“What do 21st Century Conservatives and Liberals actually believe in?” – The Lonely Realist As TLR has noted, modern American political conservatism is founded on four “right wing” principles: fiscal restraint, furthering traditional American values, pursuing a strong national defense, and incentivizing capitalist Darwinism. The core...
“Is duck-and-cover the safest course for the combination of Trump 2.0 and DeepSeek?” – The Lonely Realist For those who scoffed at the possibility of a second American revolution, welcome to Trump 2.0. For those who disbelieved Candidate Trump’s promises, welcome to sudden, radical changes to...
“America has a new-yet-old model of ‘Peace Through Strength.’” – The Lonely Realist Trump 1.0 foreign policy featured 1930s-style isolationism. Trump 2.0 foreign policy portends 18th Century-style imperialism. Hemispheric Manifest Destiny anyone? As TLR first addressed in 2019’s “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick,” 20th Century America...
“Are there limits to Executive Power?” – The Lonely Realist Three consecutive Presidents have excessively extended Executive Power and, as TLR has explained, the excessiveness has been Congress’s fault. Congress has been a passive observer to Constitutional erosion. The foundation of American democracy is the balancing...
“Those who ran America for the past four years were the group of ‘counselors’ Joe Biden appointed in 2020, each of whom remained in a position-of-power throughout the Biden Presidency.” – The Lonely Realist A recent Peggy Noonan article in the Wall Street Journal, “The President...
“The 2025 'Word of the Year' is 'volatility'.” – The Lonely Realist As highlighted in last week’s TLR, America is looking forward to an economically and politically volatile 2025. More extreme volatility can be expected internationally. Although many disagree with Ray Dalio's forecast of geopolitical (and economic)...