As if the entire world didn’t already know where his allegiances lie, faux-conservative David French took to the pages of his beloved New York Times to endorse Kamala Harris for president. It’s a tediously winding exhortation meant to “save conservatism from itself.” But by this point, it’s also completely unnecessary.
Christ, French — we get it. You’re a lib.
He whines about the “character of leadership” that Donald Trump supposedly lacks to frame himself as the moral voice of conservatism. He uses big words like “characterological” to remind you that he’s like, really smart. Didn’t you know he went to Harvard Law School?
He echoes lefty talking points about Trump’s “sheer volume” of lies making people fear for their “safety.” He whines about the “criminal scheme” to “steal” an election on Jan. 6. He castigates fellow Christians for mirroring Trump’s “cruelty.” The problem is that Trump led the GOP astray, not that the Democratic Party went off the cliff of radicalism.
This might sound like your typical childless Trump-hating cat lady on MSNBC, but no — French wants you to know he’s still an uber-conservative. What does that mean? Well, he’s going to die on the hill of abortion policy that 85% of Americans don’t support. And he seems to think Ukraine’s interests matter more than the American Heartland’s.
Come on guys, listen to him, all we need is a return to “Reaganite conservatism.” Forget that this zombie-like focus on policy ideas nearly a half century old have delivered nothing but losses for the conservative movement. We might lose, but at least we can do it with upstanding “character.”
The Reagan era served us well during its own time and place in history. But it’s no longer suited to the current moment. Reagan himself was famously pragmatic and flexible. If he were alive today, even Reagan wouldn’t be a Reaganite.
