This is hilarious. What a great metaphor. I've felt similarly reading this column over the past few years. Vance triggers leftist cultural sensitivities.
What threatens them about a family man, who served in the military, went to Yale Law on a scholarship, met a woman he probably would not have if he stayed in Kentucky and married her? Who cares who gave him money to start a business. He wouldn't be successful if he didn't start somewhere. I find Thiel less of a bad guy than Soros, who funds the RADICAL left.
So I couldn't resist and found that Mr. Berenson's parents were an art dealer (Mom) and had a property tax consultancy practice (Dad). Hmmm, looks like a wee bit of a silver spoon. Alex attends Yale undergrad and goes on to have a very distinguished career as a journalist (NYT no less) and is a bestselling fiction author.
Mr. Berenson has honed his instincts with great journalistic experience - so he needs to stop beating around the bush and say he believes JD Vance is not authentic, is hiding something, is dishonest etc. I get Mr. Berenson does not like, or even respect, Peter Thiel, but get to the bottom of it with the facts/truth or move on.
I learned a new word today Ryan! Perfectly describes how this ridiculous piece on Vance was written. Who doesn’t try & fit into a new world they find themselves in as they find their way in the world? There’s a good scene in Hillbilly Elegy where JD finds himself sitting at a luncheon table with Yale elites. He has no idea what silverware to use in what order to use it or on what food & panics. He calls Ursa for advice. She says entertain them with your story on the Hatfield & McCoys! She knows it’s the stereotype they expect - and she’s right.
That must have been in the movie because in the book he spits out his sparkling water (thought it was just like regular water) and then calls her to explain the deal about ten thousand utensils around the plate. There is no mention of hatfields or mccoys.
I may take scorn for this but if I don't say it, the rocks will cry out. In 2019, Mr. Vance converted to Catholicism. Is it possible he had a literal "come to Jesus" moment? If real, he was changed. I realize you don't believe this Alex. God will be the judge, for which I am thankful.
idk if it's fair to assume alex's beliefs, but vance's religous conversion is a well known story & should have been mentioned in alex's article. feels new york times-ey to leave it out.
Thanks! Was contemplating writing something similar. Converts like Vance are usually the most zealous and orthodox. The exact opposite of the Biden and Pelosi demons….better for them to have a “great millstone around their necks and thrown into the depths of the sea.”
A lot of people were wrong about Trump, I among them. Or at least, we underestimated him.
Many of us voted for him b/c he wasn't HRC. She had made herself a known quantity over decades. Him? He said a lot of the right things while campaigning. He also had a track record of working with and financially supporting Democrats. Would he be a wolf in sheep's clothing? There's no shortage of politicians who double-cross those who vote for them.
He far surpassed what many of us hoped for. Having heard exactly this from many others, I know I'm not alone.
Is it so far-fetched to think Vance misjudged Trump? It isn't to me.
You seem to be ignoring, or at lest discounting, the policy changes that have occurred within the democrat party during the last 10-15 years, and how all of these changes (open borders, sexual mutilation of children, deficit spending, authoritarianism, “Soros” prosecutors, DEI, CRT, ESG, homelessness policies, neoconism, lawfare, media corruption, school closures, etc. etc. etc.) have affected most of us, including Vance.
Compare JD's military service and Walz's. Walz quit the National Guard when he found out his division was going to be going to Iraq. He was a Sergeant, who left his men.
well said - 100% agree! Alex seems to ignore or forget how & why people develop opinions etc. Our values develop over the years base don what we learn/see/live. JD has developed very well in my opinion. And Alex you write like you did not listen or read the entire talk JD gave where he expressed opinion on "cat ladies". While I agree it was not well said it was well reasoned and he started out clarifying who specifically he was referring to.
I'd like to get Alex's views on what I think is one of the big stories of recent years - Our elites have conspired to withhold any advertising spends at conservative or alternative-media, "truth-seeking" sites.
Follow the money. Who got her that fancy job title at a company affiliated with Amazon? Was our Second Gentleman REALLY "vetted" by Team Biden four years ago? If he was, sleeping with your kids' Nanny is a nothing burger and is not considered an indicator of personal prurient character (for him and the lady that later married him). Sigh.
But Trump assaulted a woman in a dressing room sometime in the 80s?? She doesn't know the date. How can you not remember the date of a traumatic event like that??? NY also changed the Statute of Limitations so they could go after Trump. Doug impregnates a woman who was his kid's nanny and that's all good?
Exactly! Also, I can't imagine that happening in a dressing room and for some odd reason, no one else knew about it. I don't believe it for a minute. The money awarded to that woman is beyond disgusting and criminal.
Just like that woman who accused Kavanaugh. She didn't know where or when she was raped. Have you ever seen a video of E Jean Carroll? She is unbalanced to say the least. There is a video of her at her home that is shown on one of Patrick Bet David's YouTube videos. He and his guests were discussing her because the trial was going on at the time. Loony Toons doesn't begin to describe her. (Look for the video with Jessie Watters as a guest.)
"If he was, sleeping with your kids' Nanny is a nothing burger and is not considered an indicator of personal prurient character (for him and the lady that lady married him). Sigh." If it matters not, who has slept with whom, then the freakin' mainstream media should drop the noise about Trump's less than stellar past in that dept. Not saying that is desirable behavior, just looking at what's going on in the media.
Who was that man who searched the world looking for one honest man? I wonder how long it would take him to find one man in a position of power (or in Washington D.C.) who had been completely faithful to his spouse?
I wrote about Nannygate at my Substack ... but I focussed on an interesting factoid from this Daily Mail scoop - e.g. the "elite" are different than you and me - which is actually the theme Alex might be touching on with this story.
Members of Club Elite want their children to attend elite or exclusive private schools ... so they too can one day be in the Club.
the timing of nannygate was fairly convenient in the sense that the internet started questioning the fact that he admitted to attending a cycling class in west hollywood that is not known to be super heterosexual.
so, they leak a story about foisting himself on a vulnerable employee & forcing her to get an abortion, because to the left - that is business as usual for male feminists and they don't fear the "tut-tutting" of the right.
