Why Pick a Fight with the Jaffaites?

Earlier this year, I picked a fight with the Straussian/neoconservatives in Chronicles magazine.

This led some people to openly wonder why now, and more importantly what was the point?

If the right is being badgered by the left, why do we need to pick a fight with our allies?

My response is simple: You can’t win if you are fighting by the enemies’ rules and on their turf.

This fight is essential if we are going to beat the left. Abraham Lincoln cannot be the basis of American “conservatism,” nor can the “proposition nation” serve as the starting point for the American right.

The exchange between yours truly and Michael Anton at American Greatness prompted ISI to hold a panel on “How Conservatives Should View the American Founding.”

I wasn’t invited, but Kevin Gutzman did a fantastic job pushing back against Anton’s sloppy understanding of the founding period.

The other two guests shouldn’t have been on the stage.

I’ll have more to say about the Straussians next week, but I had to address this panel discussion. I did so on episode 524 of the Brion McClanahan Show.