, Asians are not, Pakistanis are not. It’s not a slur to state the obvious, I don’t know why you people always assume the worst stance when it comes to any definition of it. Ffs you wouldn’t say the same about Chinese saying that white ppl will never be Asian.
The United States is not China-- a nation with the most ancient culture (though it has changed much of course) in the whole world. In the US we assimilate people to the majority culture, though it takes about three generations.
I do not give at tinker's damn about "white" people. I regard that as a false and fictitious category, useful for some bureaucrats of course (one more way to slice and dice us up) and not much else. "Europe" after all is a culture, not a race: it is a bundle of languages, mostly Indoeuropean (with a few Uralic tongues), its the heritage of Greece and Rome, it is Christendom. Here in the US, as an American and one with some rather deep ancestral roots (as such roots go here) I care about Americans, I care about working and middle class people (the upper middle class, the rich, and the underclass not so much), I care about Christians even if most of them are heretics, and I care about a lot of particulars-- friends, family, my local church etc. And I care that we have a future, and one not under the Cold and the Dark. To perdition with "race"-- and see-- that puts me utterly at odds with the Woke too. Best way to be!
We are not going to have a prevailing culture but that is neither here nor there. You really are excellent at missing the point. There will be no white majority countries; comment made within the context of the op ed about Hungary. You blathering on about minute dna details is ridiculously beside the point. I wasn’t talking about America that fate is sealed. Your dream of utopia isn’t going to happen. But it doesn’t change the fact that Europeans exist and no one can just trans into it via wishful thinking. Europeans cannot become Asian or African it’s ridiculous to say otherwise.
I care about Americans, I care about working and middle class people (the upper middle class, the rich, and the underclass not so much- how gracious of you!
Unfortunately, no politician until Trump has wanted to do anything on immigration. The situation will only be resolved with violence, which I don't want.
As a very early and longtime supporter of Orban et al, I am not sad to see them go. We tried hard for a decade to get them to negotiate in a pro-life and pro-family way at the UN. My impression became, they only cared about what happened within their own borders, which is fine, but they spent a few decades to con American social conservatives, all the whiule standing shoulder to shoulder with the European hard-left on abortion, gay, the whole sexual agenda, at the UN. They even voted against using the term “child porn” in a General Assembly resolution last fall. Disgusted.
Very likely that was their whole angle from the start. Say the right things so gullible conservatives from the anglosphere with more money provide cover for their corruption.
I think Trump's own stupid antics are enough of a "bellwether" for Trump, who has likely finally peaked out and entered the downward phase of his political career with the Iran War disaster, even if the downward spiral he is in might last several years before he is gone.
That's not to say the right-wing populist energy will go away. It will instead become volatile and erratic, trying to find a new Trump to replace the old defective one. I don't necessarily feel comfortable admitting this, but right now Tucker seems to hold the best cards. On top of having high profile and being charismatic, his advantages are:
1.) He early and often called this war a disaster in the making and has indeed been proven right. To anyone suffering from the ill consequences of this war (gas prices etc.), he now has the aura of a prophet.
2.) He criticizes Trump but in a way that appeals to right-wing sentiments. Trump just recently Tweeted a meme of himself as Jesus. Whether Tucker is a true Christian or not, striking a more faithfully Christian pose than the narcissistic Trump isn't exactly hard at this point, and Tucker is successfully clearing this very low bar. Consider only his denunciation of Trump's violent rhetoric during Easter (again, Tucker just has to shoot the ball into the empty net here, he doesn't have to be a genius or even to break a sweat to look better than Donald).
3.) Like Rod, I prefer Israel to the terrorists of Hamas. With that said, Israel has self-engineered a massive PR disaster, poisoning its relations with the US. This new shift is huge and will resonate across decades. Tucker is positioning himself well to benefit from this shift.
Regrettably, you're right.
'Plucky Little Israel' is long gone.
Here's the thing. The Israelis just don't care if everybody hates them. They don't. They've placated the Arab states to their south, the territory to their north is their (bloody) sandbox, and Europeans and Americans can say what they like. In a way you have to admire it. Morgan had somebody on over the weekend, an Israeli politician, ho said the Israelis were not bombing the Lebanese, Hezbollah was.
When push comes to shove, they seem to still rely on massive subsidies and supplies of materiel from the USA. That would give us some leverage if any president had the spine to set conditions. For instance, Biden could have said, you go after Hamas, you have every reason to and you'll be doing the world a favor, but, if you want American military supplies, you will cooperate with an international force moving in behind the IDF to create a secure perimeter Gaza civilians can flee to once, not twice, not five times, once. Also, in the future, we should refuse all aid unless the west bank settlements are removed. Israel might be able to go it alone without us, but then, we are free of responsibility for what they do, or what happens to them if they miscalculate.
We've always had leverage on the Israelis and never apply it.
Do you really think Netanyahu can treat the American nation with open contempt and suffer no consequences? Come on, man. Does a latte-sipping European like me need to tell the red-blooded American that that simply is not going to happen?
Maybe
Thoedore I., your comment reminded me of lines from Dylan's "Neighborhood Bully":
Well, the chances are against it, and the odds are slim,
That he'll live by the rules that the world makes for him.
There's a noose at his neck and a gun at his back,
And a license to kill him given out to every maniac.
We fund the whole criminal organization.
Israel can take care of itself; however, isn't it time for Netanyahu to retire?
The next Israeli election is October 2027. He'll stay until then just to stay out of the clink.
A lot like Trump's motives to run for another term...
My fear is that we are entering a period that incentivizes remaining in office by threatening prosecution upon leaving office. That’s not a peaceful transfer of power.
Whatever Trump’s sins, and they are many, he had not prosecuted his political opponents in his first term. The Democrats began the prosecution train, which Trump has now continued. How this ends is anybody’s guess, but I’m not hopeful here.
Your fears are justified, and I think the Supreme Court is correct to rule out prosecution for official acts. But, i think Trump actually did commit some actionable crimes, particularly trying to reverse the fact that he lost an election. Asking the secretary of state of Georgia to find 18,000 votes "because we won" and the votes to make it so much be found, is worthy of prosecution. However odious, the policies of the previous administration should not be prosecuted as crimes. Crimes against the constitution itself, which are actually defined in the statutes, should be. Making the distinction can be subject to manipulation, unfortunately. Chatter about Trump's "34 felonies" is childish -- it was the most hollow of cases, his conduct arguably did not rise to the level of criminal, and the prosecutor clearly was politically motivated. Then we have to deal with, what about Nuremberg? There are official acts that are actual crimes, but short of mass murder, we should be very careful.
It can "only take care of itself" as long as it gets billions from the US, as well as US fighting wars for Israel.
Is that really true? Is Israel incapable of survival without US support? Things that bother me about Israel:
Most Israelis are secular atheists. Not agnostic, simply scientific materialists. No nuance, no intelligent design for them.
The Hassidim are cowardly ninnies, incapable of defending themselves, the first to be slaughtered in the event an Israeli security breech.