Oh yes, it was such a "moral" outrage to the Dems of California, who collectively are some of the most sick, amoral politicians anywhere. False outrage, of course, and more so because he was Republican. Arnold's son from that liaison looks more like him than his other children, interestingly. The same people weren't especially upset about Kamala "Heels Up" Harris' dalliance with the still-married Willie Brown.
Just Alex trying to find reasons to vote for the Democrats. Can’t believe he cares nothing about the country and world his kids will live in should the authoritarian socialists win in November.
I just heard Dennis Prager interviewing John Hinderaker (of the Powerline Blog). He lives in Minnesota, and discussed what a radical leftist Walz is and how he has wrecked the state in a great many ways. In Hinderakers own words:
"As an American, I am horrified at Walz’s selection. He is small-minded, mean-spirited man. In one way, he will fit in with the Harris ticket: he ran a basement campaign for re-election in 2022, refusing to show up for debates with Republican Scott Jensen after the first one went badly. So Jensen was left debating an empty chair."
One of my favorite TV shows growing up was "The Beverly Hillbillies." It's about a family of hillbillies who end up in Beverly Hills after their father literally struck black gold (oil) while hunting possums back in the hills of Tennessee.
He had a beautiful daughter, Ellie Mae, but she never learned how to cook biscuits that weren't as hard as rocks. But Granny, who lived with the family, was an excellent cook.
The show makes many provocative points about society, differences between rural folk and elites, etc.
After I watched this show, I watched a show called "Gilligan's Island." It was about a man named Gilligan who got stranded on a deserted island after a "three-hour storm." One of the men on the island was a rich banker from, maybe, Beverly Hills. He might have known the Clampetts. I'm not sure.
I really don’t get the point of JD Vance Part I and II, other than it’s a thought experiment. Perhaps a little self-indulgent but it’s Alex’s prerogative. It’s his Substack.
As for the ‘mocking’ of childless ladies, listen to the podcast where JD gave his answer in full. He was hypothetically speaking, not mocking women. It’s clear from his qualifying statement at the beginning. And his point is valid. But people can pretend they hear otherwise and be obtuse. It’s politics.
I don't even mind the CCL comments. It's true--power diffusing into more and more people who are fundamentally different than the general population is not a good thing. Its not ALL those CCL, but we know exactly what and who he's talking about. Alex calls it "rude" but wants to allow the lies around it and the lies around us. My concerns with JD have more to do with his increasing assent on government interventions to fix things (uh-oh). I had hoped Alex was going to address that more.
As a person who did grow up in a poor rural community, and then left it to attend a state university (commuting several years of that to save money), and then an Ivy League law school, I relate to the very real conflicts with which JD Vance wrestles. You work hard to "leave it behind" and then when you get to the shining city of success, you realize that the people you left behind were kinder and more rich in spirit and in faith (despite their daily troubles), than those who seemingly "have it all". You experience some real cognitive dissonance, and you have to come to terms with it. It doesn't mean that you want to live back in the town that you came from, because you are no longer the person who lived there, but it does give you a different perspective in the rearview mirror than you had when you were solely looking out the windshield to the horizon. You can still be frustrated that people get in a slump, and still recognize that not all of it is their own making. It's actually not that far off from those who work for the homeless in the urban centers--often one might feel frustration that those in need can't seem to stop making their lives worse by their choices, but one still feels compelled to try to help them "one more time" because one realizes that not ALL of it is within their control.
Similarly, one can also say "I dislike everything about Trump's personal life, speech patterns, and personality, but still think that he has the best policies and therefore feel the need to support him." They are really two sides of the same coin, Vance's conflicts over his community and his conflicts over Trump.If you've never experienced these wholly diverging life experiences, it's hard to understand. I think your piece reflects, frankly, less about JD Vance than it does, perhaps, about your more insulated life. That's not a knock on you--we each live the life we've lived, but perhaps you might want to ponder these points a bit.
I saw a clip of JD Vance recently in which he was asked about his former disdain for Trump. Like so many, he had been initially put off by Trump's personality and manner. However, he said after observing Trump's policies and accomplishments over his 4 years as President, he changed his mind and re-evaluated the man. I don't know why that is so bad. I wish more voters could put aside their hatred of Trump (hatred for a person they don't even know, but who they have been brainwashed into detesting thanks to the media) long enough to rationally examine his policies vs. our recent Biden policies and the effects of each. Just look at policies and results and decide based on that, rather than on a brash personality type. After all, we not electing a Pope or a God to the office of President.
I have a similar experience too. I don't think Alex understands or relates to it. This is something Rob Henderson wrote about and has been talking about. Maybe Alex can give Rob a call and get some perspective if he can't hear us.
Linda, I am from West Virginia, and while I had the great privilege of being raised by hillbillies who had escaped the hardscrabble poverty of their forebears and pulled themselves up via the United Mine Workers on one side and on the other, a grandmother who was a schoolteacher in a holler outside of Gauley Bridge, a totally Waltons-like character in her push for education to move up and out, I saw early those who lived the same kind of life you're describing. I wept reading Vance's book because I see it all every time I drive over to visit relatives in South Charleston. It's all around, and South Charleston is solidly middle class. It depresses me. Every time I think I might want to move back to West Virginia (family left for Los Angeles when I was 7), I take a drive over to see the cousins and come home saying to myself, "Hell no." (Not because of the cousins, but because of what is so apparent in the atmosphere.) I feel deeply for someone who had people he loved with all his might who urged him to go for it, and that he has gotten to where he is--oh my. He is a champion. I'm sure I'll find out I don't agree with him on everything, but YOU GO J.D.!!
