Douthat is a pseudo intellectual hiding behind convoluted sentences and arguments that make my head explode. So glad I will no longer have to see his name pollute the pages of the NYT. He can now wallow in the splendid piece of shit that 60 minutes has become. Maybe The Times can now find a right of center commentator worthy of the paper, if there is one.
Ross Douthat is to political commentary as Lurry Kudlow is to economics. They both have God awful tracks records........Ross Douthat will be the new CBS correspondent for 60 Minutes. He will do to 60 Minutes what Tony Dukopyl did for CBS News: Tank it.
Will the Democratic strategists listen to you, JVL? Like everything else in the Age of Trump, I give it 50/50 odds (except for the Dems winning the House).
I’ve lived in NYC since 1977 and have read the NYT almost every day since then. (I did live outside the country for 8 months, prior to the internet.) I’ve been trying to remember whether I gave up first on Bret Stephens or Ross Douthat. I think I gave up first on Douthat. As much as I dislike his politics, Stephens does seem to have at least a passing understanding of facts. Douthat has nothing but the fervor of the converted.
I'm not a huge fan of using racial labels for why people vote the way they do. Black, white, asian, etc. all vote with their own interests in mind. They are not a "block" that all moves in unison. Black people in WI have many of the same social and economic issues that are motivating their vote, that's what should be the issue you communicate as a politician. Maybe it helps if a candidate comes from the same background, but ultimately this is about a voter choosing someone because they think that candidate is going to advance what's important to them and their family.
In 2026, economic opportunities are not evenly distributed, and guys like Crowley have practical experience dealing with these issues. Hong's campaign had platitudes without any real substance. It didn't help that she had some really boneheaded past statements that she said to sound edgy. I also think a lot of voters want equal opportunities and a reasonable safety net floor, not equal outcomes.
If you're the pasty white guy trying to pretend you're something you're not, then voters will see through that and stay on the couch on election day. Show that you care and you've got a practical plan to help improve their lives? Yea, you're going to get votes.
I think you lose a lot of black voters when you start saying shit like “abolish prisons”. The DSA has some absolutely moronic policy positions that they need to shed if they ever hope to be a legitimate political force.
I agree with that. But again, this isn't a "black" issue and it's not a white suburban latte liberal issue. It's a simple "most Americans think we should have fair laws and enforce them". That's like 90% of the country, regardless of political party.
Instead of saying you want to abolish prisons or the police, you should be saying "we want to make sure this is fair and accountable". You will appeal to swing voters who lean right with that kind of talk and you can't be converted to fox news hyperbole with a statement like that.
The message Democrats should take from this is that voters are much more simpatico to DSA than they believed a year ago. If they don't pay attention to that message, they could lose elections.
Francesca Hong came in tied to the establishment candidate--in a big field--in Wisconsin.
And this is not good news for Republicans. Democratic voters are not afraid of them any more. Twelve years of Criminal Trump changed a lot of minds.
The mistake a lot of nonblack democrats make when they try to appeal to black voters is that they act like they're trying to appeal to the black studies department. Lots and lots of talk about race and what boils down to about 20 different new affirmative action proposals.
Seems to me that most Black voters don't really want to hear that shit. They want to hear the same stuff the median general election voter wants to hear, just in a way that resonates with their own lives and experiences.
If the Democrats don’t realize that their margin of victory always comes from Black voters they have completely fallen asleep. However, the Democrats have to convince Black people that they will follow through and actually do things that will make their lives better. I think most Black people realize how much Trump hates them, but the Dems need to show that they are not afraid to be”woke.”
I guess I skimmed that column and said, "Douthat doesn't like liberal elites, this is not news". However perfectly respectable liberal outlets like the NYT and Matt Yglesias have said that MS schools are actually better than schools in blue states. I have had nothing to do with the public schools in MO my entire life but the quality of the schools does not have much to do with whether the state is red or blue. If Douthat was to live in Clayton or Ladue or even St. Louis with the magnet schools that are meant to keep white kids in the city he would be able to send his kids to decent schools.
I surmise that the world according to Douthat is the world according to the Tikvah Fund where students just do not learn enough about America or American history in order to be good citizens who know what needs to change and what needs to be conserved. That would be a civic collapse for sure.