Rabbi Elhanan Beck declared Netanyahu "Amalek:"
https://addisonhodgeshart.substack.com/p/video-interview-netanyahu-is-amalek
https://singjupost.com/unapologetic-w-rabbi-elhanan-beck-on-zionism-transcript/
Well from these people that’s to be expected
"Neturei Karta?" I'd ask if you're joking, but I suppose you're not.
Not at all. Israel will just ally itself with China and Russia, which will love to get its hands on all the high tech, especially military, that Israel currently works in tandem with the United States on. It would be a disaster for the US, which is why the Pentagon, among other US institutions, will never let it happen. The people on this thread are living in an updated dream world of Jew-haters over the centuries.
You should really check out Chinese animation spoofs of the White Eagle and his money-counting Vulture advisor as they prepare treachery and slaughter of the Persian Cats, who improvise and resist. The notion of the Celestials siding with the Zionists is ludicrous.
Israel won the 1948 and 1967 wars while under American and British arms embargoes. They fought largely with second-hand, rusty weapons smuggled over from Czechoslovakia.
This notion that Israel survives only because of some larger imperial patron is a historical trope going back to 1947. At first the Arabs thought the patron was Russia, since many of the Jews arriving in the 1880s-1890s were of Russian origin. Then under the Mandate they thought it must be the British who were the true imperial patron. Then in the 1960s, when France began to back Israel, they thought it must be them. Ever since the 1970s, they now believe that it's the United States.
It's mostly just cope to distract themselves from their own failures and societal problems.
Rather think that's for the Israeli people to decide tbh
I remember a cartoon in a mainstream publication about forty years ago showing Moshe Dayan riding a tank marked with a big placard reading "We want lebensraum."
Bullsnort. The IDF is the 2nd most lethal military in the world today, paired with the Mossad. They are our primary military ally. Europe has almost zero military forces today. Allahoop Snakbar baby….
Oh my….. Harrods has a sale on burquas today, get yours today, totally black, with especially small slits for your wife’s eyes. Just don’t beat her too hard or the taxi gangs might finish the job.
I don't think Tucker has a snowball's chance of getting the Republican nomination in 2028...and honestly, I don't really care anymore at this point.
I've long believed that the problems and divisions affecting our nation run very deep...beyond the power of politics or elections to address, which is why I think I'm going to be checking out of the voting scene going forward. I can no longer kid myself into believing that participation in a charade can fix anything.
I mean, consider what's happened to the Good Guys over the last year or so, intensifying since Charlie Kirk's murder and boiling over with this Iran fiasco.
I look at the cult of personality that surrounds Trump and motivates what remains of his hard-core base. I look at Trump himself with his berserk ranting and promotion of the likes of war-mongering Mark Levin, Laura Loomer, and Lindsey Graham as the new faces of his MAGA movement.
I look at the manipulative neocons and Israel-Firsters who seem to be calling Trump's shots. I look at the antisemitic nutjobs and conspiracy theorists who have a large and enthusiastic audience on the Right. The whole thing is a total zoo...beyond salvaging.
Is the zoo on "our side" preferable to the Dem-Media Party? Hell yeah. Not a high bar to get over. The ideology of the "other side" is poisonous and evil. Full stop. But is being better than the Evil Party by itself good enough? For me, it was for a lot of years. It's what drove my vote. But now I've finally had enough.
Then add in the factor of the de-moralized, clueless, herd-like masses with an attention span measured in hours. It's a Body Politic not capable of collective moral sensibility ordered toward Good.
Yup, it turns out that it's pretty easy for a nation to lose its soul. Gaining it back is a much harder proposition and involves some major trauma. We're going to find out just how major the trauma will be.
"II think I'm going to be checking out of the voting scene going forward. I can no longer kid myself into believing that participation in a charade can fix anything."
I've pretty much been in this same boat since around 2010. I toyed with the idea of writing in Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in in 2012 (I had the bumper sticker on my car to prove it) and hadn't voted in a national election since '08 before '24 only because the Dems were both incompetent and ideologically horrible. (I did vote for Trump in 2020, but entirely as a protest vote, since I had no illusions that he was going to win. I went to the polls that year with the intention of voting only in the local elections, but in line ahead of me were an elderly black couple decked out in red, white, and blue and wearing MAGA hats, so I thought "Oh, what the hell..." and ended up pulling the lever for Trump).
For the past 15 years I've concentrated my attention on local issues and local races when it comes to voting, and am happy to return to that script. I won't start caring about 2028 until the primaries, and even then I pretty much expect more of the same.
I love that and wish I would’ve thought of that. It’s my most favorite show ever.
Love BB, but I love Better Call Saul maybe even a shade more :)
I like BCS a lot, but thought it was a little longer than it needed to be.
Two years ago, I used to see a car parked in my neighborhood with a bumper sticker that said "GIANT METEOR 2024". I didn't relate to the sentiment then, but boy, do I feel it now. Any sliver of hope I had that we could vote our way out of this downward spiral is gone. Perhaps I'll make a Christian version of that bumper sticker for the next presidential election. "JESUS COMING WITH CLOUDS 2028".
I remember seeing memes in previous presidential election cycles of S.M.O.D (Sweet meteor of death) vs. Cthulhu (Don't settle for lesser evils) .
I used to have that as my profile picture on Facebook and joked about voting vs Cthulhu as well.
I remember seeing the Giant Meteor ones in 2020 as well.
My 2012 one read "White-Pinkman 2012. Respect the Chemistry."
I don’t think Tucker is going to run, but I suspect he will be well positioned as a kingmaker to anoint the next champion of the populist right. Then again, a year is a long time in politics (primary campaigning for 2028 will be getting started a little over a year from now, which is crazy to think about).
Tucker has repeatedly said he has zero interest in going into politics, having covered that swamp for so many years. Certainly he could change his mind, but his aversion to it sounded pretty strong to me.
I believe Carlson sincerely doesn't want to go into electoral politics.
Well look, I have no idea where so many of you get the idea that Tucker Carlson is all that important. He has a following, certainly greater than this blogs number 1 bete noir Nick Fuentes. However, I don’t think he’s likely to run for president if he did I don’t see how he gets elected. King maker( No Kings) - how ? Why? The Democrats are probably set for a sweep. So I don’t see how this Carlson thing makes any sense.
Kanye West and Taylor Swift have followings. Neither could be elected to office. Same with Tucker Carlson.
Oh come on shouldn’t Taylor be president. Our first with spangly leotards!
I am sure you're right.
He is reportedly the reason JD Vance is Vice President. He has influence that should not be underestimated in the lower turnout, ideological hothouse that is a primary. I’m not saying he’s going to pick the next GOP nominee, but I do think he will have some influence if he chooses to throw his weight behind someone.
We shall see!
The most evil thing I’ve seen from America recently is bombing a girls elementary school and killing 170 people, most of them young children. This was due to extreme hubris and desire to “look strong”. That was not the Democrats fault.
