Free Republic

Conservatives are losing the "don't be weirdos" contest. One of the main stories of American politics of the last few decades is the wealthy and educated shifting away from the Republican Party and towards the Democrats. Conservative losses among the upper classes have not been balanced out by gains elsewhere. Republicans have lost the popular vote in 7 of the last 8 presidential elections, showing themselves to be broadly unappealing to most Americans while nonetheless staying competitive due to the unusual quirk of us picking our head of state through the electoral college, which gives disproportionate power to rural areas....

Will 2022 turn out be a hinge year, as a moment when long-standing trends in geopolitics suddenly shifted in a different direction? This week, two important writers, one a long-established and prolific historian, the other a provocative presence on the internet, have argued persuasively that the answer is yes. But there's one other interesting point in common: Neither sees the United States as having played a decisive role in the sudden shift. Over the years, Niall Ferguson has written admiringly about the 19th-century Rothschilds and the 20th century’s Henry Kissinger and has highlighted the positive achievements of Britain’s empire and...