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Woodrow Wilson became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Eisenhower became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Reagan became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Bill Clinton became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Obama became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Trump became President? Does tyranny, bribery, and corruption bother you? Do you get angry when you are denied Liberty and Freedom? Do you get angry when Judges on US Supreme Court are enemies of the Constitution? Do you get angry when members of Congress do not know what the Constitution says?
Questions for candidates
How do you plan on improving Social Security disability?
How do you plan on improving Social Security retirement?
Will you support employing more Administrative Law Judges for Social Security disability who are Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court that Congress gets to employ?
How do you think we should change the way we fund our schools so that people will likely pay more into Social Security while they work?
Do you think people should have the Liberty and Freedom to have Social Security retirement accounts?
What is your plan to improve the finances of Social Security?
What is your plan to reduce the national debt so that there will be less inflation?
What is your plan to help people retire younger?
What is your plan to improve Medicare?
What is your plan to improve VA?
Do you think our largest banks and investment companies should be broken up into 4 or more equal pieces each and do you support a stronger version of Glass Steagall?
Part of my plan for our Republic
The leading cause of poverty in the USA now is the design of Social Security. You might pay into Social Security for over 40 year and die before 60 years of age and your family only gets a small death benefit. The longer people have to work before retire more people going to die before retire and the shorter their lives will likely be after retire.
GAO discussed Social Security disability in 1997. CBS discussed that over 100,000 have died waiting to see an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security Disability. I think over 200,000 have died waiting to see an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security Disability since January 1998. Have over 200,000 died waiting to get Medicare after getting Social Security Disability when not qualify for Medicaid since January 1998?
Do people in our Republic believe in Liberty and Freedom?
If they do, they believe adults should be allowed to smoke in restaurants that allow smoking.
If they do, they believe more drugs should be legalized for adults to use.
If they do, they believe people should be allowed to invest up to 25 percent of their Social Security taxes into Social Security Retirement Accounts. Social Security tax should be placed on all wages a person makes in a year including stock options - difference between bought at and sold at.
How many millions of people have died before turning 60 after paying into Social Security for over 30 years?
There should be a new 3 percent Social Security tax on wages above $1 million a year. Employers should not match a person's Social Security taxes on wages above $100,000 a year.
I expect black families to be the families that benefit the most from Social Security retirement accounts. I expect many will pour their money into their family businesses. I expect they will help black males to live longer lives and over time to help reduce maternal mortality which is sky high for black families in the USA. I read over 33 years ago that black males are likely to live shorter lives than white males in the USA.
Social Security should allow people to invest up to 25 percent of their Social Security taxes into retirement/investment accounts and have this money used to pay for
Funeral costs
Life insurance
Short term disability insurance
Long term disability insurance
Health insurance plans
Health care costs
Gold
Silver
Index mutual funds
Mutual funds
Government bonds
For themselves, family members, others.
Government bonds including bonds that are used to build and run food banks, supermarkets in food deserts, homeless shelters, houses on Native American reservations, high quality affordable public housing apartments that are NOT in public housing towers, public k-12 schools, free child care centers, free elder care centers, free job training, etc.
The bonds, free child care, free elder care, free job training will likely increase tax revenues for local governments, state governments, federal government.
Life involves risks. Each person should get to decide if want to have Social Security retirement/investment account. If people put money into Social Security retirement/investment account, need to realize this may reduce amount of money people get if become disabled and when retired. Do people care about Individual Liberty and Individual freedom?
GAO discussed Social Security Disability backlog in 1997.
Over 100,000 have died waiting to see an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security Disability.
Congress has the power to employ Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court and Administrative Law Judges are Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court.
People in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are more likely to become disabled than die.
CHANGING SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
When people first apply for Social Security disability, they are able to get attorneys for a percentage of past due benefits.
When people have Social Security Disability and Social Security says person is no longer disabled, person should be able to get an attorney for a percentage of monthly benefits during the review process and Social Security should hold onto attorney fees during review process.
Medicare should start when first qualify for Social Security disability.
People should be allowed to buy into Medicare for all. They should not have to buy into Medicare for all.
USA should never have just Medicare for All.
When Democratic Party was in control of the US House of Representatives, the Indian Health Service did forced sterilizations of Native American females.
Congress should back our currency with gold, silver, other valuable commodities, federal government owned lands.
Need over $900 now to buy what $250 could buy in January 1981 when national debt was under $1 trillion.
Congress should be in control of Federal Reserve.
Gold coins and silver coins minted in the USA by Federal government should not be taxed.