If the Democrats hadn't been so awful, in so many ways, Trump would not have been president. And if a Democrat president was presiding when the military hit a girls' school, the media wouldn't have lingered much over the story.
Both true. And I don't see this in any way as justification, just observation. Trump is a symptom/reaction to much bigger problems that are cross-partisan.
It was an accident. The building was on a base.
Do you think it was possible to avoid the accident if just a little more thought and research were done before deciding it was a valuable target? Or even better, didn’t start the war in the first place? As an aside, the US has schools on military bases too. Imagine if the situation was reversed.
Unfortunately the IRGC doesn’t list its equivalent of the DoD schools on the internet. There are thousands of targets that are identified by various sources and there is not enough data or time for revisiting them all. Yes, I would agree that not starting wars is a good idea! This one has been on and off since 1953.
Re: It's what drove my vote. But now I've finally had enough.
Vote the American Solidarity Party. Every vote denied our two rotten, no good, messed up, shitten major parties sends a message that needs to be sent.
(Yes, "shitten" was once a perfectly good adjective in Middle English, meaning what it looks like)
Yes to quote Death of a Salesman- attention must be paid.
It won’t be and I must admit I find the American Solidarity Party unappealing.
May I ask what you find unappealing about the party? I am not 100% in agreement with them either-- but there are times I am not 100% in agreement with myself.
Of course you may ask . However I have no real interest in discussing the question.
I too would probably find it uncomfortable having a discussion that compares the American Solidarity Party platform with that of the current Republican Party platform, John.
Trump vs Pope:
https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=69075
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2026/04/12/trump-blasts-pope-leo-as-weak-and-terrible-for-foreign-policy/
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-not-big-fan-weak-terrible-pope-leo-rcna331461
Trump's self-conceit?:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/donald-trump-posts-portrait-of-himself-as-jesus-christ/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgY0KM__-vs
https://x.com/CarriePrejean1/status/2043533793093681464
Bill, yup, I saw both of those Truth Social posts from Trump after I hit the button on my above comment.
I mean, what can you say. He could be trolling. Or it could be an implied statement of contempt for his MAGA base which will swallow anything. Or he could be off his rocker. Or it could be some combination of all three factors.
Rabbi Elhanan Beck declared Netanyahu "Amalek:"
https://addisonhodgeshart.substack.com/p/video-interview-netanyahu-is-amalek
https://singjupost.com/unapologetic-w-rabbi-elhanan-beck-on-zionism-transcript/
https://grokipedia.com/page/Rabbi_Elhanan_Beck
Did the nation lose its soul, or was the soul already gone for years and Trump's crazy antics revealed it?
Generally speaking, I don't think a person...or a nation...loses their souls overnight. It's a complicated process. And in the case of the United States, it's been a process that long predates Trump. In fact, if anything, Trump is a symptom...not a cause.
Ideas on how to turn the ship around? Unfortunately, I don't think you're wrong, but goodness, I'm hoping you are (re: the trauma / fallout - looks like painful days ahead).
Melissa, the ship is like Titanic heading for the iceberg...much too large and with too much forward momentum to avoid the fateful collision.
Therefore, I think things get "turned around" only when the whole thing implodes on itself leaving the remnant of those who retained their faith and moral anchors to rebuild from the ashes.
I have ideas. But they involve optimism, solidarity and willingness to try new (and some old) ideas. Optimism being the willingness to allow competition. Free trade and increase legal immigration and guest worker programs. The fact that we impose ridiculous tariffs on solar panels and electric cars is stupid. End most zoning laws so we can build again. Solidarity being respect human life. We already say hospitals must treat everyone but we’re not backing up that mandate with universal health insurance to pay for it, and that makes the overall costs higher than they otherwise would be. Try new old things again, like increased Federalism. There’s no reason the national government should be the decider on every issue. The national government’s main role should be coordination among the states, not ruling over them. Why not let states issue work visas as they see fit for instance? Also we need to be willing to learn from other countries instead of blindly assuming we’re the best at everything.
It's been a decades long process. Trump getting elected further showed how broken the country was. I will always be glad that he won in 2016 just because it showed me how broken the U.S. is as a country.
You're right. I occasionally vote, but I have believed for years that if voting could fix things, it would be illegal. As I get older, I see the wisdom of the Founders in limiting the vote. I don't think it should be just men or just white people or property owners. If it were up to me, the age to vote would be raised to 25, a voter would have to pay taxes and they would need to know basic knowledge about U.S. government and history.
Come join the American Solidarity Party, Jerry.
Trump’s Baby Boomer/Bad Boy contempt for traditional decorum regarding symbols of the Christian faith as well as those of normative US politics has reached a toxic stage, certainly. The problem is that the Democrats are still either in thrall to, or actually are, a malevolence out to destroy human well-being through a subtle perversion of Judeo-Christian virtues. And they show no signs of brooking any dissent, deviation, difference or demurral.
As for the Israelis, they are the fierce chihuahua that doesn’t grasp he’s not the same size as the pit bull he’s biting.
I’m rather tired of the present. I just want to retire to my library and not be molested by the swirl of stupidity and violence outside. Why that’s wrong is a good start on an answer to what’s wrong in general, I think.
The key is evil baby boomerism . If only they had never existed!
The cult of youth certainly got a huge boost from them! But the rot begins with Voltaire. Or thereabouts.
The rot begins with man
Certainly on the moral plane. But I think it’s useful to identify and evaluate cultural trends and emphases. The rejection of tradition and promotion of youth begins in earnest with Voltaire and Rousseau and reached critical mass with the Baby Boomers. Up to then, such cultural attitudes were the province of social elites.
Damn if only people hadn’t read Candide and The Confessions . You are aware that people like Julius Evola argue the great break with tradition is Christianity.
I'd put it farther back, as Rod does when he goes after the Nominalists, except that my villain is the Scholastics in general.
Rabbi Elhanan Beck declared Netanyahu "Amalek:"
https://addisonhodgeshart.substack.com/p/video-interview-netanyahu-is-amalek
https://singjupost.com/unapologetic-w-rabbi-elhanan-beck-on-zionism-transcript/
https://grokipedia.com/page/Rabbi_Elhanan_Beck
Re: Trump just recently Tweeted a meme of himself as Jesus.
I saw that online, and what a blasphemous and disgusting image!
Rabbi Elhanan Beck declared Netanyahu "Amalek:"
https://addisonhodgeshart.substack.com/p/video-interview-netanyahu-is-amalek
https://singjupost.com/unapologetic-w-rabbi-elhanan-beck-on-zionism-transcript/
https://grokipedia.com/page/Rabbi_Elhanan_Beck
Trump's self-conceit?:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/donald-trump-posts-portrait-of-himself-as-jesus-christ/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgY0KM__-vs
You're completely right. The Trump cultists will say that he did nothing wrong. Everyone else will see that many of his policies were good but not implemented right. Plus, there was corruption and plenty of other things. I don't know if Tucker Carlson will run in 2028, but he will likely be influential on whomever decides to run.
