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A public policy quarterly journal from Trump supporters and fellow-travelers has launched, attempting to "intellectualize" the seemingly impulsive nature of Trump populism. American Affairs seeks to explain the phenomenon and drive a wedge between the fusionist conservative and neoconservative movement consensus found in National Review and National Affairs.
I immediately subscribed when it came into being yesterday. Inside I found not only an ambitious editor's statement (as one would expect), but perhaps one of the best attempts to justify the populist explosion inside the GOP (with a few winks and nods to Sanders supporters).
Gladden Pappin's essay should be required reading. It primarily argues that this was a long-time coming, that neoconservatives and reform conservatives anticipated the staleness of the Reaganite movement, and that Trump is a conservative. Most ambitiously, Pappin insinuates that Trump is more authentically conservative than the conservative movement, because the post-war conservative movement was always at odds with itself. One also finds a slight nod to Michael Lind (who is on the journal's editorial board) by embracing the term "radical center" to, in part, describe where Trump is driving GOP policy.
If the journal succeeds in articulating the moment in which we find ourselves, it's not exactly keen on exploring what critics state is right-wing populism's darker corners: primarily, how it views minorities or groups who have consistently been marginalized throughout American history.
I immediately subscribed when it came into being yesterday. Inside I found not only an ambitious editor's statement (as one would expect), but perhaps one of the best attempts to justify the populist explosion inside the GOP (with a few winks and nods to Sanders supporters).
Gladden Pappin's essay should be required reading. It primarily argues that this was a long-time coming, that neoconservatives and reform conservatives anticipated the staleness of the Reaganite movement, and that Trump is a conservative. Most ambitiously, Pappin insinuates that Trump is more authentically conservative than the conservative movement, because the post-war conservative movement was always at odds with itself. One also finds a slight nod to Michael Lind (who is on the journal's editorial board) by embracing the term "radical center" to, in part, describe where Trump is driving GOP policy.
If the journal succeeds in articulating the moment in which we find ourselves, it's not exactly keen on exploring what critics state is right-wing populism's darker corners: primarily, how it views minorities or groups who have consistently been marginalized throughout American history.
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