Intellectual Conservative

Democratic Debate Surprise: Candidates Cave to Matriarch Hillary
By Rachel Alexander, on October 18th, 2015
I predicted that Bernie Sanders would best Hillary Clinton during the first presidential debate, much as Donald Trump triumphed over the Republican presidential candidates. They both have an edginess and outsider willingness to challenge traditional conventions in a way that appeals to the base of their respective parties. Clinton was the establishment candidate, the Jeb Bush of the Democratic party, the candidate of the old ways the base was busy rejecting. It seemed an easy prediction. I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead, Sanders and most of the other candidates bent over backwards to let Clinton off the hook on the biggest scandal that could derail her campaign -- Servergate.....

Donald Trump And Bernie Sanders Both Suffer From Preposterous Grandiosity
By Ralph Benko, on October 18th, 2015
Donald Trump's new tax plan has been scored by the Tax Foundation as increasing the national debt by $12T over ten years. This doesn't seem compatible with the ferocious anti-debt Tea Party ethos nor that of responsible conservative governance. Bernie Sanders's proposed orgy of all-you-can-eat government services has been scored (not entirely fairly, as failing to offset savings from personal health insurance premiums, yet, still, meaningfully) as costing $18T by the Wall Street Journal....

Trump and the Chumps: What's a Serious Candidate, Anyway?
By Selwyn Duke, on October 18th, 2015
Ever since Donald Trump rose to front-runner status in the 2016 GOP presidential field, we've heard dismissive talk about how he's not a "serious" candidate. Pundits and political-party leaders have made this claim, in efforts ranging from seriously intended but unserious commentary to the tactic of hoping that if you act as if something is true it will be considered so. But whether or not Trump is a serious candidate, one thing is plain: these politics wonks have no idea what that is. "Serious" in the sense it's being used by the establishment types is not only a weasel word, but also akin to the tactic of calling an Internet commenter who utters uncomfortable truths a "troll"; the water-muddying message is, "Oh, you don't have to pay attention to that; he's not serious.".....