Tucker has never campaigned for anything. He may not be ready for the rough and tumble of it.
Anything he has ever said (and he has said a lot) can be excavated and used against him.
So please Sarhaddon, explain how eliminating the “Cult of the 12th Imam, the Madhi” is so bad for Americans. Tucker is a psychopath making bank 💰 with dissent. Trump probably is not a Christian. So what? King Cyrus of Persia was not a Jew. Both are helpful to Christians. Why? YHWH’s Providence .
You're just naive.
Cyrus was a good and just ruler as such things were reckoned in his day. When it comes to ancient potentates Trump is more along the lines of Nebuchadnezzar.
So Orbán and Fidesz were corrupt and mismanaged the economy.
Sounds like ample reason for a change. I’d note that Trump and the GOP are making exactly the same mistakes.
This, it seems, is the Achilles heel of populists. They may ride economic discontent into power but don’t actually seem to have any ideas for fixing problems beyond the usual right wing bromides about tax cuts for the rich (I just did my taxes and Trump’s “tax cut” had me paying more instead of a refund for the first time in my life. But I’m sure Elon Musk saved an extra billion or two and that’s what really counts!) and austerity (I’ve seen a lot more of what is euphemistically called “food insecurity,”—missed meals, hunger even—this year; for the first time in my life I’m buying meals for friends, not just random homeless on the streets. But hey! What about that new ballroom?).
I’ll grant Trump this: he accurately diagnosed the problems back in 2016. But this second term is proving that he has neither the knowledge nor the inclination to fix them and a complete inability to self-correct.
The problem is a simple one: too much wealth in too few hands. But what kind of bozo expects a billionaire to solve that?
Back to Orbán: Mr Dreher, how likely do you think it is that Trump undercut Fidesz in the same way he undercut Polievre and the Conservativesyy in Canada? In other words, is the Trump brand so toxic in Europe that he’s dragging down populist right parties?
I'd agree that the reason for his loss is that somewhere along the line, he lost on the "gas prices and benefits for ordinary people" front.
It's also a relevant question on what the "model right-wing society" now is. Orban is out of power, Trump has lost his marbles, whereas Netanyahu started a stupid self-destructive war. Who's the credible right-wing success story in April 2026?
To be fair, the idiocies of the woke are still a big factor in favor of the right-wing. But it would go a lot better if there was a credible right-wing success story to point to (and I don't mean "someone wins an election", I mean "someone wins an election and creates a society of such prosperity and cultural coherence that it's undeniable to everyone").
The difference between now and the 80s when Ronald Reagan (whatever the long term baleful effects of his actions) did give us some years of prosperity, is glaring as bright as a supernova. The frozen job market, IMO, is a huge red flag and forebodes uglier things to come.
Do you think much of the bad job market is due to A.I. taking over so many functions? Or is it just bad economic policy? I am curious and don't know enough to have an opinion.
NO, AI really isn't that far along yet where it can wholly replace people. The current job market, beginning in 2023, is a reaction against the extraordinary period called the Great Resignation in 2021-22 when workers disastified with their jobs and especially with too-low salaries were quitting in droves and moving to higher paid jobs, putting upward pressure on wages or the first time in decades. C-suite leaders freaked out and came up with the strategy of not firing anyone except the absolute worst employees (instead of the annual layoff ritual to pump up stock prices) while also shutting down hiring.
AI has played a side role however: its use by HR departments has become a huge barrier to even getting one's foot in the door as it seems to tuned to find reasons not to hire an applicant based on the scantest and vaguest resume information. In 2023 I had my resume scanned by an online tool and the return was nothing good about me (and in years past I had no trouble getting responses to resume submissions when it was mainly humans analyzing applicants who made it past the necessary qualifications).
Yeah, and imagine if half of the AI doomer predictions turn out to be true, it's going to be a bloodbath as far as the eye can see. President Tucker Carlson might be the least of our worries if AI-induced unemployment becomes a real thing.
Reagan was able to succeed because conservative policies were the right answer to the problems facing the country at the time. Taxes were too high, business was over regulated, we needed a strongly free market president to help fix those things. It's not that different than FDR being the right answer in the 1930s to a government that wouldn't do anything (for right wing ideological reasons) to mitigate the worst effects of the Great Depression: we needed some democratic socialism and we got it. What is Trump the right answer to? I'm not a Trump fan at all, but I can recognize that the left shit the bed on immigration and wokeness, and that Trump was a good answer to those problems specifically even if his fixes were characteristically cruel and poorly thought out. He's not a very good answer to any of the other problems facing our nation and his massive personal flaws mean he can't just do no harm in the areas where his instincts suck.
I don't think the Trump-Vance thing had any real effect on Hungarian voting, to be honest. It was all about the crappy economy and Fidesz corruption.
My guess would be that the + and - effects of Trump/Vance pretty much cancelled each other out.
You’re the man on the spot so I’d defer to your observations.
I’ve one other source for what really happens in Hungary, but he hasn’t lived there in twenty-five years, so grain of salt, etc.
Köszönöm!
Trump and Vance had no more impact on the Hungarian election than Elon Musk had on last year's Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
We should remain neutral in the elections of others, both friends and adversaries. Why was Vance even in Budapest? When did this insane trend begin?
I agree. We should. Just as we would denounce anyone interfering in our elections. It is not the business of other governments to tell people of any sovereign nation how to vote. At most, we might announced in advance that if X policy is adopted, we will not support it. They can still vote for it, knowing we won't be on board. But we should be careful even about that. This does have some antecedents though. Poland once had an elective monarchy, that is, a small body of hereditary electors made the decision (no doubt a model for our own electoral college in some respects). Neighboring monarchies spent substantial sums bribing electors to make the decision said neighbors preferred. The general populace, in that instance, was never consulted anyway.
And Catherine the Great once used the Polish throne as a retirement sinecure for a cast-off lover.
Can't speak for other countries but in the U.S. the entrenched two-party system and the elites who benefit from it will not allow an actual populist, right or left, to gain traction. See Lasch's "The Revolt of the Elites." Note that Lasch was a leftist economically, but leaned right socially.
As I grow older, I find myself becoming more and more of a “Red Tory” myself. Alas, that’s all too rare of a creature in the United States.
We do have a lot of "blue liberals," and I mean that in the old-school sense of the color blue, just as "Red Tory" uses the old school meaning of red. Not that Boris Johnson was much of a red, or a Tory, or anything particularly coherent.
The U.S. has never had much of a "Red Tory" tradition, or anything really like it, other than the agrarian-distributist stream on the Old Right. Hard to make an impact though, given the strong fiscal libertarianism of many paleo-conservatives.
What Del Noce saw happening in Europe in the 60's/70's has followed suit here. The "technocratic right" has pushed all the other conservatisms to the margins. There's something darn near poetic about the fact that Lasch and Russell Kirk died within a couple months of one another in '94.
There are still people in the U.S. who would be more comfortable in a Democratic Party like the one that existed when F.D.R. was president.
