170 Comments

We need warriors like you, not pontificators like Harris. The left plays to win, we have to play that way too.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

Wow! You’ve thrown down the challenge. Good for you CF. For all the rational and thoughtful messaging coming from IDW contributors, there is definitely a disconnect and an aversion to taking action to confront all they know is abhorrent. It’s beyond disappointing. I look forward to more debates between you and IDW thinkers. The Jordan Peterson discussion was brilliant - after you threw out your challenge to him. Maybe McWhorter next?

Your example of McWhorter, whom I admire, reminds me of many friends and family who cling to the Democrat party. Some very good thinkers, but unable or unwilling to face the disconnect between their personal moral compass and the 180° differences with the Democrat party. It must be hard to admit, let alone confront , your own support /abdication of radical left ideologies that the Democrat leadership and supporting bureaucracy has created. Some seem to cling to one singular issue, like Pro-Choice, which drowns out all the other destructive positions of their party leadership.

Thank you for being a warrior.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

This is the best thing polemic essay I've read/listened to in quite some time. It, along with the revelation in recent weeks that these growing and seemingly impenetrable DEI structures are largely Potemkin villages protected by paper tigers, gives me hope.

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The problem with the IDW types is that they fundamentally believe that wokeism is simply just liberalism gone off the rails and their solution is to just turn the dial of liberalism back to the liberalism of the 80s and 90s. The problem with this solution is that wokeism and this obsession with gender/race is a result of liberalism, so it was always inevitable.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

I voted Republican in the midterms for the first time in my 20 year voting history as a lefty in California. I’m a therapist and a homeschooler and I could not, in good conscience, give my vote to the party hurting kids and disrespecting parents both in schools and in clinical gender “care.” Thanks for your work 🙏🏽

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

Chris again you are right on the mark of where we need to be right now at this moment in time in America. I had this exact same debate with my sister last month.

We are libertarians and have been for over forty years. But. Over those years I have shifted my perspective, for practical purposes. I have come to realize that libertarianism not unlike Marxism is a utopian vision that will never be within reach.

I still have the philosophy of libertarianism in my heart,free markets, limited government and free social interactions.

The philosophy is not practical. And, today the threats against liberty are dire. It is has gone beyond philosophical discussions albeit how very important they are to problems we now face.

We have to become fearless and proudly make our arguments against Marxism known.

And just as important there are people across the world hoping we do fight for a free world.

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I live in Florida so am quite aware of your political efforts. As a grassroots activist in the Republican Party of Florida I applaud your perspective and your dedication. And thank you so much for it

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

You are the next gen, the idw was a start and you are leading the future.

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What the IDW had in common was mostly that they were intellectuals and academics. To start, you are self selecting people that neither understand politics (or the way the world really works for that matter) nor are willing to get their hands dirty. Plus, as public intellectuals, they cannot betray intellectual purity or they lose their standing. What Covid showed was that many of them (self described classical liberals or libertarians) never understood what liberty really meant, or just weren't that smart. That many still don't understand that you cannot have academic freedom under a DEI regime confirms that many just don't understand the world in which we are living. Lastly, true classical liberals and conservatives need to be allies in the fight against wokeness. Properly understood, our differences are minor and our goals nearly identical.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

Excellent video, so much to be discussed here. I agree that the IDW has splintered, and I think it was mostly intended to be a diverse collection of thinkers, and I still like most of them, although Sam Harris really went off the deep end, I really can't respect him anymore. The others I still like, Bari Weiss has a good substack although she's one of these 'radical centrists' imo, which gets to the problem you are discussing.

I know others have discussed it and your video does a better job than most of diagnosing it. But there's a strand in American politics where people will aim to rise above the political fray; claim they don't like either party, etc. And that's a fair thing to say, you can think both parties are bad. It's not unlikely. The thing that they seem to miss is how unlikely it is that they are bad in the EXACT same proportion. That's hard for me to think. So you have to choose which is less bad, even if you think both are bad. But these people I think derive their influence from trying to maintain an image of being above the fray. Not realizing that if you do that, you are simply cementing the status quo. You cannot change it with that mindset, as you ably point out.

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Mar 6, 2023·edited Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

My favorite part of what you did here, was to make me rethink what I write about. I need to push "what to do" as opposed to simply pointing out what the problems are. Thanks Chris.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

Great article - I totally agree. I am a fan of all those folks you mention. But one key thing I think you overlooked is the financial benefit that many of those thinker/writers now get from being independent i.e. publishing on Substack. Stoking outrage (without action) is a proven moneymaker in publishing. To a certain extent, these thinkers/writers have benefitted greatly without action. I see glimmers of leadership every now and then but then they fade back to criticism only. And why not? Once you have a growing monetized platform, it is very, very difficult to give that up to do proven and profitable process for something else. Kudos to you Mr. Rufo, for being a great thinker, writer and DO-ER! But please don't let your financial success on Substack make you go soft!

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

"It looks like choosing one of two political parties as your vehicle for political change and as a necessary operator in your theory of social, intellectual, cultural, and political change." I understand the necessity of using one of our two political parties (Republican) as a vehicle for change but given the nature of the vehicle there are risks associated with it. Trump in 2020 was desperate for something to bump him up in the polls and for that reason only he got a last-minute religious conversion and issued his executive order banning CRT in the federal government. Two Republican governors took your message to heart and proved they can win with it, but what did the GOP do in the midterms last year? You want to use the GOP as a vehicle for change, but the vehicle wants to use you for something else. The real fight in 2024 will be the Republican primaries.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

Here is your PROBLEM. I can go along w/anti-DEI stuff from DeSantis. But will never give up my reproductive rights. So here I am, a willing anti-DEI voter, in the Majority on Reproductive Rights --- and you give me Ron DeSantis??!! That is the problem with your movement. Give us a Pro-Choice, Anti-DEI Republican. There is your winner. No need for your brain trust. That advice at no charge.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

BAM! Chris Rufo, you nailed it. I've been dismayed to see the "tap out" as you call it from so many great thinkers who seemed to be coming forward in our cause. These people consider themselves our intellectual "betters" - and they may well be. We need them now more than ever! Unfortnunately, we rank and file conservatives, God lovers, and even regular Republicans are just too low status in their world for them to publically line up with us. We put too much "stink" on them by association in the elite circles where they have dinner. The social fall, unfriending, (and ego deflation) is just too much for them to bear. I kind of get that. But they can no longer stand on the sidelines - not if they want freedom, liberty and a goverment ruling with the consent of the governed. I "left the left" and it was not easy for me to swallow my pride and admit I was wrong about things I banged on the table about. How must it be for them? Your piece lays it out perfectly. I'm increasing my support $. Keep up the great work.

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Mar 6, 2023Liked by Christopher F. Rufo

Great and insightful analysis. I think many of us had almost given up that anyone would DO anything! The critique of what was happening was great, but something needed to be DONE.

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