Your comment is the most perceptive, I think. I think Alex has a sound mind and is a rational thinker (no small thing nowadays) but he does not know or understand the working class. I grew up in a mostly blue collar Midwestern town. Vance’s story sounds to me like the evolution of a man who has ascended to the heights he could only imagine and dream of during his childhood. But once he arrived, he found all was not rainbows and butterflies and humanity is not always the better for success. He recalibrated. I don’t think this is the ‘is he pulling the wool over our eyes?’ story that you think it is.
I agree. I think JD is young and doubling down when he needs to give (on the cat lady thing and should frame it as policy as offering people economic stability so they can choose a family if they want it) but I like the bones of his belief system, in which he has consistently, always said he's for the people who have been left behind. The billionaire backing him is not at all similiar to the ones backing Kamala. I think JD, for all his imperfectons and ambitions, genuinely cares about the working class and that makes him very interesting. I look forward to his future evolution.
"I think your piece reflects, frankly, less about JD Vance than it does, perhaps, about your more insulated life." I had a lot of things in my head that I was trying to put into words, but at the bottom of it all is this exact feeling. Especially for those who did NOT grow up and go to school with "the elites", JD's story makes perfect sense. And Alex seems to relate to some of it - he is now also looked down upon by those same people. But he didn't start on the outside, and he seems to hold out hope of being one of them again. He distrusts Vance for what seem to me to be odd reasons. I keep wondering if he actually read the book. If he did I feel like many of his questions would be answered. Just watching the movie will not give you those answers.
And like some others I also consider his conversion to Catholicism to be something that Alex does not seem to consider to be part of his story, and yet is very much part of it.
One of my father's favorite admonishments was to "walk a mile in the other man's shoes" before passing judgement. That is easier said than done, and JD's miles are so foreign to Alex that I'm not sure he could do that if he tried.
Thank you for sharing this perspective. I didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, but by 2020 I had seen him govern. The irony of calling the man a dictator when he chose federalism at a time of global crisis tailor made to give him dictator powers!!! Alex and other never Trumpers can seemingly never perform this sober analysis of the four years Trump was in office. Despite truly “unprecedented”, “resistance”, we had some of the best years of d we White House governance in my lifetime.
"So who’s the real JD Vance?" Why can't he be both? Why can't he be all of these things? A mess of contradictions, like all humans are? His path doesn't seem that odd to me. I also went to Yale, worked in high-powered law firms, even voted for Hilary. I didn't like Trump's attitude or demeanor at first, but I liked how he sitrred things up with the ruling class. And then the lockdowns happened. And the masks came off. And childless cat ladies kept my kid out of school. It is possible to be part of the elite and also be a contrarian. I wish we had more people like that.
I'm a "never Watzer," (a retired nurse midwife who finds the idea of term abortions where live Minnesota babies are not cared for evil barbarism.) May have to hold my nose and vote for Donald Trump. And I'm just kidding on the hold my nose part. I voted for Trump in 2016, not exactly holding my nose, but I did find his braggadociousness and narcissism challenging. Still do. But like JD I've changed my mind. It helps me to see Trump as a NY businessman, entertainer, and social influencer. And mostly, hopefully, a continued disrupter of the Federal swamp.
Especially clowns who want total control over us. If they win, we'll all be censored by the DHS. Remember their mis, dis and mal information bureau? They get to dictate what is misinformation etc.
Brogan, you may have just hit on a brilliant moniker for Walz. It would be good to remind voters of the insanity of putting tampons in 4th grade boys’ bathrooms. “Tampon Tim” is quite clever. Kudos.
Wish I could take credit for it as it's been coined and mentioned quite a lot by those in upper Midwest and especially in MN. It IS good though isn't it lol. Would be hilarious if Trump would USE it, but just a tad too much on that level, but let us RIP IT!
That so many Democrats are ga ga over Walz sure tells me a lot about the character of Democrats. I struggle to understand how rational, supposedly educated people can blindly support such a person.
well, yeah - one of the major subtopics of this election has become the age of our political class. i believe like 20% of congress is over 70 years old, and a few are over 80!
so, trump picks someone who is young and fresh, and kamala picks someone who looks like his wife moves the salt shaker just out of his reach at every meal because she's afraid of what the doctor told him during his last physical about his high blood pressure.
Walz is a vile piece of socialist trash. He didn’t bother campaigning outside of the Twin Cities metro area because that’s where all his fellow collectivists dwell. He said outstate Minnesota was filled with nothing but Rocks and Cows (which, incidentally, led to an entertaining FB group but I digress). He visited a county fair in northern Minnesota for about 10 minutes, hightailing it out when he was accosted by angry citizens. Read up on the Feeding Our Future scandal, $250M stolen by Somalians supposedly feeding Minnesota children. Absolute no oversight by the state and the Timbicile™️ Administration. Various other frauds. Crickets from Tampon Timmy. Three billion dollar surplus which he not only piddled away but he and his sycophant legislature RAISED taxes on Minnesotans. “One person’s socialism is another’s neighborliness”. I get mad even writing about this pompous redistributor. I need to stop now.
Alex needs deprogramming. He’s still a holier than thou NY socialist. He claims the right to use sarcasm but Vance can’t with his cat lady jab. Anybody who’s not a leftist understands who Vance was talking about. Hey Alex, ever read Thatcher’s quote; “the facts of life are conservative.”
clearly vance wasn't talking about people with fertility issues.
he was speaking to all the girl bosses who were told they can "have it all" but found out that really means "making powerpoints all day for your mean boss" - then cry into their 4th glass of wine when they are alone at every major holiday.
Good Lord. How do you not know better than this? Kamala called Joe Biden a racist during a primary debate (on national TV, broadcast by the liberal MSM no less) and was STILL his VP pick. You wasted two articles on this topic. Please stick to being wrong about mRNA shots being dead and going away while they are STILL being required by employers and schools across the country. A broken clock is right twice a day, Broken clock 2, Mr. Berenson 0.