Re: I just did my taxes and Trump’s “tax cut” had me paying more instead of a refund for the first time in my life.
Well, at least you don't have to fret about why your refund hasn't come yet! Last year I had mine in three weeks. It's approaching two months now and all the IRS can say is they have received my paperwork. Three groans for Elon Musk and his fecklessly stupid personnel cuts.
was your overall tax rate (total tax divided by total income) higher or lower?
That would be hard to say as my income was fundamentally different, in size and type. This was my easiest tax return in many years, but because I had just two sources of income (and a very tiny third source that barely figured, one which in some past years had dominated).
Not old enough yet to benefit from that 6K tax deduction that the BBB included for seniors.
The problem is a simple one: too much wealth in too few hands.-It is ? I gather every man would be a king if there were no billionaires.
Agreed. I would prefer if billionaires as a class did not exist. Owning a few million is one thing but no one should be allowed to have billions. It's far too much.
I could care less if billionaires exist.Sorry” too much” is a standard “without any real meaning generally constructed out of a kind of politicized envy based on zero sum economics. Getting rid of billionaires won’t solve anything. Although if the state could seize their money whole new administrative bureaucracies could be created and financed until they run out of money.
Someone having more money than some poor countries is immoral. They only got that money from screwing people over and not paying their employees what they should be paid.
And how do you know that? And how do you know what their employees should be paid? Should Elon Musks money be taken from him and given to Eritrea?
The postwar wealthy were taxed up the ying-yang but still lived pretty well.
Of course! However one should be very hesitant to conclude that dramatically increasing tax revenue is going to lead to a better society.
Ideally there should be some maximum spread between the C level salaries and the lowest paid workers under them. I saw a comparison of the difference on that spread between the US and many other countries-- ours is outrageously larger than anyone's, and by at least an order of magnitude. If the CEO's pay goes up so should everyone else's-- and if a company can't afford that then the CEO's pay stays down too.
In the 60s, the average CEO made about 20 times what his lowest worker made. It makes sense for the boss to make more. Now, some CEOs made 400 or more times what their average employer makes. "For the love of money is the root of all evil." Though I disagree with Paul. It's not the root of all evil. Just a lot of evil.
But "Nothing in Excess" remains a good maxim in all things.
Be careful with the notion of what "populist" means. Liberals have been denouncing "populists" as enemies of all that is good and right, including civil rights laws, for decades. But, the original People's Party was left-leaning in substance, if not in rhetoric, and far from classically Marxist. It was a close ally of the Socialist Party of America (Debs's party) and there was a lot of overlap. It is also true that after the southern nobility crushed the populists, they revived a pseudo-populist stalking horse that was "white" and relied on Jim Crow to keep some crumbs for "white" ordinary people.
Excellent piece, especially in terms of what this looks like from the inside. That the young especially voted en masse for Magyar is hardly surprising. I don’t know what he’s like as a speaker, his charisma factor, but he’s young and handsome, and Orban looks tired out.
As one would expect, after so many years fighting. Hats off to him.
Do you think Magyar will cave on immigration? Hope not, but the drift looks to me like: Will cave. Slowly, but … cave.
The ace in the hole for Peter Magyar is that he is so right-wing coded. The Hungarian opposition figured it out - the Hungarians are fine with switching out Orban, but only in exchange for another right-winger.
The obvious analogy here is Poland - the Law and Justice (right-wing populist) party were defeated by Donald Tusk (a centre-right normie conservative).
Yes and no. In Poland you had an explicitly Catholic party replaced by a secular oriented party. In Hungary, you’re having a party that pays lip service to Christianity to one that doesn’t. I’m not commenting on whether that’s good bad or neither.
Hungary has the good fortune of having a difficult language to master. Muslims would have a hard time in Hungary making a living.
Well, yes. Hungary won't be one of the first choices for refugees. For now. But there are Islamic people coming as refugees to most of the countries of Europe, . Large numbers remain unemployed.
Hungary is a little different, we do not have "welfare" here. Presently, people have to work if able bodied. Even as a streetcleaner, government paid. I see these workers every day in the streets, in their yellow vests. I do not know but what refugees - (right now our only refugees are Ukrainian) would be treated the same way. Or would have been, under Fidesz/Orbán.
But refugees will eventually wish remain here. Much of the West will head further downhill. This will be a good place. And so they will come here.
Another problem - this one current: Refugees, thes of thousands, being assigned here by EU quota. Hungary probably won't escape this under Magyar, this is the fear.
Very smart of the Hungarians. I wish it was that way in the U.S. The only people I think should get welfare are people too disabled to work and mothers who have young children. Even then, I would prefer the mothers to work. I hope that Magyar doesn't open the borders to foreigners.
<<<I hope that Magyar doesn't open the borders to foreigners.>>>
I have the story - here is a quote from Magyar's press conference today when asked about ending the fines Hungary receives for not taking migrants. Magyar will - calling them "asylum seekers" instead of "illegal migrants." They can come here, apparently not thorough the southern border, Magyar claims, but coming is not a problem.
Here is the important quote from Magyar, just now word for word, far more than he said before the election - note the term "asylum seekers":
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"There are many European countries that were able to comply with the European law on asylum seekers and still stop illegal migrants from coming to their countries. And this is what we are going to do. Hungary has a strong stance on illegal migration and we will maintain our fence on the border. We would like to protect Hungary and Europe from illegal migration. There are legal forms of migration which we accept. We will find a way not to pay this fine any longer. "
Nothing but lies from him. The EU wants Hungarians replaced and Magyar will either do what they want or if bucks their orders, they will come after him.
in other words he wants to stop illegal immigration by making all immigration "legal"
I think of Muslims the same way regular Americans think of black people. If most of what you learn about Muslims is day-to-day interaction 95% of your sample will be hard-working local business owners, the occasional co-worker, the guy who helped you get your driver's licence etc.
If all you know of Muslims is Twitter, than 95% of your sample size is whatever phantasmagorical cherry-picked selection of Muslim criminals RadioGenoa and the other professional grifters are blaring about this week. I know their Tweets are very eye-catching, and some of them are based on real events, but even so - unless you deliberately rented an apartment in the most criminal ghetto area of Europe (or are an obsessive urban decay voyeur), their takes are extremely slanted and far from reality.
That's also Rod's problem - the guy doesn't really live in Europe, he lives on Twitter.
There is truth to this, but it doesn't matter. Average citizens have never voted for more immigrants. But the rich and the politicians they own do and ignore the voters. All groups prefer to put their own group first if there isn't something to bring them together. The more immigrants of any group, the more they will change things to benefit themselves. It will be a replacement of the local culture.
There is no group called "Muslims". In actuality, there are Kurds, Turks, Iranians, Egyptian Arabs, other Arabs, Yemenis, Afghanistanis, Pakistanis, Indonesians and so on.
To add to this, there are subdivisions inside ethnic groups. Pro-mullah Iranians and anti-mullah Iranians have about as much in common as you and a transsexual member of antifa. The solidarity across this swathe of groups is very limited.
