The Anglo Tendency in American Politics

Conservatism Across the Atlantic, Centre Wright, published by Bright Blue, Autumn 2017 issue on "Conservatism Refresh," September 30, 2017, article only available in PDF. "In the era of Trump, it would be easy to conclude that the greatest challenge facing conservatism in the United States is its tendency to fratricide. That is a challenge not unknown in Britain. But in the US, the more serious challenges come from shifts in the underlying political and ideological structure of the nation. These challenges, too, have their parallels in the United Kingdom."

The Worrying Decline of the Establishment

The Disturbing Decline of Europe’s Left, Newsday, April 23, 2017. "British Prime Minister Theresa May shocked her nation last week by calling an early election, to be held on June 8. Her Conservative Party is likely — though not certain — to win, a result that would end all doubt that Britain will leave the European Union. But it’s not Conservative strength in Britain that’s the most impressive. It’s the weakness of the opposition left-wing Labour Party. It’s not just Labour that’s weak. All across the continent, the left is in trouble, just as the EU is. And the EU’s problems are the left’s."

A Very Charitable Post About President Obama

President Obama’s Many Missed Opportunities, Newsday, December 27, 2016, "Everyone makes mistakes, and the Obama administration has made its fair share. But harping on mistakes is easy. The tragedy of most presidential administrations rests not in the errors they make, but in the opportunities they miss — and in the belief that no one else can seize them."

On Running Scared, to a One-Party System

Where’s the Leadership in American Election?, Yorkshire Post, March 28, 2016. "Since the Second World War, power in the US has oscillated regularly between the major parties, with neither able to win an enduring advantage. But that oscillation disguises a pattern that foretells a Democratic edge this fall. If the pattern survives in this uncertain world, that is."

The Board Is Set, and the Pieces Are Moving

For Putin, All Pieces Are in Place, Newsday, February 26, 2016. "The last few months of 2008 were among the most important in recent history. They saw the tail end of a tired presidency, the Russians on the warpath in Georgia, and a long-approaching economic crisis about to reach its climax. The last few months of 2016 may repeat the pattern."

On the Difference Between Donald Trump and a Communist

The Very Unlikely Political Parallels Between Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn, Yorkshire Post, January 29, 2016. "Donald Trump’s surprising buoyancy in the Republican primary contest strikes many Britons as inexplicable. But then I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around Jeremy Corbyn. Yet, as political phenomena, the two actually aren’t so far apart." (Published under my own name.)

Insiders and Outsiders, Risks and Safety

Tory Safety First Strategy Is Not Without Its Risks, Yorkshire Post, October 7, 2015. "One striking fact is that Conservative voters in Britain appear to be the only ones in both nations who aren’t hungering for an outsider. A new poll from ConservativeHome finds that safe George Osborne is now the Tory favourite to follow safe David Cameron as Prime Minister."

The Possible Populist Future in British Politics

A Very British Shock Result and What It May Mean, Yorkshire Post, May 12, 2015. "I’VE studied Britain for 20 years, but this last week gave me an appreciation for its politics I’ve never had before. Over the last seven days, I followed Conservative candidates in Darlington, Bradford West and Brent Central as they canvassed and addressed the public. All worked hard; all were worthy, and all were in tough constituencies. In the end, none won. Like every other commentator, I failed to predict accurately the outcome of the election. I thought the Tories would win 280 seats. But fortunately, learning isn’t all about making bad predictions."

American Politics in the United Kingdom

Politics of Floating Voters Dominate the Conferences, Yorkshire Post, October 3, 2014. "This year, I attended the Conservative Party Conference, which has just concluded in Birmingham. As a historian of British politics, and as an American conservative who believes that the American and British systems are each excellent in their own way, it was not what I expected."

At the Conservative Party Conference, Cheers All the Way

In Birmingham, Shut Up and Cheer, National Review Online, October 1, 2014. "A regular complaint of British Conservatives is that the party conference is no longer what it once was. It’s not simply small to American eyes; it’s sadly diminished in British ones. There are now no motions from the floor, no debate, and little sense that the party has much interest in reflecting the views of its most active members. As one MP put it to me, the conference is now for lobbyists, corporate donors, and television. Like American political conventions, it exists to affirm the leadership, not to challenge it. Above all, it must be a success."

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other: UKIP and the Tea Party

An American’s Perspective on the Rise of UKIP, Yorkshire Post, August 29, 2014. "Though they’re compared relentlessly, Ukip and the Tea Party are actually very different animals. Ukip’s backers are more likely than the average voter to be older, male, and lower middle class former Tories."

