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A Flawed Friend
National Review Online ^ | October 8, 2018 | Rich Lowry

Posted on 10/08/2018 7:10:09 AM PDT by billorites

Brett Kavanugh is on the Supreme Court and the biggest reason is Donald Trump. When he won the nomination in 2016, it wasn’t unreasonable to think that Trump wouldn’t win the general election, he wouldn’t be true to his promise on judges even if he won, and even if he nominated the right people, he wouldn’t care enough about the Court to see through a difficult, high-stakes confirmation fight. We can now say of these presumptions, wrong, wrong, and wrong.

The Kavanugh confirmation was clarifying in another way. Brett Kavanugh is not a loudmouth. He never insulted anyone or said a bad word in public. He’s upstanding. He never paid off a porn star or resorted to dubious tax schemes. He’s not a populist or a nationalist. He’s a respectable member of the Republican establishment who no reasonable person could find threatening or outrageous. Yet they tried, not just to defeat him, but to destroy him. Comments

By “they,” I mean the liberal media, the Democratic Party, the legal academy and, Hollywood. All that stood in the way of this effort were Republican officeholders, conservative voters and media—and Donald Trump.

This tells us something important about how Trump-skeptical conservatives should regard him. The president has many flaws. We can argue about how much weight to put on them and it remains to be seen how they will ultimately ramify. But the last two weeks make clear that despite them, Trump is a friend. It also makes abundantly clear, if it wasn’t already completely obvious, who is out to destroy conservatism and conservatives, even those who don’t have a whiff of Trump about them.


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: abortion; belongsinbloggers; beyotchlowry; brettkavanaugh; lowry; maga; nevertrump; richlousy; richlowry; scotus
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To: billorites

Are we seeing the transformation of a notable reluctant “supporter” of Trump being converted?

This is falling just short of all-out, full-blown enthusiasm.

Amazing how far the National Review has come, now that they have seen the effects of winning up close and beautiful.


41 posted on 10/08/2018 8:02:33 AM PDT by alloysteel (In my defense, I was left unsupervised.)
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To: LeonardFMason

President Trump already had a 90% approval rating among Republicans before the Kavanaugh fight. If someone doesn’t approve of President Trump after Kavanaugh then they are “outing” themselves.

The dividing line will be stark enough that the Trump presidency will be remembered in two separate time periods, BK and AK. This article is a perfect example. The resistance in the Republican party is dead. The swamp on our side has been drained, and all that remains is a little stinky residue. Let the real fun begin!


42 posted on 10/08/2018 8:06:37 AM PDT by fireman15
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To: Mr. Mojo; All
Why was it unreasonable to assume that Trump would keep his promise on judges?

Because Republicans had caved to Media power for 50 years.

43 posted on 10/08/2018 8:09:18 AM PDT by marktwain (President Trump and his supporters are the Resistance. His opponents are the Reactionaries.)
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To: be-baw
You're awful late coming to the party, Rich. It's like you're the last one to figure this out.

You and your ilk at the National Review were given an invitation to the Trump party early-on but you chose to publicly and blatantly reject it in favor of bashing Trump.

And now, after two years of seeing Trump's successes, you decide to crash the Trump party, when the bouncer should have rejected you at the door.

It's easy to Monday morning quarterback Trump's first two years while you stood on the opponent's sideline, booing him.

And it's transparent to conservatives that you now want to bask in Trump's success after you have barely stopped holding your nose.

How about publishing an issue of your magazine, listing all the contributing editors and writers on the cover, lauding Trump's successes and conservatism, to make-up for your disgusting behavior against him previously.

You may consider Trump your "flawed" friend now but what you really are is a "fair-weather" friend, who's support depends on which way the political winds are blowing.

Weak, Lowry, real weak.

44 posted on 10/08/2018 8:10:21 AM PDT by HotHunt
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To: bramps

I always fix those “double negatives.” So much easier to read without them.


45 posted on 10/08/2018 8:15:02 AM PDT by firebrand
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To: marktwain
Because Republicans had caved to Media power for 50 years.

True for establishment Republicans, which Trump isn't and Lowry is. Which is why Lowry should've been more confident that Trump WOULD keep his promise on judges. It's Lowry's clan than has long been the media pushover clan.

46 posted on 10/08/2018 8:15:23 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: wastoute
Ford needs to be crushed to put an end to this “asterisk” nonsense.

They have to be careful around The Partying Princess.

Crushing her lawyers for their duplicity on the California trip offered by the committee, on the other hand, should be pretty easy.