To add to this, there is an extensive list of incentives (both punishments to avoid and perks to obtain) for selling out your original culture and becoming modernized and Westernized. Rod's blog is covered from top to down with laments about the inability of Christians to resist modernity. Why would people from Muslim countries have a magical resistance to this influence?
In fact, even for Muslims that never left their home countries, Westernization is extensive. For example, fertility rates have started dropping like a rock across Islamic nations. This is a Western cultural trend reaching Muslim shores (after a short latency/delay period). If you look at the map you can see it even having a geographic factor - countries close to Europe in culture or geography get hit first. So Turkey and Iran are under 2.0 fertility (less than 2 kids per woman) already, Yemen and Chad (further away from the blast radius) are not.
Yes, I think he will cave. The EU will force it in order to get money - though he will get some for dismissing many the upper judiciary brance which (sort of similar to the Supreme Court) is mostly Fidesz. - He can do that due to the two-thirds majority.
And...charisma? Nem! Nincs! No! Have look at the link, scroll down a bit to the video - I know it is an Al Jazerra site - google served it up - but it''s erm...Magyar's victory speech. Please!
OK, the Hungarian was simple enough for me, four sentences in a row before he said something I did not know (first time that happened in this difficult language, I usually can only get one or two sentences, though I recognize many words.) But look at him - the flat delivery the total lack of personality. The Hungarians know he is not qualified, polls say the majority, including his voters, do not think he is qualified. They wanted "change" anyway, in a lesser of two evils way. The USA knows how that line (change) worked in 2008.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/12/world-reacts-to-election-defeat-for-viktor-orban-hungarys-longtime-pm
In some ways, it seems similar to the last election in the UK. People were dissatisfied with the economy, the NHS, immigration (the list goes on), and the Tories had been in power for over a decade. The Tories, in my view, rightly deserved to be tossed out. Unfortunately, the only viable opposition at that point was Labour, and they have predictably made everything worse.
That’s true of many elections. The loser always deserves to lose, but the winner rarely deserves to win.
Okay. So no charisma. Oh well, that’s the type that will also cave, campaign promises or no.
As a Christian, conservative European I agree that Orban’s push to regulate mass migration and to reform a bureaucratic and sclerotic EU speaks for him. But I think you are missing a point that also cost him the win. Corruption and a lack to go after criminals is not the only thing on peoples mind. His subservience to Russia makes many Hungarians wonder what the guy is up to. And don’t confuse that with a righteous wish for a peace in the Ukraine. Negotiations are good and needed. But the Russian side unfortunately shows zero readiness to negotiate at all. And many conservatives and Christians like me simply can’t fathom to see the butchers of Butcha at our doorsteps. And we/they know that we have to do much more for our defense and not just ask the US to do the job for free!
But to make a long story short: with our history in mind any party at the right needs to have beside a clear stance on migration, Christian values and economic growth a stringent position regarding the threat Russia poses for everything we stand for! If not they shouldn’t be elected.
I completely agree on the Russia element. Rod did not mention the leaked call between Orban and Putin. That couldn’t have played well at all. Meanwhile he highlight a leaked call re: Maidan in Ukraine. I have family connections to that country, still have cousins and family there. Let’s grant the Ukrainians some agency (and recognize their anti-Russian imperative) on what they wanted / want to be free of Russian influence and control. To Rod’s point, there’s all sorts of meddling these days (and always has been) but why overstate the U.S.’s in Ukraine (and Hungary) and understate Russia’s there or in Hungary? Let’s be real here.
Oh, of course I agree that western Ukrainians were sincere in wanting their country to be more Western-oriented and less Russia-oriented. My point was simply that the US absolutely interfered there. Big powers do it all the time.
Whereas Ukrainians east of some hypothetical point longed to be ruled by Putin?
Your ignoring the recent revelations about the Orban government's groveling toward Putin is a puzzling oversight, Rod. That Hungarian foreign minister's actions, in particular, is why that Roger Wicker tweet above exists. How do you not see that?
Also, since you're planning to move Austria, why not be more direct about the nature of Orban's role in Fidesz corruption. It's not just Orban's failure to address the corruption problem - it's that he seems to actively enable it!
How about you explain to me how the new politicians won’t be corrupt? International politics and corruption go together like butter and a biscuit.
It takes a while for new people to develop the connections and skills needed to pull off big time corruption. Given enough time they will. Which is why the Hungarians need to be ready to boot these guys out next cycle if they and their offspring start posting pics of themselves partying with oil sheikhs and sporting rolodexes and diamonds.
The Internet today was flooded with tens of thousands of newly minted experts on Hungary.
At least Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State-------sarcasm.
Best remembered for what she called "the apology tour."
Ugh…always, no matter the topic
"The EU loves to promote itself as 'defending democracy,' but it’s very important for Americans to understand that 'democracy' is when voters choose candidates with the EU stamp of approval."
Agree except change "EU" to "Global Elite" and you will be accurate.
Ever notice how many people talk about "defending democracy" here? As you post, even a Republican does so. I wonder what that means? Then add in the "Russian interference" angle. Where have we heard this before?
+1000
Democracy means whatever benefits the elites. It's a word they have twisted, like so many others, to mean what they choose it to mean. Just like Humpty Dumpty said in the Alice books.
Magyar is a liar who will do what it takes to get EU funds. Open the borders a good deal more if that is what it tkes - and it will. Magyar, with his two-thirds parliament majority, can address "judicial corruption" (the upper eschelons were Fidesz appointed.) and that will win back some EU funds. - - Do you not see that this amounts to an EU dictatorship by funding, however?
We will certainly see additional funding for the near-permanant stalemate of a Ukraine war, with much cost to the Hungarian taxpayer if it is funded as Brussels wishes.
I doubt Magyar ever had politics of his own. Everyone, even his voters, know he is a drunken turncoat puppy microwaver with little charisma. The voters wanted change, however. Inflation is under control here now. Hungary was never rich compared to some other European countries, and ordinary people do not have what Americans have. Health care needs help, teacher salaries did at least go up about 30%, and they are bad everywhere. Voters made a mistake. It does looke like probably 53-47 or so (Tisza and vs non-Tisza) but that will translate to two-thirds in parliament due to narrow constituiency wins, if I understand it.
The Magyar voters, many of them, seemed innocent to the fact that a promise to end corruption is hollow. Especially from this former Fidesz-man who got plenty of corrupt benefits of his own, in the millions. But such a promise is rather holow from just about anyone. Politics is done with corruption here. I sometimes wonder if you can succeed without. it.
Magyar's first announcement after his victory speech was about putting people from Fidesz in jail.
I'm going to be a little "off" today probably because my heart hurts so much for my beloved country. A beacon of freedom and courage to the world. To come to this.
A friend does see one possible siver lining: European parliament elections in 2029. Hungarians will know what Magyar has wraught. They can then send even more Fidesz/Mi Hazánk to the EU.
Sounds like an entertaining script for your next movie -- or maybe you'll write the novel first.
