“How did politics get like this?” It’s one of those questions that, though its precise meaning is obscured, nevertheless suggests its subject matter plainly. What is meant by “this”? How did it get like what, precisely?
In today’s context, it is likely to mean: How did politics get so unpleasant? That might refer to the astonishingly crude rhetoric exchanged between President Trump and his detractors. But it also applies to the behavior, not just to the words, of the #Resistance. When did it become accepted practice for left-wing militants to barrack conservatives in restaurants and hound them as they try to get to their cars? Where did members of the screaming mob hammering on the Supreme Court door learn that this was the way to oppose confirmation of a qualified justice against whom flimsy falsehoods had been leveled? Who taught social-justice warriors that free speech was a problem rather than the foundation of liberal democracy and that people without “woke” opinions should be denied the chance of being heard?
These baleful features of our benighted political landscape have various origins, but among them are the work and influence of Saul Alinsky, who wrote Rules For Radicals more than 40 years ago. He and his disciples, including Hillary Clinton, persuaded two succeeding generations to dispense with civilized debate and instead deploy intimidation and personal destruction. The cover story of this week’s Washington Examiner magazine, with it’s headline “Mob Man,” focuses on Alinsky, his links to Al Capone, and the ugly legacy of his teachings. Read it here.
Our other main feature looks back on the legacy of Christopher Hitchens seven years after his death. “Hitch” was perhaps the pre-eminent literary and intellectual pugilist of his generation. He brought not simply great force to argument, but also a level of nuance that seems to have vanished with him.
With the start of 2019, we enter the next presidential race, and candidates have already begun breaking cover and running. The most prominent so far is Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who once stood at the fringe of her party, but has now dragged the Democrats as a body much further to the left. Philip Terzian, in a column headlined, “Don’t dismiss Liz,” says Warren will prove a more formidable opponent than many, including the president, believe. We have a splendid line-up of columnists this week, including Michael Barone, Tim Carney, Salena Zito, Byron York, and Philip Klein.
For breezy reads, turn to Life & Arts, where our columnists ponder the pleasures of aged vermouth; the weird success of Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers’ hairy orange mascot; political plotting in a London hotel; and a big-screen tribute to the genius of Buster Keaton.
