* David Cole on taki, and Greg Johnson on counter currents have hashed this out ad infinitum from either side of Richard ideologically. Both argue he is playing his cards badly.
RS had the chance to combine his youth with the wisdom of his ideological forebears. Standing on the shoulders of 90s Paleocons may seem too tentative for your taste, but one of the biggest reasons that 90s paleoconservatism faded away is that it was de-platformed in an age before social media, and not because its policies were considered lame. It might have helped if they’d had a celebrity leader but the LibMedia was so dominant then, it would have been career suicide for anyone (though Ross Perot should have at least helped & didn’t). If RS had asked Brimelow, Taylor or Devlin to review his speech (including the theatrical flourishes), would they have concurred? Not likely. They could have helped him avoid the media trap. But he was probably too vain to take feedback.
RS sees himself as the badass mischief maker of the Alt Right, a white version of Baron Samedi. Whether that works out for him in the long run is another matter, but it seems clear he will be going it alone for the most part