I don't even care if Vance is just another politician. (P.S. Now do Kamala who has been busy sending her previous positions down the memory hole.) And why is this even important? I I am one of the many who will vote Trump/Vance because I see a greater danger in the banana republic lawfare of the Democrats and, perhaps more importantly, the threats posed by the unholy alliance between the Democrats and the state media.
It’s a challenge to find ANY policy defined in Kam/Wa ticket. Always mushy words so you can think what you like. All so it can be denied later when you don’t like what they did. This is CA politics strategy and by design. For many people, unfortunately, it works.
I just went to Harris' website. Not a single sentence relating to policy positions. Not one. But lots and lots of ways to donate to her campaign. It's all about the power...and the money, of course. Ugh! 🤮
As always they are counting on the great TDS psyop, and the SHEEP who bought into it to continue, and staying away from policy positions so they only vote based on "feeling" once again this election cycle. Like you said it's just one thing that matters...maintain POWER
I forgot the name of the CA campaign group who uses this playbook but it’s real and it works. The left and right look at her and see what they already believe. No pesky policies to get in the way. Independents might be more likely to notice the lack of substance?
To add yet another perspective on nation as place vs idea, here is Chris Rufo on England today:
“ The predominant theory among Western elites is that the content of mass migration—the particular people, and the culture they bring—is irrelevant. All groups are equal. Individuals are interchangeable. To think otherwise is to engage in bigotry.
This logic has a whiff of liberalism, but only in the most reductive, naïve sense. The truth is that, even if we believe in the principle that all men are created equal, this does not mean that all cultures are equal or interchangeable—far from it. The structure of a civilization is a delicate thing. Changing its citizens will, over time, change its form.
This process is underway in London. The buildings, avenues, and palaces look the same as before; there is still a parliament, a king, and the pound. But the central city feels hollowed out. The old connection between citizen and nation has been altered. The old bonds of culture have been frayed.
The situation in London recalls the Ship of Theseus, a thought experiment that asks whether, if every part of a ship is replaced, it is the same ship in the end. The answer, in our case, is a confident “no.” England without the Englishman would no longer be England. The form—parliamentary democracy, economic growth, liberal culture—might hold for a time, but eventually, it would give way, too.”
Alex, sorry to point this out, but self-awareness is important. It seems like you learned nothing from Kathie Sprong's thoughtful and polite response on your first Vance article.
So, ask yourself this Alex... You're in a battle for your liberty, your rights, and your country - likely literally and figuratively - whose foxhole are you jumping in during the heat of the battle, Harris-Walz or Trump-Vance? I know where I'm headed. FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
We are old, in our 8th decade, never the less we have literally prep for who knows what? The preparation is not for ourselves but for our 10 grandchildren and we will FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! for them and for the Republic.
Unfortunately, I read it. I find views contrary to my own somewhat informative. Like Vance, I changed my mind about Trump and, although I have two cats (as well as a wife and two daughters), I understand exactly what he was talking about when he spoke of “childless cat ladies”, because I have known too many of them in my life.
Enough already. You’re beating a dead horse on Vance.
The world is on fire! Might there be something else to dive into here, like the socialist far left VP pick for Harris?
Oh, lets not beat him up too bad, It's just the vestiges of that little Leftist homunculus he can't kill.
It's like an appendix...sometimes it just has to be "removed".
We're working on it!...:]
This is hilarious. What a great metaphor. I've felt similarly reading this column over the past few years. Vance triggers leftist cultural sensitivities.
What threatens them about a family man, who served in the military, went to Yale Law on a scholarship, met a woman he probably would not have if he stayed in Kentucky and married her? Who cares who gave him money to start a business. He wouldn't be successful if he didn't start somewhere. I find Thiel less of a bad guy than Soros, who funds the RADICAL left.
Just have to appreciate the well placed use of...homunculus Ryan 🤪
Ha! I had to look it up.
Indeed!
So I couldn't resist and found that Mr. Berenson's parents were an art dealer (Mom) and had a property tax consultancy practice (Dad). Hmmm, looks like a wee bit of a silver spoon. Alex attends Yale undergrad and goes on to have a very distinguished career as a journalist (NYT no less) and is a bestselling fiction author.
Mr. Berenson has honed his instincts with great journalistic experience - so he needs to stop beating around the bush and say he believes JD Vance is not authentic, is hiding something, is dishonest etc. I get Mr. Berenson does not like, or even respect, Peter Thiel, but get to the bottom of it with the facts/truth or move on.
I learned a new word today Ryan! Perfectly describes how this ridiculous piece on Vance was written. Who doesn’t try & fit into a new world they find themselves in as they find their way in the world? There’s a good scene in Hillbilly Elegy where JD finds himself sitting at a luncheon table with Yale elites. He has no idea what silverware to use in what order to use it or on what food & panics. He calls Ursa for advice. She says entertain them with your story on the Hatfield & McCoys! She knows it’s the stereotype they expect - and she’s right.
That must have been in the movie because in the book he spits out his sparkling water (thought it was just like regular water) and then calls her to explain the deal about ten thousand utensils around the plate. There is no mention of hatfields or mccoys.
It was in the movie.
Exactly right, Dena!
I may take scorn for this but if I don't say it, the rocks will cry out. In 2019, Mr. Vance converted to Catholicism. Is it possible he had a literal "come to Jesus" moment? If real, he was changed. I realize you don't believe this Alex. God will be the judge, for which I am thankful.
idk if it's fair to assume alex's beliefs, but vance's religous conversion is a well known story & should have been mentioned in alex's article. feels new york times-ey to leave it out.
You are right. I was unfair to assume.
Thanks! Was contemplating writing something similar. Converts like Vance are usually the most zealous and orthodox. The exact opposite of the Biden and Pelosi demons….better for them to have a “great millstone around their necks and thrown into the depths of the sea.”
He & Trump buried the hatchet long ago. A rare thing for a politician to admit they were wrong. I admire him all the more for it.
A lot of people were wrong about Trump, I among them. Or at least, we underestimated him.
