Yale Prof: Origin of Campus Crazies' Ideology
Students who shout down conservative speakers on campus aren't Nazis or Stalinists, says Stephen L. Carter at Bloomberg. They're worse. They're Marcusians – followers, knowingly or unknowingly, of the ideology injected into mainstream leftist discourse by the German philosopher Herbert Marcuse in the 1960s. “For Marcuse, the truth that liberal democracies made tolerance a complete virtue posed an issue,” Carter writes. “If society includes two groups, one powerful and one weak, then tolerating the minds of both means the voice and influence from the strong will always be greater.” Thus, viewpoint discrimination is the only way for that left to attain its objective of equality. And that applies to colleges, too: “Marcuse is quite clear that the academy must also swallow the challenging medicine he prescribes.”
From the Left: How ObamaCare Could Survive
There are 3 ways ObamaCare can die, writes Jeff Spross in the Week. First, Republicans can repeal and change it. But the GOP bill so far has engendered dissent inside the GOP ranks in addition to vocal opposition across the aisle. Second, ObamaCare could die of natural causes: “Several insurance providers brought out from the exchanges because they couldn't find enough people to make their business models work.” That may be the dreaded “death spiral” – or it could presage a market adjustment towards the new conditions. Third, President Trump could sabotage ObamaCare. But apart from his executive order loosening enforcement of the individual mandate, there aren't many bullets in that particular chamber. And that's why it might, after all, “join the ranks of politically unkillable entitlement programs.”
Foreign Desk: New Cold War With Russia Inevitable
At World Affairs, Michael Totten states that despite Trump's desire to have warmer relations with Russia, Vladimir Putin and the inner circle see themselves forever as competitors towards the Western alliance, not junior partners inside it. Meanwhile, “Many of the president's pro-Putin aides and staff – Paul Manafort, Carter Page and Mike Flynn to a lesser extent – are out now even though many of his current Cabinet members – particularly United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Defense Secretary James Mattis – are . . . staunchly hawkish.” Plus, “A venomous anti-Russian consensus in the usa is already rising,” and “at some time Vladimir Putin will in the end infuriate Trump.”
Political Reporter: Bernie's Intend to Win Trump Voters
Democrats are still smarting over losing working-class voters in November, but Sen. Bernie Sanders includes a plan. The Vermont socialist has, since January, “stopped in Mississippi, Kansas and Michigan,” writes Sam Stein in the Huffington Post. This week, he will McDowell County, W.Va., “which Trump carried with a ratio of 3-to-1.” His pitch: “raising the minimum wage, making public universities tuition-free, the need to protect and expand health-care access and the encouragement of unionization efforts.” Sanders might not be a Democrat – but he's still the party's ambassador to these voters: “The crowds he's drawing aren't the stadium-sized ones of his primary campaign. But they are the same sets of voters: individuals who left the Democratic Party, may never have related to it at all or were never politically active in the to begin with.”
From the Right: Truth About the Minimum Wage
As more states boost the minimum wage, some restaurants are opting for transparency, writes Ed Morrissey at Hot Air: “Rather than raise the prices of each dish on the menu, in certain states diners now get an added labor surcharge tacked onto the bill.” Three years ago, restaurants did something similar using the cost of ObamaCare regulations. But that was anticipatory; “in this case the costs are being borne immediately. That leaves retailers in low-margin, highly competitive markets such as the restaurant business with three basic options: reduce staff, raise prices, or do some of both.” Those who raise prices and let their customers know how come truly being honest, regardless of how “political” the media makes them out to be.
