The Claremont Institute
More and more often I have trouble distinguishing between actual news articles and parodies of political extremists. Here’s an actual article discussing the head of the Claremont Institute:
For conservatives to win this regime contest, Klingenstein noted, they cannot just fight in the political arena.
Instead, they will have to engage in areas of culturalism, which he said is not a Republican strong suit.
“It contradicts their ruling philosophy,” he said. “They’re heavily influenced by the libertarians who say, ‘Look, how you live is not my business. Whether you go to church or what you learn, you just live your way, but let me live my way.'”
Of the current leaders in the GOP, Klingenstein pointed out a few who might lead conservatives in the cultural theatre of war.
Sens. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, and Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, were labeled as “moving in the direction” of understanding this is a culture war. . . .
If the Republican primary were next month, he would go for former President Donald Trump, he said.
So the problem is those evil libertarians who believe you should be able to live the way you wish. My first reaction was “What the hell happened to the Claremont Institute?” So I googled Claremont Institute, and the second link was an article entitled “What the Hell Happened to the Claremont Institute?” It’s full of nuggets like this one:
Eastman, who had reportedly spent the day before in the Oval Office arguing to Vice President Mike Pence that he had authority to intervene in the counting of the Electoral College vote, ended with an impassioned plea for Pence to allow state legislators to look into these matters, so that “we get to the bottom of it, and the American people know whether we have control of the direction of our government or not.” Eastman became very animated, pumping his fists and yelling:
“We no longer live in a self-governing republic if we can’t get the answer to this question! This is bigger than President Trump! It is the very essence of our republican form of government, and it has to be done! And anybody that is not willing to stand up to do it does not deserve to be in the office! It is that simple!”
He’s on the Claremont Institute board of directors. And this:
In 2019, Claremont welcomed as a Lincoln Fellow the conspiracist and “king of fake news” Jack Michael Posobiec III. Posobiec, already well known as a promoter of the Pizzagate hoax and the Seth Rich conspiracy theory, was then working as a correspondent and host for the One America News Network (OANN), which became one of the major promoters of false claims about the 2020 election.
And this:
And among the latest crop of Lincoln Fellows is Charlie Kirk, the founder of the right-wing youth-mobilizing group Turning Point USA. Kirk bragged about sending “80+ buses full of patriots to DC to fight” for Trump on January 6. After his slimy “Falkirk Center,” co-founded with Jerry Falwell Jr., imploded, Kirk was ousted from Liberty University. The Claremont Institute has welcomed him with open arms.
And this:
Ellmers’s essay—topped by a stock-art photo of a boxer wrapping his hands for a fight—begins by characterizing his enemy, which, it turns out, consists of the majority of the country: “Most people living in the United States today—certainly more than half—are not Americans in any meaningful sense of the term.” The people he has in mind are the ones who voted for Joe Biden (“the senile figurehead of a party that stands for mob violence, ruthless censorship, and racial grievances, not to mention bureaucratic despotism”). The real and “authentic” Americans are, “by and large,” the 74 million people who voted for Trump—“the vast numbers of heartland voters who still call themselves Americans.”
In the past, Claremont’s programs produced first rate intellectuals like Ross Douthat. This is just sad.
And there’s lots more—read the whole thing.
PS. Here’s the guy that Claremont thinks embodies the wisdom of our founding fathers, reacting to death threats against GOP officials who told the truth about the election:
In the wake of the January 2 phone call, Raffensperger said his wife had received death threats.
Sources told The Daily Beast that Trump was briefed several times about the threats but was unmoved and even made light of it.
“There was this one time I heard [Trump] suggest they might be exaggerating the kind of threats they were getting,” a former senior administration official told the outlet. “But more often, he’d make fun of them and say they were bad people who were getting what they deserved.”
Another person close to Trump told The Daily Beast that Trump had said that if the officials wanted the threats to end, they simply had to grant him his wish.
Trump also heaped praise on those making the threats, calling them “my people,” the source told The Daily Beast.
As I keep saying, Trump has no good qualities. Cruel, cowardly, stupid, dishonest, selfish, corrupt—the list goes on and on.
Tags:
9. September 2021 at 10:32
Nobody who reshapes the NYC skyline is stupid.
