While repeatedly announcing his fidelity to America’s founding principles, President Obama’s second inaugural announces a very different vision of America. Near the beginning of his speech, the president states: What makes us exceptional, what makes us America is our allegiance… Continue Reading
Yuval Levin: The other, and more common, view argues that liberal institutions were the result of a discovery of new political principles in the Enlightenment — principles that pointed toward new ideals and institutions, and toward an ideal society. Liberalism,… Continue Reading
Not one of us has ever written what he thinks on the internet without being rewarded with attacks personal, unfair and scurrilous. Blog moderators tend to let it slide, First Amendment and all that. What Would the Founders Do, somebody… Continue Reading
Contemporary political cynicism is nothing new under the sun. Here are some of the juicy bits from George Washington Plunkitt’s caustic and hilarious political rhetoric in The Curse of Civil Service Reform in 1903: This civil service law is the… Continue Reading
Matt Zwolinski on Rand Paul equating universal health care with slavery: [P]erhaps it’s inevitable that politicians are going to badly over-simplify moral arguments. And I suppose that if I had to choose, I’d much rather have a Senator who over-simplified… Continue Reading