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Matthew Continetti

Why Candidates Matter Most

Column: Positions and personality trump party and region


Next year you will enter the Twilight Zone where the governors of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maryland are Republicans and the governors of North Carolina, Kentucky, and Louisiana are Democrats. It is the middle ground between working-class realignment and the rising American electorate, between polarized parties and disaffected independents, and it lies between the pit of man's ideology and the summit of his pragmatism. This is the dimension of American politics that reveals the overriding importance of a candidate's personal qualities and issue positions.

What Do Republican Voters Want?

Column: Rising GOP stars play pin the tail on the elephant

Rubio Trump Hawley


The latest entry in the post-Trump conservatism sweepstakes was Marco Rubio's speech at the Catholic University of America in early November. The Florida senator made the case for a "common-good capitalism" that looks on markets in the light of Catholic social thought. "We must remember that our nation does not exist to serve the interests of the market," he said. "The market exists to serve our nation."

How States Like Virginia Go Blue

Column: Education, immigration, and densification

Virginia Election - Richmond, VA


So this is what it feels like to live in a lab experiment. As a native Virginian, I've watched my state come full circle. The last time Democrats enjoyed the amount of power in the Old Dominion that they won on Tuesday, I was entering middle school in Fairfax County.

The Reserve Army of the GOP

Column: How the white working class—and the Democratic nominee—could save Donald Trump in 2020

Donald Trump Holds "Keep America Great" Campaign Rally In Dallas


At first glance, President Trump's reelection chances don't look good. Stories about impeachment and presidential misbehavior dominate the news. Trump's disapproval rating is high. Independent voters are against him. GOP congressmen are retiring from suburban districts that trend Democratic. The generic ballot is about where it was last cycle. Trump's win in 2016, when some 78,000 voters in three states gave him the Electoral College, was a close-run thing. Seems hard to repeat.

From Woke to Broke

Column: The political contradictions of progressivism

Elizabeth Warren


"The fact is there is no more money. Period," says Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot. She's talking about the teachers' strike that has paralyzed her city's public schools—enrollment 360,000—for the past week. The public employee union is demanding more: more money for salaries (only eight states pay teachers more than Illinois), more support staff (Illinois ranks first in spending on administrators), more teachers per student. Their cause has attracted national attention. Elizabeth Warren joined the picket line.

Syria: Endgame

Column: Americans are getting the retreat they voted for

Syria


The slaughter going on in Syria is not a consequence of American presence. It's a consequence of a withdrawal and a betrayal by this president of American allies and American values. —Pete Buttigieg, October 15 Mr. Mayor has a point. For 75 years, from Fulda Gap to the 38th Parallel, the American soldier has been the last line of defense against violence, chaos, and oppression. From Kosovo to Anbar, he has kept a lid on cauldrons of bloodlust. Remove him, and the poison boils over.

We Are All Ukrainians

Column: How wealth and cronyism transformed American democracy

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky


Ironies pile up. Both participants in the July 25 call between President Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky are outsiders whose fame catapulted them to high office. Foreign policy experts assumed their similar profile would promote goodwill and understanding. That was incorrect. This star-crossed encounter has damaged the careers of both men. It also has thrown light on the nature of their societies.

Pelosi’s Impeachment Bank Shot

Column: What's behind the Democrats' power play

Rep. Adam Schiff Joins Nancy Pelosi At Her Weekly News Conference On Capitol Hill


Democrats are rushing into impeachment despite the knowledge that, given what we know now, the Senate will not remove Donald Trump from office. Why is Nancy Pelosi doing this?

Kavanaugh and the Crisis of Legitimacy

Column: Why the Supreme Court justice became a symbol of polarization

Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh


It is impossible to separate the latest attack on Justice Brett Kavanaugh from the political strategy of the Democratic Party. On September 16, two days after the New York Times "Sunday Review" section told of another allegation of sexual misconduct during Kavanaugh's college years, "Axios AM" described Democratic plans "to portray President Trump, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the three villains defining the three branches of government for the 2020 campaign." The reasoning: "Each of these white men, they will argue, symbolizes Republican corruption and rule-bending."

The Wages of Woke

Column: How the left uses corporate America to evade democracy


Time was, CEOs of mighty enterprises shied away from politics, especially hot-button social and cultural issues. They focused instead on the bottom line. They maximized shareholder value by delivering goods and services to customers. Some businessmen still operate by this principle. In doing so they provide not only for their employees and CEOs and board members but also for the institutions invested in their companies.