Many of us voted for him b/c he wasn't HRC. She had made herself a known quantity over decades. Him? He said a lot of the right things while campaigning. He also had a track record of working with and financially supporting Democrats. Would he be a wolf in sheep's clothing? There's no shortage of politicians who double-cross those who vote for them.
He far surpassed what many of us hoped for. Having heard exactly this from many others, I know I'm not alone.
Is it so far-fetched to think Vance misjudged Trump? It isn't to me.
I think they admire each other. Trump is willing to forgive and forget also if shown respect.
You seem to be ignoring, or at lest discounting, the policy changes that have occurred within the democrat party during the last 10-15 years, and how all of these changes (open borders, sexual mutilation of children, deficit spending, authoritarianism, “Soros” prosecutors, DEI, CRT, ESG, homelessness policies, neoconism, lawfare, media corruption, school closures, etc. etc. etc.) have affected most of us, including Vance.
Compare JD's military service and Walz's. Walz quit the National Guard when he found out his division was going to be going to Iraq. He was a Sergeant, who left his men.
Alex, please don’t go in the direction where Bari’s TFP is going.
You can take the guy out of the NYT, but you apparently can’t take . . . . . ???
Exactly!!!!
100% agree. The lesser of other evils(?).
well said - 100% agree! Alex seems to ignore or forget how & why people develop opinions etc. Our values develop over the years base don what we learn/see/live. JD has developed very well in my opinion. And Alex you write like you did not listen or read the entire talk JD gave where he expressed opinion on "cat ladies". While I agree it was not well said it was well reasoned and he started out clarifying who specifically he was referring to.
I'd like to get Alex's views on what I think is one of the big stories of recent years - Our elites have conspired to withhold any advertising spends at conservative or alternative-media, "truth-seeking" sites.
This story isn't getting enough attention.
https://billricejr.substack.com/p/lets-get-ready-to-rumble
More on Nannygate, please!
Why was that a one-day non-scandal?
Follow the money. Who got her that fancy job title at a company affiliated with Amazon? Was our Second Gentleman REALLY "vetted" by Team Biden four years ago? If he was, sleeping with your kids' Nanny is a nothing burger and is not considered an indicator of personal prurient character (for him and the lady that later married him). Sigh.
But Trump assaulted a woman in a dressing room sometime in the 80s?? She doesn't know the date. How can you not remember the date of a traumatic event like that??? NY also changed the Statute of Limitations so they could go after Trump. Doug impregnates a woman who was his kid's nanny and that's all good?
Exactly! Also, I can't imagine that happening in a dressing room and for some odd reason, no one else knew about it. I don't believe it for a minute. The money awarded to that woman is beyond disgusting and criminal.
Especially since she says rape is sexy.
She really let down MSNBC with that comment. It didn't make her sound like a victim.
No one raped would say that.
Exactly! Then she told Rachel Maddow she would take her on a shopping spree with the money. She's a nut job.
Doesn't remember the day, month, season, or even the year.
Incredible.
Just like that woman who accused Kavanaugh. She didn't know where or when she was raped. Have you ever seen a video of E Jean Carroll? She is unbalanced to say the least. There is a video of her at her home that is shown on one of Patrick Bet David's YouTube videos. He and his guests were discussing her because the trial was going on at the time. Loony Toons doesn't begin to describe her. (Look for the video with Jessie Watters as a guest.)
"It's all good, Man."
Saul Goodman.
Not only does she not know the date but the dress as well. Absurd.
A Dem billionaire, Reid Hoffman, (co-founder of Linked In), bankrolled her lawsuit. He also gave Nikki Haley's campaign, money.
Why hasn’t this come out more? We know why…
Yep, we do know why. Dems keep their transactions quiet and the media won't report on it.
How old was the nanny he impregnated? I missed references of her age.
I don't know for sure but I estimate late 20s early 30s.
"If he was, sleeping with your kids' Nanny is a nothing burger and is not considered an indicator of personal prurient character (for him and the lady that lady married him). Sigh." If it matters not, who has slept with whom, then the freakin' mainstream media should drop the noise about Trump's less than stellar past in that dept. Not saying that is desirable behavior, just looking at what's going on in the media.
Who was that man who searched the world looking for one honest man? I wonder how long it would take him to find one man in a position of power (or in Washington D.C.) who had been completely faithful to his spouse?
I wrote about Nannygate at my Substack ... but I focussed on an interesting factoid from this Daily Mail scoop - e.g. the "elite" are different than you and me - which is actually the theme Alex might be touching on with this story.
Members of Club Elite want their children to attend elite or exclusive private schools ... so they too can one day be in the Club.
https://billricejr.substack.com/p/now-we-have-nannygate
the timing of nannygate was fairly convenient in the sense that the internet started questioning the fact that he admitted to attending a cycling class in west hollywood that is not known to be super heterosexual.
so, they leak a story about foisting himself on a vulnerable employee & forcing her to get an abortion, because to the left - that is business as usual for male feminists and they don't fear the "tut-tutting" of the right.
Sleeping with the Nanny? Like Pres, like Veep FG!
The Terminator did it. Wasn't he a two-term governor of California?
Oh yes, it was such a "moral" outrage to the Dems of California, who collectively are some of the most sick, amoral politicians anywhere. False outrage, of course, and more so because he was Republican. Arnold's son from that liaison looks more like him than his other children, interestingly. The same people weren't especially upset about Kamala "Heels Up" Harris' dalliance with the still-married Willie Brown.
Just Alex trying to find reasons to vote for the Democrats. Can’t believe he cares nothing about the country and world his kids will live in should the authoritarian socialists win in November.
I said after reading part one that Alex was trying to talk his subscribers out of voting for Trump because of Vance
Thanks. I was about to say something similar. Has Alex looked at Walz's tenure as governor of MN?
