Luke Ford

Comments at Steve Sailer:

* I note in this Trump is getting probed hard by O’Reilly about white support and not taking the bait. Trump is citizenist, though citizenism is a step closer to white nationalism than the current system where white people must wear sackcloth and ashes for being white. That is why he is called a racist.

However, we are awakening. Maybe other identity politics is on the wane. But white identity politics will only strengthen over time. The “racist” epithet has lost currency. And we will need to fight harder to retain what we have.

* The alt-right is not a rejection of identity politics and an attempt to resuscitate the dead and dying 20th century style liberal-capitalist state. Rather it looks to pre-modern political forms (see alt-right proponents of an imperium) and early 20th century fascism and authoritarian nationalism, which were quashed in the West by the liberal-capitalist order. Furthermore, it’s not even a rejection of globalism per se. Aspects of the alt-right see themselves as a global movement, with global aspirations beyond “petty nationalism”.

* One of the things about our age that will puzzle future historians is how in the heck our priestly class came up with the idea that they could recklessly inflame and divide the public through identity politics while simultaneously keeping a tight lid on white identity politics — particularly white male identity politics.

Like the causes of the First World War, the chain of blunders leading to the inevitable crisis may seem reasonably clear (if misguided) to those who lived through them, but their posterity will find it all very baffling. How were so many people willfully blind to the larger picture?

Once again, we learn that hope is not a strategy, bleeding wounds are not healed by poetry, the tides do not bow before the magistrate’s solemnly sealed decree, and armies on the march are not halted by eloquent rhetoric.

* The only way to end the identity politics game is for Whites to pick up a racket and starting returning balls across the net. The only reason the non-straight, non-White, non-male, non-native, non-Gentile look so formidable is that we straight White men have been enormous good sports for generations. Thankfully that seems to be ending.

They want to play identity politics? Game on.

* The Brown family still holds the governorship of California in 2016, and office they first acquired in the 1950s.

* White identity politics is the result of the constant campaign by the multicultural Left to dispossess and demonize whites. The invariable white reaction is seen as proof of white evil; the Left will merely double down.

It’s like poking a caged dog with a stick and enraging it; then when it bites, having it put down for viciousness.

Comments at Steve Sailer:

* Whoever wrote this is a regular reader here. He name checks Ben Franklin, Invade/Invite, importing ringers, noblesse oblige etc. Shame he did not extend the courtesy to name the devil. Also a shame to not explicitly name whites. Only “white privelege”. It is a modern idiocy to think that culture is malleable across large ethnic gaps. And a conservative idiocy of the Washington General type.

* Decius: I tried to name Steve but the editors were … well, they … well I’ll stop there.

Anyway, I don’t want anyone to think I am stealing furtively. I know where these things come from and I am willing to give credit where credit is due.

In a prior article (now deleted), I referred to Steve as “perhaps the closest thing the blogosphere has to a political philosopher.” I will leave to readers to unpack the various layers of irony in that comment. But one genuine intellectual historian objected and said so. Steve has no such training, and so on.

[To the extent that the philosopher undermines belief in that common opinion, he undermines the basis of society. He also, not incidentally, puts himself in danger, as the fate of Socrates shows. Steve Sailer, perhaps the closest thing the blogosphere has to a political philosopher, enjoys pointing out the error at the heart of the “Emperor’s New Clothes” parable. In real life, the little child—whom we may analogize to the philosopher—would be torn limb from limb for exposing everyone’s ignorance.]

To be sure.

My comment was meant in jest, but only partly. I think Steve’s grasp of political theory is weaker than my own. However, a long time ago, we got into an argument about political theory and despite my book-learnin’, I lost. He was right and I was wrong. It took me a long time to understand that but eventually I did.

I also came to understand (or think I did; “all knowledge is provisional”) that Steve’s understanding is truer to the great thinkers I studied and cherish than my own had been. The larger question of the relation of the universal to the particular still looms (for me) but Steve has been a big help.

While Steve is not a political philosopher in any overt or obvious sense, he is one in the most decisive sense. He thinks about political life directly, not through the filer of any preconceived theory. Which is what Plato and Aristotle did. Plus, with maybe five exceptions, Steve is better than all those who are formally classified as political philosophers in our time.

* “Trump is the most liberal Republican nominee since Thomas Dewey.”

It’s the first time I’ve seen this point being made. He is the most anti-war Republican candidate in decades, and his concern about the displacement of American blue-collar jobs is something traditionally associated with liberals. His policies are everything liberals claim to believe in – apart from their desire for unlimited immigration.

* Decius very generously acknowledges Sailer’s talent as a political thinker.

Note that Steve also has great instincts as a rhetorician! Must be the background in marketing. He immediately spotted the passage that should have come at the end of the essay, and put it at the end of his excerpt:

“I want to live. I want my party to live. I want my country to live. I want my people to live.”

That is very, very potent stuff. It cannot be followed by another twelve paragraphs of thoughtful analysis without dissipating the animal spirits that have been summoned up. The speech has to end there – except for the wild cheering that follows.

Stephen Miller, just in case you’re listening: you should bring Decius on board as a speech-writer, with Steve Sailer as his editor.

