Donald Trump's Midwestern Meltdown

Madison, Wisc. Wisconsin Republicans have heard it all before. "There's a lot of hate going on in Wisconsin, and I think it's bad." "There's a $2.2 billion deficit, and the schools were going begging." "He didn't want to raise taxes 'cause he was going to run for president." "So instead of raising taxes, he cut back on schools, he cut back on highways, he cut back on a lot of things." In several pitched electoral battles over the last five years, Democratic lawmakers have lobbed these talking points at Scott Walker, so it's not clear what Donald Trump thought he would accomplish when he spoke these words in Wisconsin this week....

04/01/16 1:11 PM

Men of Steal

In Batman v. Superman, the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel try to kill each other. In the sequel, they should team up and kill the people who made Batman v. Superman. Its filmmakers and the executives who hired them run the gamut from the unspeakably cynical to the astoundingly pretentious without ever bothering to take a pit stop at talent. They have violated the basic social contract by conspiring to drain the coffers of unsuspecting teenagers by telling said victims that they are going to see a movie rather than a promotional product reel for future promotional product reels. Vigilantism may be required. Here's what happens in...

04/01/16 12:01 AM

When No Means No

House speaker Paul Ryan is not running for president. That became clear several months after the 2012 election, in which Ryan was Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. At two private dinners, a prominent Republican introduced Ryan to a bipartisan group of influential policy intellectuals and potential campaign financiers, not all of them conservatives. Ryan didn't bite. It's now three years later, and he hasn't changed his mind. Ryan will preside over the Republican convention in July, but he says even if the presidential nomination is contested, he won't seek or accept it. "I actually think you should run for president .  .  . if...

04/01/16 12:01 AM

The Costanza Approach

In a famous episode of Seinfeld, George Costanza concludes that every instinct he’s had, every decision he's made, has been wrong and that he should henceforth do the opposite of what he had routinely been doing. He implements this new philosophy and promptly manages to entice an attractive woman to go out with him by introducing himself as unemployed and living with his parents. He then gets a job with the New York Yankees by telling off its imperious and temperamental owner, George Steinbrenner.

04/01/16 12:01 AM

Donald the Menace

When we last checked in on Donald Trump’s campaign it was still a rolling embarrassment—a near-daily parade of pettiness, ignorance, and farce that was nonetheless en route to an ever-increasing delegate lead. Trump had held an unusual QVC-style postelection press conference in which he displayed phony "Trump products" in order to pretend that his failed businesses hadn't failed; he'd announced that he would serve as his own primary adviser on foreign policy "because I have a very good brain and I've said a lot of things"; and his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was forcefully denying eyewitness claims that, after a Trump presser, he'd...

04/01/16 12:01 AM

Today's Standard


Weird Week in (Internet) Politics: Pizza, Trump Finds Love, Newt Wins #TBT

11:00 AM, Apr 03, 2016

Some guy dressed as Donald Trump was dancing in New York City.

So this is happening in New York City right now pic.twitter.com/GRAwQMhhtg— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) March 27, 2016

Pizza overtook the political web. It began when John Kasich was seen eating pizza with a fork like a monster.

via GIPHY

Fellow fork-pizza-eater NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio applauded the move.

Here's one thing I agree with @JohnKasich on… pic.twitter.com/ads2ilMcFC— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) March 31, 2016

Later, Ted Cruz showed he's not a weirdo and ate pizza like a normal person.

Y'all. Eating pizza is not

 Read more

Hillary: Unborn Children Don't Have Constitutional Rights

10:18 AM, Apr 03, 2016

On Sunday, Hillary Clinton told Chuck Todd that no unborn child has constitutional rights.

"The unborn person doesn't have constitutional rights," under our current laws, said Clinton. She also said that "the woman's right to make decisions" is most important when it comes to abortion.

Most notable perhaps is Clinton's use of "person." Oftentimes, when talking about a woman's right to choose, pro-choicers will use terminology that suggests the unborn is not a person or human, but a "fetus.

 Read more

Palin Flops as Trump Surrogate in Wisconsin While Cruz and Kasich Shine

6:26 AM, Apr 02, 2016

Ted Cruz and John Kasich received a warm reception at Friday night's Milwaukee County GOP Lincoln dinner.

Kasich was introduced by former governor Tommy Thompson, who enthusiastically recalled how Kasich balanced the federal budget.

Cruz was introduced by Governor Scott Walker, who touted Cruz as the only conservative who can win the nomination and beat Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump didn't show up to the Friday night fish fry in Milwaukee and instead outsourced the job to Sarah Palin, who delivered a meandering speech on trade and immigration.

 Read more

Why Can't Yellen Raise Rates?

12:01 AM, Apr 02, 2016
“I must do it. But I fear to do it. Upon my soul I do." So said Alec Guinness' King Faisal to Peter O'Toole's Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia when faced with demands that he place his Bedouin fighters under British command. Read more

Marijuana Activists to Light Up in Front of White House Saturday

High (after)noon.
3:23 PM, Apr 01, 2016
A group of marijuana activists advocating for the decriminalization of marijuana will light up across the street from the White House Saturday afternoon. Read more

Kristol: Is Trump's Bad Week Likely First of Many?

Hosted by Michael Graham.
2:58 PM, Apr 01, 2016
The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with editor William Kristol on Donald Trump's terrible week. Read more

Democratic Voters More Dissatisfied with Primary than Republicans, Poll Finds

And despite all his complaints, Trump supporters are a-okay with it.
2:22 PM, Apr 01, 2016
You'd think that Republican voters would want to crumple the primary system into wastepaper and chuck it atop a radioactive dump. And yet it's Democrats who dislike the primary the most. Read more

Donald Trump's Midwestern Meltdown

It could cost him the nomination.
1:11 PM, Apr 01, 2016

Wisconsin Republicans have heard it all before.