I just heard Dennis Prager interviewing John Hinderaker (of the Powerline Blog). He lives in Minnesota, and discussed what a radical leftist Walz is and how he has wrecked the state in a great many ways. In Hinderakers own words:
"As an American, I am horrified at Walz’s selection. He is small-minded, mean-spirited man. In one way, he will fit in with the Harris ticket: he ran a basement campaign for re-election in 2022, refusing to show up for debates with Republican Scott Jensen after the first one went badly. So Jensen was left debating an empty chair."
It's worth reading Hinderaker's assessment of Walz and he includes some charts showing the decline of education and other things under Walz: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/08/its-walz.php
The powerline blog has numerous articles about Walz. He seems thoroughly despicable, petty and tyrannical at best.
Did he know Mary Tyler Moore? Or Prince?
?
Are there no more COVID/Vax/Censorship stories? This is weak.
What the heck does Alex want for America? Freedom vs communism
One of my favorite TV shows growing up was "The Beverly Hillbillies." It's about a family of hillbillies who end up in Beverly Hills after their father literally struck black gold (oil) while hunting possums back in the hills of Tennessee.
He had a beautiful daughter, Ellie Mae, but she never learned how to cook biscuits that weren't as hard as rocks. But Granny, who lived with the family, was an excellent cook.
The show makes many provocative points about society, differences between rural folk and elites, etc.
After I watched this show, I watched a show called "Gilligan's Island." It was about a man named Gilligan who got stranded on a deserted island after a "three-hour storm." One of the men on the island was a rich banker from, maybe, Beverly Hills. He might have known the Clampetts. I'm not sure.
I really don’t get the point of JD Vance Part I and II, other than it’s a thought experiment. Perhaps a little self-indulgent but it’s Alex’s prerogative. It’s his Substack.
As for the ‘mocking’ of childless ladies, listen to the podcast where JD gave his answer in full. He was hypothetically speaking, not mocking women. It’s clear from his qualifying statement at the beginning. And his point is valid. But people can pretend they hear otherwise and be obtuse. It’s politics.
I don't even mind the CCL comments. It's true--power diffusing into more and more people who are fundamentally different than the general population is not a good thing. Its not ALL those CCL, but we know exactly what and who he's talking about. Alex calls it "rude" but wants to allow the lies around it and the lies around us. My concerns with JD have more to do with his increasing assent on government interventions to fix things (uh-oh). I had hoped Alex was going to address that more.
Or consider doing a deep dive into the VP herself and the Democrat Party that seems to have "lost the plot" some time ago.
Yes, deep dives on the other ticket is desperately needed. We are running out of time.
Hillbilly column inspiration - Alex Berenson. I'm a thankin' you.
https://billricejr.substack.com/p/hillbilly-elegy-brings-to-mind-americas
Amen!
As a person who did grow up in a poor rural community, and then left it to attend a state university (commuting several years of that to save money), and then an Ivy League law school, I relate to the very real conflicts with which JD Vance wrestles. You work hard to "leave it behind" and then when you get to the shining city of success, you realize that the people you left behind were kinder and more rich in spirit and in faith (despite their daily troubles), than those who seemingly "have it all". You experience some real cognitive dissonance, and you have to come to terms with it. It doesn't mean that you want to live back in the town that you came from, because you are no longer the person who lived there, but it does give you a different perspective in the rearview mirror than you had when you were solely looking out the windshield to the horizon. You can still be frustrated that people get in a slump, and still recognize that not all of it is their own making. It's actually not that far off from those who work for the homeless in the urban centers--often one might feel frustration that those in need can't seem to stop making their lives worse by their choices, but one still feels compelled to try to help them "one more time" because one realizes that not ALL of it is within their control.
Similarly, one can also say "I dislike everything about Trump's personal life, speech patterns, and personality, but still think that he has the best policies and therefore feel the need to support him." They are really two sides of the same coin, Vance's conflicts over his community and his conflicts over Trump.If you've never experienced these wholly diverging life experiences, it's hard to understand. I think your piece reflects, frankly, less about JD Vance than it does, perhaps, about your more insulated life. That's not a knock on you--we each live the life we've lived, but perhaps you might want to ponder these points a bit.
I saw a clip of JD Vance recently in which he was asked about his former disdain for Trump. Like so many, he had been initially put off by Trump's personality and manner. However, he said after observing Trump's policies and accomplishments over his 4 years as President, he changed his mind and re-evaluated the man. I don't know why that is so bad. I wish more voters could put aside their hatred of Trump (hatred for a person they don't even know, but who they have been brainwashed into detesting thanks to the media) long enough to rationally examine his policies vs. our recent Biden policies and the effects of each. Just look at policies and results and decide based on that, rather than on a brash personality type. After all, we not electing a Pope or a God to the office of President.
Same... and I completely agree. Well said.
“I think your piece reflects, frankly, less about JD Vance than it does, perhaps, about your more insulated life.”
Agreed.
Spot-on! I could not have said it better.
I have a similar experience too. I don't think Alex understands or relates to it. This is something Rob Henderson wrote about and has been talking about. Maybe Alex can give Rob a call and get some perspective if he can't hear us.
Linda, I am from West Virginia, and while I had the great privilege of being raised by hillbillies who had escaped the hardscrabble poverty of their forebears and pulled themselves up via the United Mine Workers on one side and on the other, a grandmother who was a schoolteacher in a holler outside of Gauley Bridge, a totally Waltons-like character in her push for education to move up and out, I saw early those who lived the same kind of life you're describing. I wept reading Vance's book because I see it all every time I drive over to visit relatives in South Charleston. It's all around, and South Charleston is solidly middle class. It depresses me. Every time I think I might want to move back to West Virginia (family left for Los Angeles when I was 7), I take a drive over to see the cousins and come home saying to myself, "Hell no." (Not because of the cousins, but because of what is so apparent in the atmosphere.) I feel deeply for someone who had people he loved with all his might who urged him to go for it, and that he has gotten to where he is--oh my. He is a champion. I'm sure I'll find out I don't agree with him on everything, but YOU GO J.D.!!