Irrelevancy Commands No Respect

Obama Is Irrelevant Abroad and Now Disliked at Home, Yorkshire Post, April 29, 2014. "A year ago, Obama’s highest Gallup rankings were on foreign affairs. But by February, a majority of Americans believed the world’s leaders had little respect for the U.S. president. In late March, CBS found that only 36 percent of Americans approved of his foreign policy. Even Obamacare is more popular."

Margaret Thatcher, Stakhanovite

Margaret Thatcher’s Lesson: To Triumph, Do Your Homework, Newsday, April 16, 2013. "Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s greatest prime minister since Winston Churchill, will be laid to rest today. In life, Thatcher never rested. American politicians, who have fallen into a bad habit of legislating for the camera, need to learn her habit of sweating the details instead."

In Politics, Pragmatism Only Goes So Far

Obama’s Lesson for Cameron on the Pitfalls of Pragmatism, Yorkshire Post (UK), February 15, 2013. "The longer Barack Obama is in the White House, the more closely he comes to resemble Tony Blair. Blair’s greatest strength was his ability to masquerade as a man without ideology, a pragmatist interested simply in doing what works. By defining himself as the rational center, he automatically stigmatized his opponents as irrational extremists."

No Responsibility Here!

Out of Touch and Out of Favor . . . U.S. Voters Turn Their Backs on Obama’s World in Washington, Yorkshire Post, June 8, 2012. "Washington inherently likes nothing better than spending other people’s money. That’s why it’s so regularly out of touch. The President has spent four years cheerleading big government. He’s not the only one suffering from that, but whether he likes it or not, he personifies Washington. And in November, Washington’s irresponsibility could end up being a very big story indeed."

Obama's No Shoo-In

"Obama Must Not Celebrate Yet As US Voters Look For More Than Likeability in White House Race," Yorkshire Post, May 4, 2012. Not available online. "When I was in London last month, everyone agreed on two things: David Cameron is doing badly, and Barack Obama is doing well. So well, in fact, that Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, has no chance at all to win in November. The only question in the British mind appears to be about Obama’s margin of victory."

Extremism: A Classic Irregular Verb

Are Republicans Crazy?, The Commentator, May 2, 2012. "My own view is that error and unreason are widely distributed across humanity, and any reasonably-sized group of people is likely to contain a similar amount of both. To an extent, that’s one reason I’m conservative: since people (including the very educated) are likely to get it wrong most of the time, I think it’s prudent to keep government as small as possible so as to limit its opportunities for inflicting damage. On the other hand, so much contemporary liberalism – dating back to the Progressives of the late-nineteenth century – is based on the idea that while the people are dopes, the elites are wise."

American Conservatives and the Constitutional Order

Limitless Liberalism, Centre for Policy Studies, May 2, 2012. "One of the subjects I found the least understanding about in Britain – though not, I hasten to add, in the Centre – is the connection that American conservatives draw between constitutional and limited government, American exceptionalism, and their discomfort with both the American Progressivism and the Obama administration. A common motif in press comment in Britain (and in the U.S.) is that Republicans or conservatives – the mash-up of the two is revealing, if incorrect – are simply unreasonable, petulant, and extreme. That charge is false, but it is a very old one, and it reveals something about the nature of the fundamental conflict in the U.S. political system."

On the 2012 SOTU

American Leadership AWOL Again, Heritage Foundation Foundry, January 24, 2012. "The President’s remarks in his State of the Union Address on foreign policy were formulaic. This Address was about domestic policy and, ultimately, about the 2012 election, which the President clearly believes will be won or lost on the basis of his record at home. Unfortunately, that does not absolve him of his responsibility to do more than slot token references on events abroad into his remarks."

On Tevi Troy's Article on Think Tanks

A View of Think-Tanks from America, Centre for Policy Studies, January 23, 2012. "Working as I do at the Heritage Foundation, and writing for the Centre for Policy Studies, may put me in danger of mistaking the trees for the forest. Still, British readers should check out Tevi Troy’s article “Devaluing the Think Tank,” in the latest issue of National Affairs, available free online. Troy’s claim is that U.S. think tanks play “a central role in policy development,” but that, “while most think tanks continue to serve as homes for some academic-style scholarship regarding public policy, many have also come to play more active (if informal) roles in politics." "