If anyone's interested, here's a great interview about Hungarian history and how it played into the election: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TVQHTlxRJQ
It’s a pity that Europe lost its most sensible leader. I expect he will now be prosecuted for his “crimes “ against the EU elite consensus. It’s been clear since the Romanian election debacle that the EU has no interest in democracy.
I wonder how you will feel about Vienna. 30 years ago it was the wonderful place that Ethan Hawke and Julia Delpy were strolling through in Before Sunrise. I’ll be interested to read your impressions of Vienna today.
Austria is the most prosperous country in Europe. Banking center, etc. Still wears a patina of Catholic Christianity. Stores are closed on Sunday. Tithing is mandatory. Etc. So I too will be interested to hear what Rod thinks.
Re: Tithing is mandatory.
Ugh, gross, raising my American First Amendment hackles. Churches should be supported by the Faithful, not swilling at Caesar's trough (or using Caesar to go after the people).
My husband's niece and her family officially left the Church because they couldn't afford the Church tax.
Check out the numbers of Muslims in Vienna and the proportions of Muslim children in its schools. The President of Austria recently urged Austrian women to "voluntarily" wear headscarves to spare offense to Muslims. None of this bodes well for the future.
You're only taxed if you're a member ? That's a little better I guess
Only register church members have to pay the Church Tax, so thousands of Catholic in Germany and Austria disaffiliate every year to save money. The huge financial resources of the Catholic Church in Germany are derived from this tax. But once disaffiliated, people cannot receive the sacraments, have a church funeral, or be buried in a church cemetery. As I recall, the system was put in place under Bismark, to compensate for Church properties confiscated during the Kulturkampf but in the long run, the results are sadly negative.
Sounds like Austria is also dealing with replacement.
France has a superior tax treaty with the U.S.
In my view 16 years in office is too much for any politician, right or left.
I've been in Peru these last 2 weeks and there were elections here yesterday. Since there were many candidates, no one received 50 plus 1 and there will be a runoff election soon. Political posters and rallies were everywhere we went but I wonder if any of these candidates are truly popular. Supposedly, 4 of the last 5 presidents are either in jail or facing indictments for corruption. In any case, voting is mandatory in Peru, fines if you don't.
Even here in the southern part of Peru, the effects of the war in the Persian Gulf have hit hard in the way of fuel costs. A cab driver told me that before the war a liter of gas was 16 soles but now it's 26. All Peruvians work hard to put food on the table for their families and to make ends meet, but our illegal war faraway is causing hardship for the locals.
I wonder how diminished vacation season will be in America despite our energy independence. Energy works in a world market.
The effects of our Persian Gulf misadventure are global, from airline tickets to food production. I've felt compelled to apologize to Peruvians for the recklessness of our government and also to let them know that most Americans don't support this BS.
As you have read on this esteemed site, there are still plenty of muleheaded conservatives who think the war is well worth while. These folks don't understand that in a democracy, political parties that produce economic pain are usually turned out of office.
Not to mention, Trump shifts from week to week whether he's going to open the Straits of Hormuz by overwhelming force, or shut them down.
Or maybe found the Iranian-American Joint Tolling Authority.
Funny how America was bombing Iran a month ago and now is considering a joint business venture.
Will it work with E-Z Pass?
At our church Paschal feast yesterday I was talking to a guy about the woes of my retirement investments. He has a lot of experience in futures market and he advised me to invest in grain futures as that's going to explode as northern hemisphere planting this spring is way down especially in the world's poorer countries as fertilizer becomes unaffordable.
You're having investment issues and you think it's a good idea to bet on futures in the commodities market? Good way to lose everything. The best investment advice is always to purchase a basket of stocks or index funds consistently over time.
Its the shoe shine boy once again...
My main 401K is professionally managed by Morgan Stanley, a former employer. They do a great job and as a former employee I am not charged a fee. Of course they cannot work miracles and in a bad market the best they can do is cut the losses.
Gas expensive, flights expensive. Everybody in the world hates us now. Maybe time to see the USA. But not too far from home, gas too high. Going to the OBX this summer with the fam. Probably as far as we’ll venture for awhile. Got to set aside more $$$ for gas.
I have travel planned for this summer. A reunion in Michigan in June, a big family birthday celebration in Toledo for my to-be-90 years old cousin, and in August a trip up the east coast and ultimately all the way to Newfoundland. Crossing my fingers on gas prices (I may fly to the Toledo event, but the others are road trips).
Well, Snowbird Season in Florida is ending and the tide is starting to go out. March this year was its usual madhouse crush of people, from addled old folks to drunken college kids. Be a relief if things were a bit less delirious. I stopped down at my usual Sunday evening haunt, the Parkshore Grill, last night. The place was still doing a land office business, with three large parties, including a dozen Quebecois carrying on in their raucous French dialect like a flock of magpies.
Peru’s political class is infamous for its corruption. It’s a shame - the country has vast latent wealth, and some of the best cuisine in the world. On the flip side, the traffic in Lima is horrendous and the state has weak institutions and weaker leaders.
Have you tried Guinea pig?
I’ve had Cui on several occasions, yes. It’s not particularly special apart from the novelty value. It tastes like chicken 🙂
My favorite dishes are ceviche, arroz con pollo (the Peruvians make theirs with loads of cilantro), and anticuchos.
And Chinese food is popular in Peru.
I went a Chinese restaurant there with my grandmother once. She ordered a whole pigeon which showed up with the head still attached, beak and all. It was rather memorable.
Was it smiling like the Chinese duck in “A Christmas Story”?
I like the Rotisserie Chicken and Lomo Saltado.
I skipped the cuy -- too cute -- but enjoyed alpaca. Coca tea works wonders for altitude. We hit 16108 feet today.
Coca tea tastes terrible, but it is indeed good for altitude sickness.
Have you visited Machu Picchu yet, Paul?
<<You can’t plausibly read a broad international message out of this result. Parties aligned with Orban’s vision will continue to grow in popularity here in Europe, because people are increasingly fed up with mass migration.>>
Oh, but sadly, I think you can. The so-called "far-right" generally has to have a majority of voters and constituencies - over 50% to govern. They are the only ones genuinely against mass migration. Other parties will not align with them to form a government. They are labeled "far-right", code word for racist. This lie, put out by the left-wing press, is largely believed by all but their own voters. It is even believed by "conservatives" who are not labeled far-right.
The European parliament has the "European People's Party," : CDU, Tisza, some others. They are falsely labeled right-wing. Then there are the "Patriots for Europe": Fidesz, the French "National Rally" and others. Then there is "Europe of Sovereign Nations" which includes the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and others.
While Fidesz held the line on mass migration very well, I think only those aligned with the Sovereign Nations in the rest of Europe are nor really likely to hold the line. And can they win elections there? The graph Rod shared shows the "hard right". They are 24%. Another 24% are labeled conservative. Many believe lies. The CDU winning after falsely claiming it would hold the line on immigration. It is sad.
