The Patriot Post® · National Review Bucks the Trump Train

By Dan Gilmore ·
https://patriotpost.us/articles/40206-national-review-bucks-the-trump-train-2016-01-22

The magazine whose writers developed the political philosophy embraced by Ronald Reagan, uniting a broad swath of America under a banner of Liberty, has opposed Donald Trump in its most recent edition. The editors of National Review wrote in their editorial, “If [the Republican Party] cannot advance a compelling working-class agenda, the legitimate anxieties and discontents of blue-collar voters will be exploited by demagogues. We sympathize with many of the complaints of Trump supporters about the GOP, but that doesn’t make the mogul any less flawed a vessel for them. Some conservatives have made it their business to make excuses for Trump and duly get pats on the head from him. Count us out. Donald Trump is a menace to American conservatism who would take the work of generations and trample it underfoot in behalf of a populism as heedless and crude as the Donald himself.”

Predictably, Trump took to his Twitter feed to rant about the criticism Thursday night. “National Review is a failing publication that has lost it’s [sic] way,” he mocked. “It’s [sic] circulation is way down w its influence being at an all time low. Sad!” In his next quip, Trump said, “Very few people read the National Review because it only knows how to criticize, but not how to lead.” The lack of self-awareness is astounding.

Already, the principled stand for the publication comes at a price. The Republican National Committee dropped the magazine from co-sponsoring debates and forums, like the forum scheduled for Feb. 25, because NR expressed a bias against one of the participants. Trump may gloat, but he and his “New York Values” are no Reagan 2.0. Reagan stood for Liberty — something that doesn’t seem to be as popular as it used to be.

Did we mention that Trump has never once voted in a Republican primary? He’s also changed his registration four times in the last 16 years, and endorsed Barack Obama in 2008.