Credit where credit's due: George Will's Pulitzer was eight years old by the time David Brooks took an internship at the National Review. And he left the Republican Party when they nominated Trump. I've never been a big fan? Other than the fact that in the back of "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" Al Franken drew a comic book that made much of the fact that George Will smokes way too much dope to truly be a cultural conservative? But he kinda is being that change. He was one of the first old-school Republicans who noped out.
This was my exact perspective, except that it was around the time Reagan was dealing with Iran-Contra. It definitely took him a lot longer than you would expect any thinking person to take. Chris Buckley beat him by an entire presidential administration. I also don't see him as a force for change. But I think it's worth pointing out for a historical conservative whose pedigree goes back to Gerald Ford, this is kind of the equivalent of Ahmadinejad quoting 2Pac.I used to read newsweek back when I was a dumb teenager and listened to adults who told me I should read the news to stay informed. From reading back then I got the idea that George Will was the token "intelligent conservative" in a largely liberal-leaning newspaper, and while he occasionally had something intelligent to say it usually wasn't the column I read most religiously.
Totally valid. I dunno I drink half a bottle of wine and I'm a lot less interested in patting conservatives on the head. My fundamental beef is you've got Brooks in like the Fifth Circle of Hell and Will in the Fourth and I'd probably swap those but you know? Fuck 'em both. Fuck 'em back to Nixon. Fuck 'em back to Goldwater. Fuck 'em back to Smedley Fucking Butler.
You've made an important distinction there; George Will actually writes what he believes. He always has. lolBrooks just writes whatever the latest Republican talking points are, without ever spilling any on himself. He writes what they want to see, but I see no human being in his writing. It is a complete construct. Like if an AI was designed to be a conservative OpEd writer. George Will is fully human. He has different beliefs than I have, but I like reading him because his perspective is different from mine, and he is genuine in his beliefs. Being genuine and honest is rare for a conservative. They are so busy masking their true underlying intent(s) that everything they say comes off as dishonest and intended to distract from the actual thing they want. George Will is also a good writer, technically speaking. I like the way he crafts sentences and ideas and expresses them in words.
Also to give him credit where credit is due, he gave a lecture about James Madison and separation of powers at the American Constitution Center a couple years ago that I thought was one of the best 45 minutes I'd ever heard on the topic. If only he stuck to history he might be worth listening to.
George didn't leave out any of the rhetorical flourish there, did he? Sadly, if Trump has taught us anything these last 4 years it's that there's no amount of evidence or argument that can change minds. Just like with, say, quitting drugs and alcohol, all the motivation has to be internal. Don't know where that comes from in this case.