Kevin D. Williamson of The Dispatch || “The Saving Grace of Trump Is That He’s Stupid and Lazy”
Kevin D. Williamson says the saving grace of Donald Trump is that he’s stupid and lazy. And that’s just one of the things he says on this episode that will make somebody mad.
Kevin D. Williamson of The Dispatch joins Corey to talk about growing up in Lubbock, learning to write from Tom Wolfe and the back pages of National Review, and why his reporting method amounts to “send Kevin someplace he doesn’t belong.” Fresh off a week in the Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere in Texas covering the midterms, Kevin explains why Texas Democrats are courting a new constituency: normal people. Then the conversation turns to impeachment, corruption, Catholic and evangelical America, and why your politics shouldn’t be your religion.
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Key Takeaways
- Texas Democrats changed their slate. Outside of James Talarico, the party nominated boots-and-cowboy-hat Tejano candidates who talk about healthcare and gas prices instead of identity politics.
- Corruption is becoming a kitchen-table issue. Kevin argues voters connect $6 diesel to the grifting they see from people in power, and it’s showing up in the polls.
- Impeachment depends on the Senate. If Democrats win the Senate, Kevin expects impeachment plus a long run of oversight investigations, which he calls how the constitutional system is supposed to work.
- Politics has replaced church for a lot of people. Bitter political tribalism has grown as participation in religious life has declined. If politics is your religion, Kevin says, you should try to fix that about yourself.
About Our Guest
Kevin D. Williamson is national correspondent at The Dispatch, where he writes the Monday newsletter Wanderland. He spent 15 years as a writer and editor at National Review, served as theater critic for The New Criterion, and is writer in residence at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. His books include The Smallest Minority: Independent Thinking in the Age of Mob Politics among several others.
Links and Resources
- thedispatch.com
- Bordering on Sanity, Kevin D. Williamson, The Dispatch: thedispatch.com/newsletter/wanderland/texas-democratic-candidates-midterms-talarico-normal
- Wanderland newsletter: thedispatch.com/newsletter/wanderland
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