State governments and the federal government should stop taxing money people receive from Social Security Disability and Social Security retirement. Governments are stealing from people when they tax money they get from Social Security. They paid taxes to get the benefits.
Senior citizens should not be punished for working while they get Social Security. There benefits should not be reduced because they work.
Increasing the age people have to be to receive Social Security increases the odds people will never get money from Social Security.
Keeping people from receiving Social Security because they earn more than X amount will likely lead to the end of Social Security.
JVL, agree, love to pile on 'douche douthat', as a total Harvard College fraud( they really are good at getting the best!?!?). This guy 'douchy--Ross)' is hombre malo despite any protestations to the contrary--as Churchill is attributed--just a matter of price! You have highlighted his most recent verbal flails but he embodies the root cause of why @nytimes just ain't what it used to be,not sure if he was placed by the Andrew Rosenthal (ie the beginning of the end for the editorial board) or not! But I do think he, Bari Weiss and Bilton need to be made to live and work in TN so that 60 minutes will die a fast death!
So grateful for you saying what needed to be said about Black voters! Long overdue recognition of reality! Wake up and get real, folks, or we blow the only chance we may have for years to come.
Douthat’s final column made me want to puke. What a sign of the times that his next stop is the newly trumpified 60 Minutes! He’ll feel right at home in that Through-The-Looking-Glass version of an American institution. Go to hell, Russ. Oh wait, that IS going to hell.
Well, I'll say this for Ross. He is attempting the impossible feat of being a intellectual AND a Trump appolgist. That's got to be a bit of a trick. I would feel kind of sorry for him, but screw him. He'll be fine apologizing for Trump on 60 minutes and making a nice living. At least I won't have to bear the presence of his NYT columns. So, there's that.
Strange I am getting the sense that JVL does not like Ross Douthat. I could never have guessed that JVL does not like Ross at all. I must have missed something somewhere.
Douthat is a pseudo intellectual hiding behind convoluted sentences and arguments that make my head explode. So glad I will no longer have to see his name pollute the pages of the NYT. He can now wallow in the splendid piece of shit that 60 minutes has become. Maybe The Times can now find a right of center commentator worthy of the paper, if there is one.
Ross Douthat is to political commentary as Lurry Kudlow is to economics. They both have God awful tracks records........Ross Douthat will be the new CBS correspondent for 60 Minutes. He will do to 60 Minutes what Tony Dukopyl did for CBS News: Tank it.
Will the Democratic strategists listen to you, JVL? Like everything else in the Age of Trump, I give it 50/50 odds (except for the Dems winning the House).
Nate Silver gives Democrats in the House 87%. But I think his odds for the Senate Democrats at 55% is high.
I’ve lived in NYC since 1977 and have read the NYT almost every day since then. (I did live outside the country for 8 months, prior to the internet.) I’ve been trying to remember whether I gave up first on Bret Stephens or Ross Douthat. I think I gave up first on Douthat. As much as I dislike his politics, Stephens does seem to have at least a passing understanding of facts. Douthat has nothing but the fervor of the converted.
I'm not a huge fan of using racial labels for why people vote the way they do. Black, white, asian, etc. all vote with their own interests in mind. They are not a "block" that all moves in unison. Black people in WI have many of the same social and economic issues that are motivating their vote, that's what should be the issue you communicate as a politician. Maybe it helps if a candidate comes from the same background, but ultimately this is about a voter choosing someone because they think that candidate is going to advance what's important to them and their family.
In 2026, economic opportunities are not evenly distributed, and guys like Crowley have practical experience dealing with these issues. Hong's campaign had platitudes without any real substance. It didn't help that she had some really boneheaded past statements that she said to sound edgy. I also think a lot of voters want equal opportunities and a reasonable safety net floor, not equal outcomes.
If you're the pasty white guy trying to pretend you're something you're not, then voters will see through that and stay on the couch on election day. Show that you care and you've got a practical plan to help improve their lives? Yea, you're going to get votes.
I think you lose a lot of black voters when you start saying shit like “abolish prisons”. The DSA has some absolutely moronic policy positions that they need to shed if they ever hope to be a legitimate political force.
I agree with that. But again, this isn't a "black" issue and it's not a white suburban latte liberal issue. It's a simple "most Americans think we should have fair laws and enforce them". That's like 90% of the country, regardless of political party.