47 posted on 10/08/2018 8:16:50 AM PDT by kiryandil (Never pick a fight with an angry beehive)
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To: billorites

Tl;dr: conservatives, see? It’s not us Trump haters that hurt our cause! Really!


48 posted on 10/08/2018 8:17:33 AM PDT by Yaelle
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To: bramps

It means the same thing as what everyone who initially laughed at Trump even running were thinking.

“He’s not serious.”
“He’s just looking for publicity.”
“He doesn’t have the experience to run a country.”
“He’ll never follow through with all these campaign promises”

Especially that last one. Who can blame people for thinking that. Most politicians don’t follow through.

Everyone pegged him wrong except those that voted for him. A lot of people have woken up since then. There isn’t going to be any blue wave. Too many people have swapped to President Trump’s side. I think that’s why we see Mitch and Lindsay acting different these days. They probably started out as true conservatives decades ago and had given up on the cause. Then Trump came along and was actually serious about MAGA. Everyone thought it was just a slogan. I think it gave them hope for conservatism again. That and seeing how hard he is actually working at it.


49 posted on 10/08/2018 8:18:09 AM PDT by Pollard (If you don't understand what I typed, you haven't read the classics.)
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To: HotHunt
See my post #30
50 posted on 10/08/2018 8:18:15 AM PDT by kiryandil (Never pick a fight with an angry beehive)
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To: billorites

“This tells us something important about how Trump-skeptical conservatives should regard him.”

The cure for “Trump skepticism” should have been to just consider who Hillary would have appointed to the Supreme Court.


51 posted on 10/08/2018 8:20:07 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: goldstategop

I hate to admit it, but you’re mostly right.

Just fecal, Reagan was pre-internet and the MSM controlled ALL information...

I had typed recall, but autocorrect put in ‘fecal’. I think I’ll leave it like that.


52 posted on 10/08/2018 8:21:36 AM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: beaversmom
I know! We knew from the beginning a President Trump would be even Better than Reagan! We knew he was not beholdened to anyone. We knew he meant what he said and said what he meant. We knew he would get the job done and in record time. We knew he Loved our country and was not in it for power, money and fame.

We knew he would be up against the most Evil, Dispicable people alive. We just didn't know how deep the criminality and Corruption ran.

I said to my sister-in-law that "former" anti-trumper" Ben Shapiros show would soon become obnoxious. I didn't know it would happen so fast. He and Tom Arnold yuckin' it up after Arnold's tirade against Trump was sickening.
53 posted on 10/08/2018 8:26:38 AM PDT by DivineMomentsOfTruth ("There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily." -GW)
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To: kiryandil

Start there and move on to Ford.


54 posted on 10/08/2018 8:31:53 AM PDT by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.B)
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To: billorites
When he won the nomination in 2016, it wasn’t unreasonable to think that Trump wouldn’t win the general election, he wouldn’t be true to his promise on judges even if he won, and even if he nominated the right people, he wouldn’t care enough about the Court to see through a difficult, high-stakes confirmation fight.

What is he!! is wrong with Rich Lowry? This is the opinion of an idiot.

55 posted on 10/08/2018 8:33:13 AM PDT by Albion Wilde (Trump hates negative publicity, unless he generates it. -Corey Lewandowski)
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To: billorites

Finally the nevertrumpers are getting it. DJT, is an imperfect man (as we all are) doing an excellent job as POTUS! MAGA!


56 posted on 10/08/2018 8:40:57 AM PDT by kenmcg (tHE WHOLE)
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To: billorites

Rich Lowry is just another Bush League Republican.


57 posted on 10/08/2018 8:45:34 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here of Citizen Parents__Know Islam, No Peace - No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: EMI_Guy

Bush League Republicans have one over riding concern.
Keeping the borders open and the laws unenforced.
They do not want US to restore the rule of law and send home the 30 million people they invited here against the will of the citizens.

The Bush Plan for North Mexico (aka USA) is paramount.


58 posted on 10/08/2018 8:52:56 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here of Citizen Parents__Know Islam, No Peace - No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Mr. Mojo

“Why was it unreasonable to assume that Trump would keep his promise on judges? “

Because at that time one of their main talking points was that he was just bluster, had no real convictions and would be completely unpredictable.

We didn’t believe that but they did.


59 posted on 10/08/2018 8:54:31 AM PDT by Personal Responsibility (If we disarmed democrats gun violence would decrease by 90%.)
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To: kiryandil

Are you SURE?? Brett was Bush’s SECRETARY.


60 posted on 10/08/2018 8:59:57 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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