His accomplishments far exceed your own. It’s not hard to achieve a PhD. A PhD only requires a love of books and a good work ethic. However, it is hard to convince people to get land rights, air rights, operate the hotel, develop the hotel, propose a hotel within budget and convince politicians to provide permits, etc, etc.
It is hard to develop a #1 rated show, AND star in that show. I’ve seen you on T.V., and I can assure you that you DON’T have the ability to “star” in your own show. And I doubt you have the ability to write the script too.
To call Trump corrupt is absurd. We know that mega corporations spent millions in advertising against him, precisely because he didn’t “provide the usual backroom channels” as described by one reporter. Biden, on the other hand, has a very long history of corruption (as do most dems)
And speaking of extremists, some radical psycho liberals just attacked Larry Elder in California. Los Angeles times called him “black face of white supremacy”.
It’s getting to the point where conservatives and libertarians don’t want to live with the racist demothugs.
From canceling your right to speech, to force injecting you, to closing the beach on the weekend after 9pm because it “might be dangerous”, to telling you what pronouns to say: they simply want to destroy liberty, and most of us are sick and tired of it.
I’d be happy for a civil war. Nothing would please me more than to shoot every one of those radical totalitarian thugs.
9. September 2021 at 10:38
That is true for the social sciences Rinat, but not the hard sciences.
You definitely need a higher than average IQ to get a Ph.D. in Physics. In Economics, film studies and social activism – not so much!
9. September 2021 at 10:50
Sumner is too stupid to see the sleight of hand.
He doesn’t ask himself if the person writing the book or the article is “telling the truth”.
There is a reason MSM went after Trump with such fury!
He is not an insider. He’s not “one of the them”.
When you break down the donations from the list of fortune 500 companies, EVERY SINGLE ONE donated to democrats. Why do you think that is?
Because he threatens their business model. It’s all about the bottom line. It’s about exploitation of labor overseas.
From the border crisis, to lowering tariffs, it’s all designed to increase the MNC’s profit margin, lower your wages, and shift the balance of power to east and southeast Asia.
Biden is so much more corrupt than Trump. From his crack head son, to his brother getting construction work in Saudi Arabia (with no experience), Biden is the epitome of corruption in Washington. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that MNC’s like him!
9. September 2021 at 15:23
Does anyone else wish Sumner would stop advocating for the democrat party, and start writing about economics?
Your political views are just as extreme as the people you denounce. You support “mandates” that coerce and force people to take a vaccine or lose their job. That is the definition of extremism!
But nobody here really cares if you are sucking on Biden’s cock, or smoking crack with his son.
We are here to read economics, not partisan political hatred from a bitter man.
9. September 2021 at 18:01
Harry, You said:
“You support “mandates” that coerce and force people to take a vaccine or lose their job.”
I get sick of all you socialists who believe the government should be able to tell companies who they can and cannot fire. Companies should be free to fire any non-vaccinated person if they wish to. Next you’ll be having the government tell companies how to make wedding cakes.
9. September 2021 at 19:57
“I get sick of all you socialists who believe the government should be able to tell companies who they can and cannot fire…”
Woo-hoo! Popcorn’s out!
Right on, Scott.
jayne,
“… he threatens their business model. It’s all about the bottom line. It’s about exploitation of labor overseas. ” Disgusting. Trying to tell companies how to run their business, who they can or can’t hire, and where to build their factories. Preventing them from making their bottom line. Marx is laughing from his grave.
10. September 2021 at 05:26
“So the problem is those evil libertarians who believe you should be able to live the way you wish.”
I think you are reading this wrong. Republicans mostly believe like libertarians, but this approach doesn’t work in politics. See the average vote libertarians get for proof. He’s just is stating that the Democrats are at war while the Republicans would prefer to be left alone. You do not win elections like this, and will certainly not get what you want.
10. September 2021 at 05:39
Trump won. Get over it.
10. September 2021 at 05:40
“I get sick of all you socialists who believe the government should be able to tell companies who they can and cannot fire…”
This is similar to a statement you recently made at econlog, but my seemly simple question to you was deleted (again). The statement you made was in regard to DeSantis’ mandate against mask mandates. I’m sympathetic to your concern with a government telling a company whether that can mandate masks or not. DeSantis’ order was in response to Federal pressure to force companies to require masks. The net effect of DeSantis’ order to shield Floridians from Federal overreach is to increase personal liberties rather than decrease them, though it is at the expense companies freedoms. In the real world there is often conflicts pursuing freedoms. Do you consider net effects at all?