Instead of saying you want to abolish prisons or the police, you should be saying "we want to make sure this is fair and accountable". You will appeal to swing voters who lean right with that kind of talk and you can't be converted to fox news hyperbole with a statement like that.
The message Democrats should take from this is that voters are much more simpatico to DSA than they believed a year ago. If they don't pay attention to that message, they could lose elections.
Francesca Hong came in tied to the establishment candidate--in a big field--in Wisconsin.
And this is not good news for Republicans. Democratic voters are not afraid of them any more. Twelve years of Criminal Trump changed a lot of minds.
We’ve always referred to him in our house as Ross Dumbhat. Just thought I’d share.
The mistake a lot of nonblack democrats make when they try to appeal to black voters is that they act like they're trying to appeal to the black studies department. Lots and lots of talk about race and what boils down to about 20 different new affirmative action proposals.
Seems to me that most Black voters don't really want to hear that shit. They want to hear the same stuff the median general election voter wants to hear, just in a way that resonates with their own lives and experiences.
If the Democrats don’t realize that their margin of victory always comes from Black voters they have completely fallen asleep. However, the Democrats have to convince Black people that they will follow through and actually do things that will make their lives better. I think most Black people realize how much Trump hates them, but the Dems need to show that they are not afraid to be”woke.”
I guess I skimmed that column and said, "Douthat doesn't like liberal elites, this is not news". However perfectly respectable liberal outlets like the NYT and Matt Yglesias have said that MS schools are actually better than schools in blue states. I have had nothing to do with the public schools in MO my entire life but the quality of the schools does not have much to do with whether the state is red or blue. If Douthat was to live in Clayton or Ladue or even St. Louis with the magnet schools that are meant to keep white kids in the city he would be able to send his kids to decent schools.
I surmise that the world according to Douthat is the world according to the Tikvah Fund where students just do not learn enough about America or American history in order to be good citizens who know what needs to change and what needs to be conserved. That would be a civic collapse for sure.
Other observations:
the quality of schools in rural Missouri is so bad that even Eric Greitens ran on it
In St. Louis we have an extensive ecosystem of at least reasonable Catholic schools where I cannot imagine Douthat would not send his kids
part 2
Soapbox
Dear Voters:
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Woodrow Wilson became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Eisenhower became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Reagan became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Bill Clinton became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Obama became President?
Are you happy with how badly our Republic has been run since Trump became President? Does tyranny, bribery, and corruption bother you? Do you get angry when you are denied Liberty and Freedom? Do you get angry when Judges on US Supreme Court are enemies of the Constitution? Do you get angry when members of Congress do not know what the Constitution says?
Questions for candidates
How do you plan on improving Social Security disability?
How do you plan on improving Social Security retirement?
Will you support employing more Administrative Law Judges for Social Security disability who are Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court that Congress gets to employ?
How do you think we should change the way we fund our schools so that people will likely pay more into Social Security while they work?
Do you think people should have the Liberty and Freedom to have Social Security retirement accounts?
What is your plan to improve the finances of Social Security?
What is your plan to reduce the national debt so that there will be less inflation?
What is your plan to help people retire younger?
What is your plan to improve Medicare?
What is your plan to improve VA?
Do you think our largest banks and investment companies should be broken up into 4 or more equal pieces each and do you support a stronger version of Glass Steagall?
Part of my plan for our Republic
The leading cause of poverty in the USA now is the design of Social Security. You might pay into Social Security for over 40 year and die before 60 years of age and your family only gets a small death benefit. The longer people have to work before retire more people going to die before retire and the shorter their lives will likely be after retire.
GAO discussed Social Security disability in 1997. CBS discussed that over 100,000 have died waiting to see an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security Disability. I think over 200,000 have died waiting to see an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security Disability since January 1998. Have over 200,000 died waiting to get Medicare after getting Social Security Disability when not qualify for Medicaid since January 1998?
Do people in our Republic believe in Liberty and Freedom?
If they do, they believe adults should be allowed to smoke in restaurants that allow smoking.
If they do, they believe more drugs should be legalized for adults to use.
If they do, they believe people should be allowed to invest up to 25 percent of their Social Security taxes into Social Security Retirement Accounts. Social Security tax should be placed on all wages a person makes in a year including stock options - difference between bought at and sold at.
How many millions of people have died before turning 60 after paying into Social Security for over 30 years?
