James Kirkpatrick
VDARE
March 21, 2016
The American Right has largely ceded higher education. And when conservatives and libertarians try to push back against the campus Left, they usually stick to wonkish economic issues like the federal deficit, with predictable results. Not surprisingly, after decades of “activism” mostly consisting of mouthing pieties about the glories of the free market, a plurality of college students favor socialism. Students around the country are notorious about their willingness to #FeeltheBern.
If decades of trying to be clever have failed, perhaps it is time for the direct approach. As one of our readers showed, Trump is not just a political figure. He is like Batman, a symbol people can really around to show their opposition to political correctness. (Actually, Trump may literally be Batman as well.)
Recently, Jake Lopez, a leader of students for Trump, was interviewed on the usually anti-Trump “Trumpcast” feature on Slate. [A Campus Outlier, by Jacob Weisberg, March 21, 2016] He held his own in the interview, but more importantly, seemed to confirm that younger Trump supporters love him because he is a battering ram against political correctness and a defender of free speech.
Lopez credited Trump with “bringing back freedom of speech” and with starting “thoughtful discussions between groups.” He also noted how students seemed to come out of the woodwork to support his group once someone actually stood up openly. Finally, Lopez said Trump’s support comes from a visceral sense that with Trump as leader, “America’s not going to be pushed around anymore.”
(Weisberg, in response, expressed concern that resisting being pushed around sounds like “bullying.” He sounds like a National Review columnist.)
Just to throw in another pop culture reference, the name of Trump is now like that of Muad’Dib from Dune.
It is a killing word that can be used against the anti-American (and anti-White) Left.