Comments:

* I also suspect that journalists know that a big downsizing is fast approaching for the entire journalist/media landscape. If Trump wins, how many billionaires decide that their discount propaganda outlets aren’t worth keeping afloat? The journalists have to announce their virtue to each other, but I suspect, they’re also advertising their loyalty as good thinking hacks to their de facto paymasters.

Or if Hillary wins, they’ll have served their purpose and there’ll be no need to keep them on staff anymore. I doubt Jeff Bezos or Carlos Slim care about the career prospects of the journalism grads in their employ.

A lot will end up unemployed so there’s an incentive to signal that you’re the most rabid attack dog against your sugar daddy’s corporate enemy. There’s no money in being reasonable or middle of the road if you know you’re dancing for your supper.

* Funniest part of the op-ed was this:

“Through his online writings and YouTube channel, Mr. Spencer is a key player in the social-media universe where this core group of Trump supporters get their “news,” from sources with which most people aren’t familiar”

Oh, no! Sources with which ‘most people aren’t familiar’! Mayday, mayday! Scare quotes around “news” – if only those idiotic Trump supporters weren’t so sub-literate and raaaaacist, they’d be tattooing Charles Blow’s prose on their body and awaiting the columns of our controlled opposition, David Brooks and Ross Douthat, like manna from heaven!

Blast the NPR and don’t you dare change the channel from PBS – the NYT editorial board’s mandatory re-education awaits!

Comments at Steve Sailer:

* Lauer helped Hillary up the podium in the guise of a handshake, all pre planned no doubt.

She forgot her scripted answer to the commander in chief quality question, and answered first with, “Steadiness” then Lauer helped her by suggesting, “judgment” which was the word she forgot to use, as seen when Lauer used that word to frame his next question to her.

I noticed her swallowing hard a few times but only one throat clearing. Her medical team must have worked for hours prepping her for the half hour viewing.

She had a sort of glazed or wild look occasionally and had a slight brain freeze in response when Lauer suggested at the onset that she refrain from attacking Trump and speak about herself.

Lauer acted the part of hard nosed journalist with her with his somber demeanor but especially by what he didn’t ask her, he betrayed his loyalty to Hillary. She seemed ready for the questions, so they were pre known certainly.

Her sitting then standing mode was mostly for her body’s benefit. She couldn’t have her pillow, so she couldn’t get comfy sitting, and standing and moving helped her perhaps in controlling her cough reflex. Something was odd there, in any case. She appeared fake, at times annoyed and nearing shrill and strident, in order words, regular Hillary mode.

Trump was calm, super relaxed and knew he was entering a hostile reception with Lauer’s completely changed demeanor towards him being evident immediately. Trumps answers were fine and he didn’t allow himself to be baited though I wish he would have directly tailored his replies to the questions from the audience instead of using his regular broad brush strokes method or attacking Obama/Hillary. The question about military rapes was meant to spoil Trump and Lauer was ready with an old Trump quote that related, but Trump brushed it off easily.

Trump looked like a president.

Hillary looked like a chemo patient readied for visiting hours.

* Hillary did surprisingly well given her ailments. She seemed collected and had every point memorized ready for delivery, though she didn’t say anything of any substance. I did notice a light bobbing motion in her head that she was trying hard to synchronize with normal nods of the head as in asserting or making a point in order to conceal the involuntary movements. She came across as an elderly recovering alcoholic with a sore voice and empty gaze. She clearly needed a drink.

Trump looked presidential and slightly annoyed with an openly hostile Matt Lauer. He was winging it for the most part, I guess. It was brilliant of him to stress the importance of diplomacy, of getting along with countries different from the USA instead of trying to turn the whole world a mirror image of the US, neocon style.

* I was surprised there was no coughing!
Matt seemed to favor Clinton and allowed her to say her pieces, but with Trump he interjected and disagreed.
Crowd clapped louder when Clinton walked on, so the NBC set up seemed to favor Clinton. Trump surely did not see the questions ahead of time, but I feel Clinton did.

* – Hillary looked pretty healthy. She wasn’t wearing a collar, and her neck looked normal; I didn’t see her cough; and she stood without trouble.

– Hillary might be the Elizabeth Holmes of politics: smart, female, loved by Silicon Valley, good with scripted presentations, good at raising money, but bad with technology and bad at accomplishing anything substantive.

– Hillary has a talent for answering questions. Even when she’s asked about some disaster she caused, she can rattle off a prepared 400 word response. And by the end of it you’re so bored, you forgot what the question was.

* For any Jewish commenter: How does this type of stuff play in the Jewish community? Do Jews seriously believe this stuff especially given Trump’s daughter? Clearly this piece was written for a Jewish audience. And it definitely seems quite desperate and reaches for straws.

Does this mean Trump is actually attracting Jewish voters and mainstream Jews are worried, thus they are trying to scare people and keep them in Hillary’s camp?

* Don’t forget that NBC did the lighting exactly Hillary’s people wanted it. To make her look the best possible. And only head shots and from the waist up! No full body shots showing how portly she has gotten in the last six months!