There should be a new 3 percent Social Security tax on wages above $1 million a year. Employers should not match a person's Social Security taxes on wages above $100,000 a year.
I expect black families to be the families that benefit the most from Social Security retirement accounts. I expect many will pour their money into their family businesses. I expect they will help black males to live longer lives and over time to help reduce maternal mortality which is sky high for black families in the USA. I read over 33 years ago that black males are likely to live shorter lives than white males in the USA.
Social Security should allow people to invest up to 25 percent of their Social Security taxes into retirement/investment accounts and have this money used to pay for
Funeral costs
Life insurance
Short term disability insurance
Long term disability insurance
Health insurance plans
Health care costs
Gold
Silver
Index mutual funds
Mutual funds
Government bonds
For themselves, family members, others.
Government bonds including bonds that are used to build and run food banks, supermarkets in food deserts, homeless shelters, houses on Native American reservations, high quality affordable public housing apartments that are NOT in public housing towers, public k-12 schools, free child care centers, free elder care centers, free job training, etc.
The bonds, free child care, free elder care, free job training will likely increase tax revenues for local governments, state governments, federal government.
Life involves risks. Each person should get to decide if want to have Social Security retirement/investment account. If people put money into Social Security retirement/investment account, need to realize this may reduce amount of money people get if become disabled and when retired. Do people care about Individual Liberty and Individual freedom?
GAO discussed Social Security Disability backlog in 1997.
Over 100,000 have died waiting to see an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security Disability.
Congress has the power to employ Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court and Administrative Law Judges are Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court.
People in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are more likely to become disabled than die.
CHANGING SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
When people first apply for Social Security disability, they are able to get attorneys for a percentage of past due benefits.
When people have Social Security Disability and Social Security says person is no longer disabled, person should be able to get an attorney for a percentage of monthly benefits during the review process and Social Security should hold onto attorney fees during review process.
Medicare should start when first qualify for Social Security disability.
People should be allowed to buy into Medicare for all. They should not have to buy into Medicare for all.
USA should never have just Medicare for All.
When Democratic Party was in control of the US House of Representatives, the Indian Health Service did forced sterilizations of Native American females.
Congress should back our currency with gold, silver, other valuable commodities, federal government owned lands.
Need over $900 now to buy what $250 could buy in January 1981 when national debt was under $1 trillion.
Congress should be in control of Federal Reserve.
Gold coins and silver coins minted in the USA by Federal government should not be taxed.
State governments and the federal government should stop taxing money people receive from Social Security Disability and Social Security retirement. Governments are stealing from people when they tax money they get from Social Security. They paid taxes to get the benefits.
Senior citizens should not be punished for working while they get Social Security. There benefits should not be reduced because they work.
Increasing the age people have to be to receive Social Security increases the odds people will never get money from Social Security.
Keeping people from receiving Social Security because they earn more than X amount will likely lead to the end of Social Security.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Scot Stremsky
JVL, agree, love to pile on 'douche douthat', as a total Harvard College fraud( they really are good at getting the best!?!?). This guy 'douchy--Ross)' is hombre malo despite any protestations to the contrary--as Churchill is attributed--just a matter of price! You have highlighted his most recent verbal flails but he embodies the root cause of why @nytimes just ain't what it used to be,not sure if he was placed by the Andrew Rosenthal (ie the beginning of the end for the editorial board) or not! But I do think he, Bari Weiss and Bilton need to be made to live and work in TN so that 60 minutes will die a fast death!
So grateful for you saying what needed to be said about Black voters! Long overdue recognition of reality! Wake up and get real, folks, or we blow the only chance we may have for years to come.
Douthat’s final column made me want to puke. What a sign of the times that his next stop is the newly trumpified 60 Minutes! He’ll feel right at home in that Through-The-Looking-Glass version of an American institution. Go to hell, Russ. Oh wait, that IS going to hell.
Yes, all in the comfort of one's own home.
Well, I'll say this for Ross. He is attempting the impossible feat of being a intellectual AND a Trump appolgist. That's got to be a bit of a trick. I would feel kind of sorry for him, but screw him. He'll be fine apologizing for Trump on 60 minutes and making a nice living. At least I won't have to bear the presence of his NYT columns. So, there's that.
...to an ever dwindling 60 Minutes audience.
Strange I am getting the sense that JVL does not like Ross Douthat. I could never have guessed that JVL does not like Ross at all. I must have missed something somewhere.