"There's a lot of hate going on in Wisconsin, and I think it's bad."

"There's a $2.2 billion deficit, and the schools were going begging."

"He didn't want to raise taxes 'cause he was going to run for president."

"So instead of raising taxes, he cut back on schools, he cut back on highways, he cut back on a lot of things."

In several pitched electoral battles over the last five years, Democratic lawmakers have lobbed these talking points at Scott Walker, so it's not clear what Donald Trump thought he would accomplish when he spoke these words in Wisconsin this week.

In the last five years, Wisconsin voters have

 Read more

Clashes of Civilization

12:53 PM, Apr 01, 2016
When James Moore was 14 years old, he began playing Sid Meier’s Civilization II, a game in which competing empires vie for global domination. And he kept playing one particular scenario just to see how long he could last. Moore started in 2002. Fourteen years later, his world lives on—but it's not one in which any of us would ever want to live. Read more

Why Is Paul Krugman Still Calling for Fiscal Stimulus?

11:57 AM, Apr 01, 2016
Nobel economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is fond of mocking his critics for being ideologues rather than economists. In contrast, Krugman's own policy prescriptions, he assures us, are based wholly on sound economic scienceRead more

'How To Dump Trump'

11:13 AM, Apr 01, 2016

At the Washington Free Beacon, Matthew Continetti writes about "How to Dump Trump," and why he ought to be dumped:

If Trump doesn't win on the first ballot, then the convention will be thrown to the delegates. And the complexity of the proceedings will favor the well organized, the best resourced, and the most influential members of the party. The Trump campaign is none of these things.
What happens next? Trump says he won't abide by his pledge to support the Republican nominee. Figures. It's not like his word was his bond before he ran for president. This is a businessman known for his parsimony, his reluctance to fulfill invoices, his quickness to sue, his welching on commitments.

 Read more

#NeverTrump vs. #NeverHillary

33% of Bernie supporters will never back Hillary
8:14 AM, Apr 01, 2016
For a candidate who has popularity issues of her own, it's no surprise that #NeverHillary sprung up beside #NeverTrump. Read more

Reince: Even VP Nomination Could Be Contested

7:01 AM, Apr 01, 2016
On Greta last night, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus suggested to FOX viewers that even the vice presidential nomination could be contested at the GOP convention in Cleveland later this year. Read more

Another Wisconsin Poll Shows Cruz Leading Trump by 10 Points

8:01 PM, Mar 31, 2016
A new Fox Business poll of the Wisconsin GOP presidential primary shows Ted Cruz leading Donald Trump 42 percent to 32 percent, with John Kasich far behind in third place at 19 percent: Read more

Warren on Trump: 'I Don't Think Donald Trump Has Any Thoughts' on Abortion

5:04 PM, Mar 31, 2016

On Thursday, The Weekly Standard's Michael Warren joined CNN to talk about Donald Trump.

Of Trump's abortion flip-flop yesterday, Warren said, "I don't think Donald Trump has any thoughts on the abortion question. And that was very clear from the answer that he gave to Chris Matthews."

Warren later added, "Donald Trump doesn't actually know what he believes" on numerous issues.

 Read more

Anderson Cooper, Prepper?

'I'm a catastrophist.'
4:20 PM, Mar 31, 2016
On Thursday morning, CNN's Anderson Cooper and his mother Gloria Vanderbilt were on the Diane Rehm Show to discuss their new book The Rainbow Comes and Goes. Read more

Hillary Blows Up at Greenpeace Activist

4:18 PM, Mar 31, 2016

Hillary Clinton lost her cool in an exchange with a Greenpeace activist:

"I am so sick, I am so sick," Clinton says, shouting and wagging her finger at the activist, "of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it."

Greenpeace explained the exchange, "At a Hillary Clinton rally at SUNY Purchase campus today, the presidential candidate lost her patience with a Greenpeace activist who thanked her for her commitment to climate change then asked her whether she'll reject fossil fuel money moving forward. Pointing her finger at activist Eva Resnick-Day, Clinton claimed she only takes money from people who work for fossil fuel companies and called the accusations lies.

 Read more

What Trump's Botched Abortion Answer Says About Him

Hosted by Michael Graham.
4:15 PM, Mar 31, 2016
The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer John McCormack on Donald Trump's abortion gaffe at a MSNBC townhall. Read more

China's Internet Fire Wall: A True Great Wall

3:04 PM, Mar 31, 2016
The Great Wall of China, often cited as the ultimate measure of border security, was not, in fact, all that effective. Just ask Kublai Khan and his Mongol hordes who rode south through the original Great Wall fortifications to establish the Yuan Dynasty in 1279. Read more

Kasich PAC's New Ad: You Can't Unsee

2:17 PM, Mar 31, 2016

A PAC supporting John Kasich, New Day For America, released what is arguably the most uncomfortable ad of the cycle. It would make Pinocchio blush.

The ad lists lies it says Ted Cruz has told. But when watching, you're not really focused on the lies.

 Read more

Celebrating 100 Years of the National Parks Service


On Top of Mount Rushmore

Where every day is Presidents' Day

By Joseph Bottum

A Park Called Zion

A holy desert in Utah

By Geoffrey Norman

...