Jeff Townsend

1. Disciple of Christ 2. Husband to Molly 3. Father of Lee and Katie 4. Citizen of USA 5. Avid fan of the Crimson Tide! Also, I fly planes for American Airlines

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@SkepticusSupr @MattWalshBlog I’m curious. Do you believe that Jesus is a made up character who never existed? Or do you believe He did live but when He was crucified, He stayed dead and was never resurrected?

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@ThomasSowell Pretty sure Jerry Clower put it like this: “Some people are educated well beyond their level of intelligence.”

[Gummi @gummibear737]

Walsh’s argument collapses when viewed through Thomas Sowell’s A Conflict of Visions

Sowell’s central distinction is between the constrained vision and the unconstrained vision:

• The constrained vision (the classic American/Founding/conservative one) starts from the premise that human nature is limited, flawed, and self-interested. No group of people is wise or virtuous enough to be trusted with concentrated power. Therefore the primary task of politics is to create processes and constraints that limit what any faction can do. Knowledge is dispersed, trade-offs are inevitable, and good intentions are secondary to incentives and institutional restraints. Berry’s line: “None are good, so limit government power” is pure constrained vision

• The unconstrained vision starts from the opposite premise: human nature is malleable or perfectible, and the right people (the anointed, the moral, “our people”) can be trusted to use power to reshape society for the better. Once the correct group holds power, the main obstacles disappear. “Our people are good, so give us power” is the unconstrained formula, whether it comes from the left or from post-liberals on the right.
Walsh’s reply: “You still need to have power in order to limit it…otherwise your movement is impotent” treats the constrained premise as optional or absurd. He is saying the desire for power must come first, and the principle of limitation is secondary. That is a quiet shift into the unconstrained vision: the moral correctness of the cause (or the team) is assumed to make the acquisition and use of power safe and necessary. In Sowell’s terms, Walsh is no longer arguing from the constrained view that no one is good enough; he is arguing that our side must seize power because the alternative is defeat. The “none are good” restraint becomes a luxury that only the winners can afford later

The constrained vision does not forbid seeking electoral power. It insists that the justification for seeking it must remain the same: we need power precisely because we do not trust ourselves (or anyone else) with it. Once you drop that and start reasoning “we need power because our people are the ones who will use it rightly,” you have adopted the unconstrained logic. History under both left and right versions of that logic shows the same pattern: the constraints erode, the state expands, and the next faction inherits the larger machinery

Berry is defending the constrained vision, Walsh is advocating for the unconstrained vision

Up next for postliberals: “Well what the hell does Thomas Sowell know anyway!?”

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@PhilWMagness The strong dollar didn’t seem too tough on American producers throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s.
Maybe the govt could do something about the taxes businesses have to pay and all the ridiculous regulations they must comply with.

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@JonahDispatch In fact, Trump never won a majority of R primary voters in 2016. The non-Trump vote was split among 3 candidates. Rubio and Kasich stayed in the race for months after it was obvious that neither would get the nomination. Why did they stay in so long?

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@megbasham Or, if you prefer, C.S. Lewis:

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.”

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@megbasham President Ronald Reagan: “The most feared words in the English language - ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@WakeUp2Politics In 2016, after the SC primary, it was obvious that Rubio nor Kasich were going to win the nomination. Both stayed in the race for several weeks, thus splitting the non-Trump votes. If those two had dropped out of the race, Cruz would have won the nomination. Why did they stay?

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@megbasham Where can we find it?

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@Jdkoa @TheBabylonBee I think you meant 1970s

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@spann Mayflies at Weiss Lake

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@___Sean______ @AuronMacintyre Imagine the IRGC is eliminated. Iran has a western friendly govt. Hezbollah and Hamas are no longer funded. We could almost shut down the TSA. Iranian oil is sold on the open market. Our energy prices go down and Russia and China no longer get discounted oil on the black market.

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@SteveDeaceShow Trump wants a “deal.” He should give them the same deal that Truman gave the Japs. 1) We are going to install leaders who cooperate with us. 2) We are going to have troops in your country for at least 80 years.
That “deal” has work out quite well for the US and Japan.

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@BryanDGriffin @ChristinaPushaw @America250FL This is excellent. My are James Madison and John Adams not included?

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@conservmillen This sounds like a perfect demonstration of Toxic Empathy.

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@MaytownMichael @michaelbd I would also add, Endgame: Stay as long as it takes. We are still in South Korea and that seems to be going pretty good for them and us.

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@AdamJSchwarz @JonahDispatch This is eighty year old history. A better point would be, “Without us, you’d all be speaking Russian.”
He could also throw a bone to the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Thatcher’s invaluable support.
Maybe he doesn’t want to offend his buddy, Putin.

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@EWErickson I bring this up regarding election issues in 2020. People will say, “the FBI investigated.”

We didn’t learn about Watergate or Iran-Contra through law enforcement. We found out about them because reporters kept asking questions.

Reporters only want to investigate conservatives.

[Jeff Townsend @JeffTownsend4]

@megbasham @DanielJHannan @Mike_Pence Absolutely. I thought he was great until he caved on RFRA. After that, I saw him as a politician who would talk the talk but wouldn’t walk the walk. He was pretty much dead in the conservative movement until Trump revived him. I don’t question his faith; I do question his spine.