Your comment is the most perceptive, I think. I think Alex has a sound mind and is a rational thinker (no small thing nowadays) but he does not know or understand the working class. I grew up in a mostly blue collar Midwestern town. Vance’s story sounds to me like the evolution of a man who has ascended to the heights he could only imagine and dream of during his childhood. But once he arrived, he found all was not rainbows and butterflies and humanity is not always the better for success. He recalibrated. I don’t think this is the ‘is he pulling the wool over our eyes?’ story that you think it is.
I agree. I think JD is young and doubling down when he needs to give (on the cat lady thing and should frame it as policy as offering people economic stability so they can choose a family if they want it) but I like the bones of his belief system, in which he has consistently, always said he's for the people who have been left behind. The billionaire backing him is not at all similiar to the ones backing Kamala. I think JD, for all his imperfectons and ambitions, genuinely cares about the working class and that makes him very interesting. I look forward to his future evolution.
"I think your piece reflects, frankly, less about JD Vance than it does, perhaps, about your more insulated life." I had a lot of things in my head that I was trying to put into words, but at the bottom of it all is this exact feeling. Especially for those who did NOT grow up and go to school with "the elites", JD's story makes perfect sense. And Alex seems to relate to some of it - he is now also looked down upon by those same people. But he didn't start on the outside, and he seems to hold out hope of being one of them again. He distrusts Vance for what seem to me to be odd reasons. I keep wondering if he actually read the book. If he did I feel like many of his questions would be answered. Just watching the movie will not give you those answers.
And like some others I also consider his conversion to Catholicism to be something that Alex does not seem to consider to be part of his story, and yet is very much part of it.
One of my father's favorite admonishments was to "walk a mile in the other man's shoes" before passing judgement. That is easier said than done, and JD's miles are so foreign to Alex that I'm not sure he could do that if he tried.
So well said!
Beautifully written. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing this perspective. I didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, but by 2020 I had seen him govern. The irony of calling the man a dictator when he chose federalism at a time of global crisis tailor made to give him dictator powers!!! Alex and other never Trumpers can seemingly never perform this sober analysis of the four years Trump was in office. Despite truly “unprecedented”, “resistance”, we had some of the best years of d we White House governance in my lifetime.
Alex. Cut the crap. We gotta save this country. You really want Harris-Walz in WH????? You are bleeping kidding me. Quit the nit-picking.
TRUMP-VANCE 2024!
Yes!!
Ditto!!!
It's a no-brainer.
Waiting for this level of criticism for the other parties candidates. When can we expect those articles to drop Alex?
"So who’s the real JD Vance?" Why can't he be both? Why can't he be all of these things? A mess of contradictions, like all humans are? His path doesn't seem that odd to me. I also went to Yale, worked in high-powered law firms, even voted for Hilary. I didn't like Trump's attitude or demeanor at first, but I liked how he sitrred things up with the ruling class. And then the lockdowns happened. And the masks came off. And childless cat ladies kept my kid out of school. It is possible to be part of the elite and also be a contrarian. I wish we had more people like that.
Love you, but can't read these hit pieces on Vance while we are in crisis mode and we don't even know who is currently running the country.
The situation is catastrophic...but not serious...
Well at least he's not Tim Walz.
I'm a "never Watzer," (a retired nurse midwife who finds the idea of term abortions where live Minnesota babies are not cared for evil barbarism.) May have to hold my nose and vote for Donald Trump. And I'm just kidding on the hold my nose part. I voted for Trump in 2016, not exactly holding my nose, but I did find his braggadociousness and narcissism challenging. Still do. But like JD I've changed my mind. It helps me to see Trump as a NY businessman, entertainer, and social influencer. And mostly, hopefully, a continued disrupter of the Federal swamp.
Anybody is better than Harris/Walz. I never voted for Trump (I usually vote third party) but this time we can’t have another clown administration.
Especially clowns who want total control over us. If they win, we'll all be censored by the DHS. Remember their mis, dis and mal information bureau? They get to dictate what is misinformation etc.
Tampon Tim looks like the poster boy of SOY milk
Brogan, you may have just hit on a brilliant moniker for Walz. It would be good to remind voters of the insanity of putting tampons in 4th grade boys’ bathrooms. “Tampon Tim” is quite clever. Kudos.
Wish I could take credit for it as it's been coined and mentioned quite a lot by those in upper Midwest and especially in MN. It IS good though isn't it lol. Would be hilarious if Trump would USE it, but just a tad too much on that level, but let us RIP IT!
Ohhhh, “Hitler” versus “Tampon Tim”. I think we’re okay. LOL, indeed!
Oh yeah...Let er buck DJT. I kind of forgot that they call hm Hitler so often lol.
That so many Democrats are ga ga over Walz sure tells me a lot about the character of Democrats. I struggle to understand how rational, supposedly educated people can blindly support such a person.
Vance is WEIRD because he's a WHITE straight Christian man with a family.
Walz is definitely not WEIRD...CUZ...
"Don't ever shy away from our progressive values. One person's socialism is another person's neighborliness."
Half America might vote these people in....the other half may have to shoot their way out of socialism...something like that Mrs. Thatcher
it is odd that walz is only like 6 months older than kamala, but somehow looks 6 months older trump
Poster boy for what SOY milk does to a person 🤓 That and he probably uses toxic tampons in various orifices
I noticed that too.
well, yeah - one of the major subtopics of this election has become the age of our political class. i believe like 20% of congress is over 70 years old, and a few are over 80!
so, trump picks someone who is young and fresh, and kamala picks someone who looks like his wife moves the salt shaker just out of his reach at every meal because she's afraid of what the doctor told him during his last physical about his high blood pressure.
Kam needed someone who didn't show her up. He's less likable than she is.
well, that's an excellent point & shows how difficult the VP search really was.
"sorry shapiro, too smart. sorry newsom, too handsome.
good gravy, walz you look like a fatter john mccain, you're in!"