10. September 2021 at 06:04
I hadn’t heard of Posobiec until a couple of months ago one of the partisans in my Facebook feed posted a tweet of his and treated it as fact. I was curious about how much stock I should put in the guy’s claims, so I looked him up on Wikipedia, where this was the first sentence:
“John Michael Posobiec III is an American alt-right and alt-lite political activist, television correspondent and presenter, conspiracy theorist, and Internet troll.”
I was actually quite impressed. It would take some doing to have “Internet troll” listed as a profession on your Wikipedia page.
10. September 2021 at 08:00
Just want to point out that Larry Elder was shot at today by guess who: yes, a another thuggish democrat.
They are the party of Jim Crow.
They are the party of slavery.
They are the party that wants to regulate your speech.
They are the party of arrogance, hubris, and the party that believes that they should “micro-manage” your life because they can “live it better”.
They are the party of high taxes, and the party that calls for the redistribution of YOUR money to line their own pockets.
They are the party that calls black conservatives “the black face of white supremacy”.
They are the party that tries to kill politicians they disagree with.
They are the party that refuses to place tariffs on MNC’s to protect American jobs. American wages in the last decade have not risen at all. Wages in southeast Asia have doubled. The reason: “no tariffs”. We produce all the jobs, and then send those jobs abroad instead of hiring our own.
They are the party that burns down cities.
They are the party that threatens our hard working police, who risk their lives keeping our communities safe.
They are the party that silences voices they disagree with, on the platforms they own.
They are the party of globalization, and world governance.
They are the party that establishes “pay to play” NGO’s, and takes hundreds of thousands in speaking fees from businesses who “expect something” in return.
Stop giving these thugs, hoodlums, and losers, your money and your vote.
It’s time to speak truth.
10. September 2021 at 09:06
TMC, No, Republicans certainly don’t believe in freedom. They believe in banning things they don’t like, like pot, prostitution, physician assisted suicide, low income housing in their towns, trade with China, immigration, etc.
Guns are OK, because they like guns.
DeSantis told cruise lines they could not mandate vaccines for passengers; do you think that’s a good use of government power in the midst of a pandemic?
You want me to look at things in pragmatic utilitarian terms. I see anti-vaccine hysteria whipped up mostly by Republicans, which is needlessly killing 10,000 a week.
Conservatives (rightly) make fun of the snowflakes on the left, and then shed tears because a soldier or policeman will have to have a tiny needle stuck in his arm. Are conservatives now becoming babies too?
10. September 2021 at 09:40
Scott, this is why I come here. Fun post & comments section!
@rinat
“Nobody who reshapes the NYC skyline is stupid.”
The 9/11 hijackers reshaped the NYC skyline. Maybe not stupid, but evil.
10. September 2021 at 09:43
@TDS Whisperer
“Trump won. Get over it.”
Fully delusional. Can’t accept reality. Sad!
10. September 2021 at 09:48
@TMC
“He’s just is stating that the Democrats are at war while the Republicans would prefer to be left alone.”
That’s why they stormed the capitol on 1/6? That’s why they’re doing fraudits in Arizona and maybe elsewhere? That’s why they’re protesting people getting vaccinated and forcing some vaccination providers to shut down or move?
Being sane does work in politics. It’s why I used to sometimes vote for Republicans but no longer do. Maybe Republicans should try to appeal to the majority instead of the minority.
10. September 2021 at 09:50
Republicans, like everyone else, do like to ban things they don’t like, too much in fact. Just significantly less then the Democrats.
The vaccine mandate order by DeSantis was issued when everyone who wanted to have the vaccine could. I replied to your econlog post with facts (and later a link when the first got deleted) from the Kaiser foundation that once vaccinated, your risk is less than normal year flu. That also got deleted. If you are vaccinated, like I am, then you should not care if the other person is or not. Vaccine mandates are authoritarian without any benefit.
10. September 2021 at 09:51
@Scott
“As I keep saying, Trump has no good qualities. Cruel, cowardly, stupid, dishonest, selfish, corrupt—the list goes on and on.”
True, true, true, true, true, true, true and true. Well done.