Diverging slight as I am not sure where else to put this, so I will say it here - my Iranian friends in Hungary are miserable about this election. Islamists will be able to enter here. And for Jews, will they still have the current safest place for them in the world?
Thanks as always for the very informative and stimulating post. May I comment about a stylistic issue, namely your decision to quote the profanity of the Fidesz supporter. I understand the rationale, but there are ways to indicate that profanity was used with quoting it verbatim or in full. Conservatives don't have to be prudes but surely we are right to insist on maintaining certain standards in polite discourse, regardless of how much such standards may be flouted by society at large.
When quoting others I find it OK to included the four letter words they use. Podcasts doing so should come with an advance warning, as in "Don't play this at work/church etc."
I hope J.D. Vance is enjoying his time as Vice President. Is his political career over? He's in a no win situation.
Richard Nixon looked dead politically in 1962. Vance is young and has a lot of time left.
True but he is having a bad week right now.
Reminds me of the Kristofferson song "Sunday Morning Coming Down."
Conceivably he could end up as president, sooner not later. The Republicans of 1900 thought the vice presidency was safe place to stash Theodore Roosevelt. And no one outside Michigan had ever heard of Gerald Ford before 1973. On the downside Lincoln's choice of Andrew Johnson in 1864 on a national unity ticket was his single worst mistake.
I had heard of Gerald Ford. Lincoln’s choice of Johnson was not a mistake. It was a pretty smart move. Unfortunately, Lincoln wasn’t counting on getting assassinated .
Lincoln choosing Johnson was like Mary Queen of Scots marrying Lord Darnley-- a good match of paper (he had a claim to both the English and Scottish thrones) but as things worked out a total disaster. We are still paying dearly for Johnson's failure to work with the Republicans in Congress and his inability to decide what he wished to do more-- punish the old plantocracy of the South or keep the newly freed slaves down and out.
One of the horrors of last night was coming into the square in Pest and seeing the drinking revelers, waving flags, dancing around, with a song playing very loudly, Abba's, "The Winner Takes it All."
He could reinvent himself several ways, several times over. He's the author of Hillbilly Elegy, which is almost diametrically opposite the perspective he had presented as a Trump protege. He also can return to his Ohio roots in any number of plausible ways. I occasionally hope he will morph into something I could vote for, although I'm not sure if I could trust him.
How's Mike Pense's career going? In my estimation Richard Nixon was special, one of a kind. I still enjoy watching him speak on YouTube.
He just wrote a book about becoming Catholic & Trump attacks the Pope for not being a Trump stooge. He went to Pakistan & took Usha along, the Pakis hate Indians. Trump posts a blasphemous picture of himself as Jesus. Poor JD, the only way he could have a worse week is if a Haitian immigrant had actually eaten his cat.
Thanks for the laugh! I'm one tired guy today after Saturday's late night Liturgy and all the feasting I did yesterday keeping me up with heartburn last night.
Trump isn't clever eough to have thought this out but Islamabad was a poisoned chalice for J.D. (Read Ignatius today--they very well might go back to the table.) J.D. had a chance to resign two weeks ago, but he can't now without looking like a coward. It remains true that everybody associated with this administration is going to have ruined reputations. Stunts like the image and Truth Social thing sent out last night not only make Trump look crazy, they make everybody around him look servile.
We are in so much trouble. There will be no white majority nations in the west now?
White people will be a plurality in the US for as far out as one cares to look. And of course the definition can be expanded, as it has in the past, by roping in East Asians (who assimilate very well) and Hispanic peoples, most of whom are majority European in ancestry and certainly in language and religion. We've already seen movement toward the GOP by Hispanics under the rather hostile Trump. Think how that could progress under Rubio or DeSantis.
No the definition cannot be expanded. I would be interested in your stats about Hispanic ancestry and no, they vote for their interests above whatever ‘social conservative’ bona fides trad cons keep saying. I’ve seen exactly zero evidence for that conclusion.
Re: No the definition cannot be expanded.
Of course it can, and historically is has been. The Irish, the Italians and Greeks, Christian Middle Easterners, Jews and Slavs were all outside the "charmed circle" but other than some fringe neo-Nazis still thumping Mein Kampf everyone thinks of those people as "white".
Question: Do you think Marco Rubio does not qualify as white? The other Cubans of Florida? At my church we have some folks with names like 'Hernandez" but they speak English like a native and if you passed them on the street you would not think of them as anything but darker-haired European-descendants.
And good grief everyone not a fool votes for his own self interest. Ideally, his enlightened self-interest, but observing politics both here and abroad there's less enlightenment around than we all like to think.
They are European. All you cited are 1/2 or more European in origin. American Indians are not, Asians are not, Pakistanis are not. It’s not a slur to state the obvious, I don’t know why you people always assume the worst stance when it comes to any definition of it. Ffs you wouldn’t say the same about Chinese saying that white ppl will never be Asian.
The United States is not China-- a nation with the most ancient culture (though it has changed much of course) in the whole world. In the US we assimilate people to the majority culture, though it takes about three generations.
I do not give at tinker's damn about "white" people. I regard that as a false and fictitious category, useful for some bureaucrats of course (one more way to slice and dice us up) and not much else. "Europe" after all is a culture, not a race: it is a bundle of languages, mostly Indoeuropean (with a few Uralic tongues), its the heritage of Greece and Rome, it is Christendom. Here in the US, as an American and one with some rather deep ancestral roots (as such roots go here) I care about Americans, I care about working and middle class people (the upper middle class, the rich, and the underclass not so much), I care about Christians even if most of them are heretics, and I care about a lot of particulars-- friends, family, my local church etc. And I care that we have a future, and one not under the Cold and the Dark. To perdition with "race"-- and see-- that puts me utterly at odds with the Woke too. Best way to be!
We are not going to have a prevailing culture but that is neither here nor there. You really are excellent at missing the point. There will be no white majority countries; comment made within the context of the op ed about Hungary. You blathering on about minute dna details is ridiculously beside the point. I wasn’t talking about America that fate is sealed. Your dream of utopia isn’t going to happen. But it doesn’t change the fact that Europeans exist and no one can just trans into it via wishful thinking. Europeans cannot become Asian or African it’s ridiculous to say otherwise.
I care about Americans, I care about working and middle class people (the upper middle class, the rich, and the underclass not so much- how gracious of you!
Unfortunately, no politician until Trump has wanted to do anything on immigration. The situation will only be resolved with violence, which I don't want.
As a very early and longtime supporter of Orban et al, I am not sad to see them go. We tried hard for a decade to get them to negotiate in a pro-life and pro-family way at the UN. My impression became, they only cared about what happened within their own borders, which is fine, but they spent a few decades to con American social conservatives, all the whiule standing shoulder to shoulder with the European hard-left on abortion, gay, the whole sexual agenda, at the UN. They even voted against using the term “child porn” in a General Assembly resolution last fall. Disgusted.
That is very disappointing, agreed.
Very likely that was their whole angle from the start. Say the right things so gullible conservatives from the anglosphere with more money provide cover for their corruption.