The Decline and Fall of the WSJ
Plus: Hey, Democrats. You Can Stop Playing Dead Now.
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MONA CHAREN: The Decline and Fall of the Wall Street Journal
MANY AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS have beclowned themselves in the past ten years—too many to list. To count the right-leaning institutions that have not succumbed to Trumpian populism takes only one hand. But the decline of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page has been particularly galling because, compared to the Heritage Foundation, Hillsdale College, or the Claremont Institute, it had farther to fall.
Sure, I understand that the Journal probably always rubbed progressives the wrong way, and perhaps that limits how much they can see the precipitous drop in the paper’s standards. But it seems clear to me that in the pre-Trump era, the paper had some integrity. While the board was broadly aligned with the Republican party, its editorials didn’t hesitate to differ with Republicans on major questions. The Journal was consistently pro-immigration, for example, strongly free-trade, and moderate on social issues like abortion and gay rights. It was a platform for serious writers and informed opinion. And even now, it still has flashes of its old self now and then. But those only underscore the sad corruption of a once great institution
CATHY YOUNG: Trump NIH Pick ‘Sanewashes’ a Scientific Crank
JAY BHATTACHARYA, THE STANFORD physician and economist who is Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health, has been for the past few years on a contrarian path that has led him in troubling directions. I wrote last week about Dr. Bhattacharya’s history as a COVID “dissident,” a stance nor nearly as “vindicated” as his supporters would have us believe. Now, science writer Allison Neitzel has brought attention to a long article Bhattacharya recently wrote in which he, among other things, sympathizes with and “sanewashes” (as Neitzel puts it) a notorious scientific crank. Let’s take a look.
The article in question, published in mid-October on the website of the Brownstone Institute, is primarily an attack on Dr. Anthony Fauci under the guise of a review of Fauci’s recent memoir, On Call. (It’s worth noting that the Brownstone Institute, founded in 2021 by radical libertarian/anarchocapitalist Jeffrey Tucker as an outfit opposing the alleged tyranny of COVID lockdowns, also hosted a conference this past October—with Bhattacharya as one of the speakers—that featured a panoply of anti-vaccine activists.)
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A.B. STODDARD: Hey, Democrats. You Can Stop Playing Dead Now.
SIX WEEKS AFTER ELECTION DAY, Democrats remain in a fetal position. While Donald Trump enjoys a honeymoon, his opposition is barely protesting as he runs right over them.
While some Democrats are eager to offer up postmortems and engage in self-flagellation about how the party failed, most of them are barely speaking about Trump. Even as he outlines his mass deportation plans, makes promises of inflationary tariffs, and delivers post-election acknowledgement that he cannot mitigate inflation, Democrats are quiet. The average voter could be forgiven for thinking Democrats are more interested in what podcasts Kamala Harris didn’t go on than the high-stakes policy debates and political battles rapidly approaching.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Tuesday! Today is one of a few waning days in the Senate’s session when retiring or defeated Senators give their farewell speeches. It is not a big deal, except for C-SPAN junkies and the Senate community.
When I took the above picture, I had just been at The Weekly Standard for a few months and Fred Barnes came to profile Kyl on his way out the chamber. I sat in the press gallery for the speech, looking over at many friends I worked with there in the family gallery.
Today, my Senator, Sherrod Brown gave his address and it was characteristically Sherrod Brown: gravelly, emotional, and quick. Sherrod Brown is always in a hurry, a somewhat rare trait for Senators. You kind of have to see it up close to know the quality I’m talking about here, but the hurry is about action. There’s always something next to do. It’s an eagerness.
His family surprised him, and what a treat.
Sometimes these speeches are for the Senators themselves. Closure of sorts. Usually, those are bad speeches. The ones about the long battles, the staff, their family? Those are the good speeches. Brown gave such a speech, and it’s worth a watch.
But what really makes these events interesting are the tributes from the other Senators. Sometimes they’re pre-written and boring, but the best ones come from Senators who just go on the floor and riff it. Like Cory Booker poking fun at “The Sherrod”, a style of speech that involves anxious pacing in the aisle. Or Amy Klobuchar delivering a zinger of a story about Sherrod’s voice and his devoted wife Connie Schultz. What the Senate, at least to me, was—and increasingly less so, sadly—best defined by: the spontaneity and humanity of its members, not the pre-planned circus fights.
Back when I was a young Senate aide, Sherrod’s office and my boss’s were on the same floor. Like now, I had sincere political differences with the then-junior Senator from Ohio. But one thing I never doubted was his sincerity. He exudes it.
Ohioans have lost a valuable voice, particularly those in manufacturing. I think they erred in selecting Moreno, and will come to regret it. Wherever Brown goes next, I can guarantee you two things: He will care deeply about what he’s doing, and he’ll be in a hurry. Who knows: I wouldn’t bet against him trying to return to the Capitol.
Bipartisanship isn’t totally dead, though… As you may have read, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi suffered a bad fall. Rep. Michael McCaul recounted helping her after what happened, including the detail that she posed for a group picture with a broken hip. Maybe that bipartisanship can help us avoid an unnecessary government shutdown mere days before Christmas? 🤞
In the District… The ban on cashless businesses is about to go into effect. What could go wrong? (Axios)
The Last Town In America… At The Deleted Scenes, our friend and colleague Addison Del Mastro asks: When was the last time we unselfconsciously built traditional urbanism?
Down under… Bluey’s creator Joe Brumm explains his decision to step away from the day to day of the show to focus on the forthcoming Bluey movie. While, yes, Bluey is an (excellent) highly commercialized show, his ability to leave when his creation was at its peak reminds me of the great Bill Watterson.
In #TheLand… Clevelanders mourn the death of “Guitar Man.” For more on him, watch this local feature and this 2015 Cleveland Scene profile.
The FDA may end… sell by dates (Food and Wine)
Panic! The Kind That Came From New Jersey, Andrew Donaldson writes in The Ordinary Times.
Mark Robinson logs in to state meeting as 'minisoldr,' the handle at the center of CNN allegations (WRAL)
‘The Ultimate MAGA’: Global And Domestic Right Gathers, Ready For A New Trump Era (TPM)
⌚️The GOAT of G-Shocks… To celebrate 50 years on the watch scene, Casio is reissuing a version of the original G-Shock. Shut up and take my money!
From the Military to a Watchmaker’s Bench… Since its first class in 2017, the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative has provided free training to almost 80 former servicemen and women. (NYT)
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.