“What Happened To Him?”

     Most of us prefer that our enemies be consistent. That is: we don’t want to discover that someone we thought an ally has turned into an enemy. It’s upsetting, among other things. When it happens, we grope about for an explanation. If we fail to find one, our distress is magnified.

     Which brings me to the question of the moment: What happened to Jonah Goldberg?

NEW: CNN has launched a full scale disinformation campaign to confuse voters just four days before the presidential election.

The network is deceptively editing a comment Trump made during a campaign event in Arizona about Liz Cheney.

During the event, Trump called out the… pic.twitter.com/kvMi3eMJby

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 1, 2024

     While he was prominent at National Review, Goldberg gave every appearance of being a sincere conservative. His book Liberal Fascism is an important contribution to the discussion of fascism and its representation among American liberals / Leftists. Yet he’s become one of the foremost detractors of Donald Trump, his allies, and his supporters. Yet Trump’s positions and actions while in power better represent authentic, no-compromises pro-freedom conservatism than anyone since Calvin Coolidge. Why?

     People do “sell out.” The lure of great(er) fame and fortune afforded by a regular page in a highly respected newspaper, or an ultra-prominent perch at a national network, has done so in the past. While not everyone “has a price,” quite a few people do. When the bidding reaches that level, they become purchasable.

     But there are coinages other than money and fame to be considered, as well.

     Imagine this: You’re a rising star in American conservative punditry. Your writing regularly appears in a well-respected, though modest-circulation, conservative publication. You’ve been accepted and welcomed by the older, more prominent luminaries of the Right: the Buckleys, the Bozells, the Buchanans, and others whose names glitter in the conservative firmament. You’re regularly asked to speak at their conferences and to contribute to their strategy sessions. You’re routinely invited to their soirees. You’ve made it.

     And you discover, not entirely to your surprise, that these folks have a higher priority than conservative principles and convictions. What they really value most is their status as the Keepers of the Flame. The promulgators and expositors of the One True Faith. The In Crowd. That status grants them positions of respect even from their supposed ideological adversaries, who attend a lot of the same parties.

     And that status is what they prize above all else.

     Then along comes an Outsider. One who has not been granted admission to the inner circle. Yet this maverick outshines the old luminaries. There’s no BS about him: he walks it like he talks it.

     Those aforementioned Keepers of the Flame are unhappy. They dislike being shown up. Actual performance will do that to a crowd of pontificators who, even when they’ve been granted access to the corridors of power, have failed to deliver on their promises. It makes them angry and resentful.

     You don’t dare to cross the old bulls. They’re dangerous. They still wield more clout than you. The thing they value most has been imperiled. It has them snorting fire and raking their paws across the earth. And you ask yourself, “What is it that I value above all else?”

     The answer may displease you. It may reveal to you that you’ve become insincere about the convictions you’ve spouted on the way up. Yes, you do really, truly uphold those beliefs, but… what about your position in the In Crowd? It’s the post from which your sentiments have the greatest range. With your admission to the circle of the Favored, your speaking engagements and book sales have tripled!

     There’s an invisible slip of cardboard stock in your wallet. Even you have overlooked it until then. Like any business card, it bears your name, your public telephone number, and perhaps your social-media monikers. Along with those items, it says Member in Good Standing of the Conservative Establishment.

     You want to remain one such, more than anything else in the world. That’s incompatible with embracing this upstart. If you join him, even by expressing qualified approval of his statements and actions in office, you’ll pay heavily. No more speaking engagements at conferences. No more access to strategy sessions. No more invitations to cocktail parties. What on Earth would your wife say? She just bought a new dress!

     Do you think I’m exaggerating, Gentle Reader? Hand on my heart, I’m not. The restrictions that arise from being admitted to an In Crowd are something most persons never ponder. That includes many before whom the bauble is dangled.

     It’s not just the barons of the Left who frown on deviationism.