Magazine joins in impeach debate
VP says National Review will publish dueling opinions
Christianity Today, a magazine geared toward Evangelical Christians, editorialized in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump. But Jack Fowler wasn’t surprised.
“I feel the editors of a magazine are entitled to state a position if they so feel like it,” Fowler said. “I don’t think editorials are necessarily gauges of popularity contests.”
Fowler has, for decades, been in a leadership role at the conservative magazine National Review — he’s now the vice president — founded by William F. Buckley in 1955.
The National Review will, in its upcoming issue, publish competing opinion pieces on the subject of impeachment. One, written by Michael Brendan Dougherty, is titled “The Prudential Case against Impeachment.”
Another, called “Trump Meets the Four Tests for Impeachment,” was written by Ramesh Ponnuru. Both have already been published online.
Fowler, who lives in Milford, said that the National Review’s official position is against impeachment, but that, “Editors, they have things to balance. A magazine is a business.”
“Whether it’s on impeachment or any other issue, National Review has historically been a forum for conservatives to disagree and to discuss their disagreements,” he said.
That willingness to provide a forum for disagreement represents a split among conservative voters, Fowler said. Some Republican voters simply don’t want to debate.
“I think it’s fair to say there are a certain number, and not insignificant, of subscribers and readers who are not interested in debate,” Fowler said. “Let’s say a proTrump subscriber who would not want to see Ramesh Ponnuru published.”
Fowler said there has been a fundamental shift in the Republican Party, away from what he called “underlying tenets” and toward a focus on the president.
“Since 2015 even, since even before Donald Trump went down the escalator, I was kind of shocked personally by the fervor and tenor of friends of the National Review who had quickly turned their thoughts from this being a discussion of principles to politics and support of one man,” he said.
That being said, it’s not the whole party, which is what drives his publication and others that cater to conservative voters, to present differing views.
“There’s still a very sizeable community of conservatives who are interested in real debate and discussion on the issues,” Fowler said.
Fowler said cultural issues are driving Republicans toward Trump. Cake bakers should be allowed to bake cakes for whomever they wish. Republicans have “a feeling of besiegement,” Fowler said. “They see a culture war going on.”
The National Review, for example, did an eightpage spread a few editions ago dedicated to issues around gender. Fowler said people come home, turn on the television, “Baltimore is on fire and somehow it’s your fault.”
“Madness happening across the fruited plains,” he said.
At the same time, the adherence to free market capitalism is also being debated within the Republican Party.
“The underlying tenets of the movement are being debated, so there’s still a lot of room for debate,” Fowler said. “There’s still a lot of people who don’t want to see any debate about the actions of the president.”
As for why someone disenchanted with Trump might still vote for him, Fowler said, “The apt cliche is that Donald Trump is the enemy of my enemy.”
“It’s more the cultural thing that explains some part of the Trump voter,” he said. And I’m a Trump voter.”