A fatter John McCain! He does. 🤣 I heard Shapiro met with her and said, no thanks.
Maybe it's from months of breathing in all that toxic smoke from burning tires and buildings when his wife left the windows open.
Walz is a vile piece of socialist trash. He didn’t bother campaigning outside of the Twin Cities metro area because that’s where all his fellow collectivists dwell. He said outstate Minnesota was filled with nothing but Rocks and Cows (which, incidentally, led to an entertaining FB group but I digress). He visited a county fair in northern Minnesota for about 10 minutes, hightailing it out when he was accosted by angry citizens. Read up on the Feeding Our Future scandal, $250M stolen by Somalians supposedly feeding Minnesota children. Absolute no oversight by the state and the Timbicile™️ Administration. Various other frauds. Crickets from Tampon Timmy. Three billion dollar surplus which he not only piddled away but he and his sycophant legislature RAISED taxes on Minnesotans. “One person’s socialism is another’s neighborliness”. I get mad even writing about this pompous redistributor. I need to stop now.
Everyone across America needs to know about this POS.
Alex needs deprogramming. He’s still a holier than thou NY socialist. He claims the right to use sarcasm but Vance can’t with his cat lady jab. Anybody who’s not a leftist understands who Vance was talking about. Hey Alex, ever read Thatcher’s quote; “the facts of life are conservative.”
clearly vance wasn't talking about people with fertility issues.
he was speaking to all the girl bosses who were told they can "have it all" but found out that really means "making powerpoints all day for your mean boss" - then cry into their 4th glass of wine when they are alone at every major holiday.
😁…Perfect!
Good Lord. How do you not know better than this? Kamala called Joe Biden a racist during a primary debate (on national TV, broadcast by the liberal MSM no less) and was STILL his VP pick. You wasted two articles on this topic. Please stick to being wrong about mRNA shots being dead and going away while they are STILL being required by employers and schools across the country. A broken clock is right twice a day, Broken clock 2, Mr. Berenson 0.
Okay! Now take Walz apart
Vance: families are at the core of a well-functioning society
Walz: socialism is just our way of being neighborly
Pick one, Alex.
I don't even care if Vance is just another politician. (P.S. Now do Kamala who has been busy sending her previous positions down the memory hole.) And why is this even important? I I am one of the many who will vote Trump/Vance because I see a greater danger in the banana republic lawfare of the Democrats and, perhaps more importantly, the threats posed by the unholy alliance between the Democrats and the state media.
It’s a challenge to find ANY policy defined in Kam/Wa ticket. Always mushy words so you can think what you like. All so it can be denied later when you don’t like what they did. This is CA politics strategy and by design. For many people, unfortunately, it works.
I just went to Harris' website. Not a single sentence relating to policy positions. Not one. But lots and lots of ways to donate to her campaign. It's all about the power...and the money, of course. Ugh! 🤮
As always they are counting on the great TDS psyop, and the SHEEP who bought into it to continue, and staying away from policy positions so they only vote based on "feeling" once again this election cycle. Like you said it's just one thing that matters...maintain POWER
I forgot the name of the CA campaign group who uses this playbook but it’s real and it works. The left and right look at her and see what they already believe. No pesky policies to get in the way. Independents might be more likely to notice the lack of substance?
YES !!
To add yet another perspective on nation as place vs idea, here is Chris Rufo on England today:
“ The predominant theory among Western elites is that the content of mass migration—the particular people, and the culture they bring—is irrelevant. All groups are equal. Individuals are interchangeable. To think otherwise is to engage in bigotry.
This logic has a whiff of liberalism, but only in the most reductive, naïve sense. The truth is that, even if we believe in the principle that all men are created equal, this does not mean that all cultures are equal or interchangeable—far from it. The structure of a civilization is a delicate thing. Changing its citizens will, over time, change its form.
This process is underway in London. The buildings, avenues, and palaces look the same as before; there is still a parliament, a king, and the pound. But the central city feels hollowed out. The old connection between citizen and nation has been altered. The old bonds of culture have been frayed.
The situation in London recalls the Ship of Theseus, a thought experiment that asks whether, if every part of a ship is replaced, it is the same ship in the end. The answer, in our case, is a confident “no.” England without the Englishman would no longer be England. The form—parliamentary democracy, economic growth, liberal culture—might hold for a time, but eventually, it would give way, too.”
From
https://christopherrufo.com/p/the-hollow-kingdom
English born citizens are rioting because of the stabbing of a young girl by an immigrant.
Alex, sorry to point this out, but self-awareness is important. It seems like you learned nothing from Kathie Sprong's thoughtful and polite response on your first Vance article.
One has to remember the detox of a NYC Dem is a process. It's like a reverse dementia in essence finding a way back
So, ask yourself this Alex... You're in a battle for your liberty, your rights, and your country - likely literally and figuratively - whose foxhole are you jumping in during the heat of the battle, Harris-Walz or Trump-Vance? I know where I'm headed. FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
As someone who has actually dug foxholes as an Army Ranger, I know whose foxhole I am jumping into — even if I have to share it with an ex-Marine. 😁
My Marine Corps son informs me that there is no such thing as an ex-Marine.
Point taken and as evidenced by my comment, I guess there is also no such thing as an ex-Ranger. The training of both changes you forever.
"I'll take J.D. Vance for $1,000, Alex."
We are old, in our 8th decade, never the less we have literally prep for who knows what? The preparation is not for ourselves but for our 10 grandchildren and we will FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! for them and for the Republic.
Please stop. We know you hate JD Vance. I did not even read your column. What is your goal here? Can't you write about something else!
Unfortunately, I read it. I find views contrary to my own somewhat informative. Like Vance, I changed my mind about Trump and, although I have two cats (as well as a wife and two daughters), I understand exactly what he was talking about when he spoke of “childless cat ladies”, because I have known too many of them in my life.
I don’t have kids and I have cats (and a dog). JD’s comments didn’t affect me in the least.
Ditto. I gave it a fast skim