Free Republic

The Atlantic, a left-liberal publication that has become a clearinghouse for anti-Republican commentary, published an essay in which it expressed skepticism that a blue-collar truck driver like Edward Durr could perform the duties of his elected office. Last week, Durr shocked the political world by defeating incumbent New Jersey State Senate President Steve Sweeney, one of the most powerful Democrats in the state and the longest-serving legislative leader in its history. The essay in The Atlantic, by Tom Nichols, titled “Populism Always Sounds Great in the Abstract,” mocks Durr: “A New Jersey truck driver defeated the state Senate president, but...

So many mysteries surround Donald Trump: the contents of his tax returns, the apparent miracle of his graduation from college. Some of them are merely curiosities; others are of national importance, such as whether he understood the nuclear-weapons briefing given to every president. I prefer not to dwell on this question. But since his first day as a presidential candidate, I have been baffled by one mystery in particular: Why do working-class white men—the most reliable component of Donald Trump’s base—support someone who is, by their own standards, the least masculine man ever to hold the modern presidency? The question...

Writing in the Atlantic (“This is No Way to Beat Trump”) Thomas Nichols, a self-described former Republican and #NeverTrumper, castigates Democrats for their failure to take down President Trump, in light of the disorganized Iowa Caucus and the party’s unimpressive stable of candidates. In the piece, Nichols pretends to dispense hard-headed political advice. In fact, the article reveals why he and the Democrats he wants to help are floundering. Their perception of the world is so distorted by manic dislike of President Trump that they have ceased to act as a responsible political party which can offer a reasonable alternative....