The decision of the Florida legislature — and, probably, the Florida Governor — to retaliate against the Disney corporation for its public opposition to the legislation curbing inappropriate sexuality education among elementary-school children is interesting. It is interesting for a few reasons, not least the division among conservatives on the topic. Credible people on the right make the process argument (e.g., we wouldn’t want California to do this sort of thing to a business that supported a traditional-marriage initiative); and somewhat less credible, to my mind, is the propriety argument. The latter is basically indistinguishable from a category argument, which is to say that if we do this, we are just like them, and therefore not-conservative. You just wouldn’t believe who’s hot on this take.

David French @DavidAFrench

It's time to stop using the word "conservative" to broadly describe the right or the Republican Party. It fits some individuals (and I'll use it then), but it increasingly doesn't fit the institution, and it definitely doesn't fit much of the right.

April 21st 2022

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Add it to the supercut: we’re not so different, you and I.

It is worth unpeeling this a bit, because the differences between those who support the Florida government’s retaliation — including me — and those who do not illuminate some fairly important things. Embedded in the reactions here are fundamentally differing analyses and understandings of the state of American civil society now, the purpose and nature of political competition, and the stakes at hand.