10. September 2021 at 09:52
So what is with all the deleted comments on econlog. I don’t think it’s you, you’ve always seemed to never shy from an honest debate. Libertarians the new crybaby?
10. September 2021 at 09:55
Fraudits and selfies will take down the nation? lol.
If the Democrats in AZ weren’t hiding anything, they’d have no issue with the audits. Especially to the point of defying court orders and having funding cut. I deal with audits all the time at my work. They are a pain, but I’m never afraid of them.
10. September 2021 at 13:58
@TMC,
If the so-called Arizona auditors are legitimate why are they fighting the release of their documents for public review? https://www.azmirror.com/blog/audit-contractors-wont-have-to-release-records-pending-appeal/
11. September 2021 at 12:24
TMC, You said:
“Vaccine mandates are authoritarian”
Yup, and so are government bans on private sector mandates.
And now you are dabbling in the stolen election nonsense? Seriously?
I’ve never deleted an Econlog comment. Someone else edits that blog.
12. September 2021 at 05:49
I don’t think the election was stolen, but blocking an audit, to the point of breaking the law, sure makes them look guilty.
“Yup…” So this brings us back to my question, should we consider the net effects of a mandate. Generally a mandate lessens freedom, but the 1st amendment is a mandate that increases it for another example. A mandate blocking another freedom reducing mandate seems to increase freedom.
12. September 2021 at 07:56
TMC, You said:
“A mandate blocking another freedom reducing mandate seems to increase freedom.”
That’s an Orwellian perversion of language. Go ahead and defend DeSantis’s mandates on utilitarian terms, but please don’t call it “freedom”. I happen to believe that cruise lines should be free to set health and safety rules for their boats.
Would you argue that we would benefit if the government told publishers they could not refrain from publishing certain books?
You said:
“sure makes them look guilty”
Perhaps to fools. But there’s no amount of evidence that will ever convince a conspiracy nut. It’s hopeless. Millions of people on the right don’t even think Covid exists? What evidence would convince them otherwise?
13. September 2021 at 05:09
Nothing Orwellian required. The quite famous Bill of Rights is largely a collection of mandates that block another freedom reducing laws and activities. The first amendment forbids… so it must be freedom reducing? No.
For the DeSantis question is the net effect I think. Cruise lines were being forced to require vaccinations, then forced to do the opposite. Seems to be a wash there. Passengers were at first being forced to be vaccinated, then had a choice. Freedom wins.
As for Arizona, I’ve been on both sides of these types of audits. There is no circumstance where the party defying a legal audit, then even court orders to comply, were innocent. I don’t think the results of the election will change, but no one exposes themselves to that kind of jeopardy without something to hide. It’s good to go through the process to make the population believe its a fair process.
Some people will never believe of course. In 2016 it was Hillary voters. Most people will feel better though.
13. September 2021 at 08:05
TMC, The 2020 election was the fairest election in US history. If people still don’t believe the results then nothing will convince them.
The Arizona audit is a giant clown show:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/sarahmimms/arizona-election-audit-trump-decertify
The Hillary comparison is ridiculous. She didn’t say she won the election, she said Russia interfered (which they did.) That’s different claim.
So why didn’t DeSantis issue a mandate saying that cruise lines are free to set their own policy? And are GOP governors going to eliminate all their many, many other vaccine mandates for measles, mumps, etc?
13. September 2021 at 12:27
“Hillary Clinton dismissed President Trump as an “illegitimate president” and suggested that “he knows” that he stole the 2016 presidential election in a CBS News interview to be aired Sunday.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hillary-clinton-trump-is-an-illegitimate-president/2019/09/26/29195d5a-e099-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html
Russia has been involved with our elections since WW2. Their influence is piddling. They did indeed prefer Trump in the primaries, but switched to Clinton in the main election. Not that it mattered.
I hope the fraud in AZ turnouts to not be too bad, or even entirely false, that would be the best outcome. Certainly procedures need to be more transparent though. There have been gross violations of ballot handling all over the US. Maybe it’s just ignorance or laziness.
13. September 2021 at 17:34
“There have been gross violations of ballot handling all over the US.”
Except none have been found anywhere. Some minor voting machine problems were found and numbers corrected quickly and before states reported their totals. /This is just like every other year when Republicans claim there was fraud. You never find any. You old enough to know the name Lucy?
Steve