David, thank you for warning me in advance that I will not be happy reading Rubio's recent Op-Ed. Rubio has revealed himself as a Republican populist weathervane. Conservative values are not wethervane compatible. Saying "What is good for GM is good for the country" sounds like a simplistic bumper sticker comment from the last century. I believe you have it right. Big corporations act in their own economic and political interest, which in the best of worlds overlaps the public interest. But not always. If I don't like the opening concerning GM, I am sure not to like the chilling free speech remedies that following.
Again thanks for the warning on the Rubio read. Glad you called him out.
I had no idea that Senator Rubio penned a column in the NYP until I started reading your column here. I then read Rubio's NYP column, and just wow. I couldn't find anything substantive wise in his column that resonated with limited government conservatism. I had to double check to make sure that op-ed was actually written by Rubio, and not a leftist Democrat. Senator Rubio has kind of been off my radar the past couple of years. So that is probably why I was disappointingly surprised to see what he wrote. I knew that GOP senators like Josh Hawley had gone full bore right-populist, as well as some other members of Congress. But thanks to your column David, now I know that Rubio has gone that way. I wouldn't say that Rubio is as bad as Hawley yet, but he has undeniably moved towards that direction. That self-professed conservatives are essentially "feeling the Bern" through their embrace of populism, is extremely disappointing to limited government conservatives such as myself.
And David, I understand that disappointment and the let down you feel about what happened with Rubio. I supported Ted Cruz for President in 2016, and thought that he was a strong constitutional conservative who would be the antithesis to Trump. Boy, was I ever wrong. I think that Cruz has fallen further than just about any other Senate Republican over the past 4 years. And that disappointment was culminated with him acting in an unconstitutional manner to try to steal a presidential election, just to placate Donald Trump. To this day, my support and vote for Ted Cruz in 2016 is something I really regret.
If there is one upside to all this, it is that many of us Trump skeptical conservatives are more carefully scrutinizing candidates seeking the presidency or some other elective office, than ever before. I have a major litmus test. If a GOP candidate for elective office wants my vote, he or she must be able to say without any equivocation that Joe Biden was duly elected President in 2020. Otherwise, I won't bother supporting them.
Being an avid Peter Paul and Mary (PP&M) fan, your header was spot on David. One of the joys of my day (tells you a little about my life) is to see the header in my email and guess which one of you wrote it. Usually i am spot on. Headers often speak volumes if you pay attention.
That said, the article truly does beg the question: what the hell happened to the political right? Short of a handful of those who held true to their values and beliefs most have been corrupted and compromised by all things trump. What a sad state of affairs to let someone who has so little to offer in the way of true conservatism to be able to choke off entire careers.
History will not hold kindly the collapse of the republican party. Trump is the root cause and there will come a day of reckoning when so many will look back and understand they had the chance to flush him following the January 6 debacle but didn't have the balls to do so. Tragic.
I highly doubt you can win with an actual small government message anymore. And its obvious republican politicians agree with me as they cling to the message Trump won with. Too many people have seen how capitalism has failed.
David, thank you for warning me in advance that I will not be happy reading Rubio's recent Op-Ed. Rubio has revealed himself as a Republican populist weathervane. Conservative values are not wethervane compatible. Saying "What is good for GM is good for the country" sounds like a simplistic bumper sticker comment from the last century. I believe you have it right. Big corporations act in their own economic and political interest, which in the best of worlds overlaps the public interest. But not always. If I don't like the opening concerning GM, I am sure not to like the chilling free speech remedies that following.
Again thanks for the warning on the Rubio read. Glad you called him out.
I had no idea that Senator Rubio penned a column in the NYP until I started reading your column here. I then read Rubio's NYP column, and just wow. I couldn't find anything substantive wise in his column that resonated with limited government conservatism. I had to double check to make sure that op-ed was actually written by Rubio, and not a leftist Democrat. Senator Rubio has kind of been off my radar the past couple of years. So that is probably why I was disappointingly surprised to see what he wrote. I knew that GOP senators like Josh Hawley had gone full bore right-populist, as well as some other members of Congress. But thanks to your column David, now I know that Rubio has gone that way. I wouldn't say that Rubio is as bad as Hawley yet, but he has undeniably moved towards that direction. That self-professed conservatives are essentially "feeling the Bern" through their embrace of populism, is extremely disappointing to limited government conservatives such as myself.
And David, I understand that disappointment and the let down you feel about what happened with Rubio. I supported Ted Cruz for President in 2016, and thought that he was a strong constitutional conservative who would be the antithesis to Trump. Boy, was I ever wrong. I think that Cruz has fallen further than just about any other Senate Republican over the past 4 years. And that disappointment was culminated with him acting in an unconstitutional manner to try to steal a presidential election, just to placate Donald Trump. To this day, my support and vote for Ted Cruz in 2016 is something I really regret.
If there is one upside to all this, it is that many of us Trump skeptical conservatives are more carefully scrutinizing candidates seeking the presidency or some other elective office, than ever before. I have a major litmus test. If a GOP candidate for elective office wants my vote, he or she must be able to say without any equivocation that Joe Biden was duly elected President in 2020. Otherwise, I won't bother supporting them.
If you were old enough you would have known to quote Al Capp. "What's good for General Bullmoose is good for America."
Being an avid Peter Paul and Mary (PP&M) fan, your header was spot on David. One of the joys of my day (tells you a little about my life) is to see the header in my email and guess which one of you wrote it. Usually i am spot on. Headers often speak volumes if you pay attention.
That said, the article truly does beg the question: what the hell happened to the political right? Short of a handful of those who held true to their values and beliefs most have been corrupted and compromised by all things trump. What a sad state of affairs to let someone who has so little to offer in the way of true conservatism to be able to choke off entire careers.
History will not hold kindly the collapse of the republican party. Trump is the root cause and there will come a day of reckoning when so many will look back and understand they had the chance to flush him following the January 6 debacle but didn't have the balls to do so. Tragic.
I highly doubt you can win with an actual small government message anymore. And its obvious republican politicians agree with me as they cling to the message Trump won with. Too many people have seen how capitalism has failed.