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# Brion McClanahan Author & Historian

Author and historian

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Blog](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/) - The latest blog posts and podcasts from author and historian Brion McClanahan.
- [Every Crisis is a "Constitutional Crisis"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/every-crisis-is-a-constitutional-crisis/) - It seems every crisis in America is a "Constitutional crisis."Why?Because Americans have forgotten--or have never been taught--about federalism.You see, one size fits all, top down government results in all of the political angst we have in the United States.It's quite simple.The founding generation realized that Connecticut and South Carolina were never going to see eye
- [DeSantis, RFK, Jr., and "Lincoln Conservatives"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/desantis-rfk-jr-and-lincoln-conservatives/) - According to a Ron DeSantis "rapid response" organizer, you can call yourself a Republican or a conservative if you are anti-Lincoln.I actually agree with the first part, but the second is just laughable.Ron DeSantis has been a very good governor in Florida, but as I have said many times, it would be better to have
- [A Trump Appointed Judge Shreds the Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-trump-appointed-judge-shreds-the-constitution/) - With friends like these.A Trump appointed judge in Tennessee struck down a Tennessee law that prohibited explicit drag shows in the general public. The bill required such events to be age restricted and indoors.It did not shut them down. It did not tell drag performers they could not put on a show.It only mandated that
- [Five Words That Changed America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/five-words-that-changed-america/) - We're close to wrapping up the week after July 4.The left whined and complained about the celebration led by Trump. Obama has been on a public tour pitching his new "library" while concurrently insisting that America has never lived up to the proposition nation.Many Republicans get frustrated by this claim. Don't you know, Lincoln is
- [Should We "Federalize" Elections?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/should-we-federalize-elections/) - This is a polarizing topic. Should we "federalize" elections?Trump has argued it needs to be done. Over seventy percent of Americans agree, at least in regard to voter ID.That includes Democrats.But it's a sticky issue because of the Constitution.Yesterday, Mike Lee posted that it was simple. Article I, Section IV of the Constitution authorizes the
- [What's at Stake in the Trump Immunity Case?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/whats-at-stake-in-the-trump-immunity-case/) - What do Trump, Lincoln, Truman, Bush, Clinton, Obama, and Biden all have in common?They all did unconstitutional things while in office.Trump is currently facing numerous charges for "crimes" he committed while President.He's already been impeached. Twice. But to those who want to permanently remove not only Trump but the "deplorables" he represents, the stakes are
- [The American "Illiberal" Tradition?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-american-illiberal-tradition/) - If you listen to Nikole Hannah-Jones or the West Coast Straussians, you would think that the American tradition is the "proposition nation." Hannah-Jones doesn't think anyone was committed to it, while the Straussians argue they were, but those evil Southerners retarded progress and were only turned back by noble Northern abolitionist crusaders in the 19th
- [The Left's New Crusade Against the "Flawed Constitution"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-lefts-new-crusade-against-the-flawed-constitution/) - You have to give it to leftist "scholars" and their brain-dead acolytes.The light bulb goes off for these people and they treat it like no one had ever come up with this idea/thought/topic before.Take for example the Constitution.Everyone with a brain knows the document has been flawed since it was written.The "anti-federalists" spilled considerable ink
- [A Secret Hamiltonian in the White House?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-secret-hamiltonian-in-the-white-house/) - We have a Hamiltonian in the White House.This breaking news comes courtesy of the New York Times and historian Jacob Soll.What a revelation!It's almost as if Hamiltonian America did not win at Appomattox in 1865.We've had a Hamiltonian in the White House almost unabated since.Soll's amazing discovery is politically motivated. You see, if Joe Biden
- [What Happens if No One Gets 270?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-happens-if-no-one-gets-270/) - Trump is going to get the Republican nomination in 2024.That should have never been in doubt.With the news that Michelle Obama is staying out of the race dropping yesterday, it's clear Biden is going to be the Democrat nominee.That might change, but probably not.The real question remains: what about third or fourth parties?We know Robert
- [Michell O is a No Go in 24](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/michell-o-is-a-no-go-in-24/) - Michelle Obama's media team released a press statement saying that she will not be running in 2024.This is a smoke screen. Obama is trying to put as much attention as possible on the current election because another Biden victory means another Obama term.Barack is, after all, running the show from Martha's Vineyard. Biden is just
- [Nikki Haley Talks Secession](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/nikki-haley-talks-secession/) - Nikki Haley is back in the news, of course not because she is newsworthy.Far from it.She is back in the news because she can't stop flip flopping.A few weeks back, Haley failed to bow to the woke mob by omitting slavery as the "cause of the War." To appease the masses, she went on Saturday
- [Texas v. Biden](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/texas-v-biden/) - Texas told the Biden administration to take a hike.But this isn’t “nullification”.Texas insists that the Biden administration enforce the laws of the United States.Biden has so far refused and instead retaliated by cutting off natural gas exports from Texas.In other words, Biden has chosen economic warfare against a State, the very definition of treason in
- [Democrats Don't Understand the Constitution, Again](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/democrats-dont-understand-the-constitution-again/) - I could say that neither Party understands the Constitution. If Lincoln is your man, you are clearly constitutionally ignorant.But Democrats seem to foul it up the most.Take for example a recent proposed bill that would ban private "paramilitary" organizations.Two Democrats wrote the bill to clamp down on dangerous "right wing extremist" violence in America.When you
- [Dem Dems were Slavers and Traitors!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/dem-dems-were-slavers-and-traitors/) - It's almost becoming tiresome."Republicans were the Party of freedom and Democrats were the Party of slavery, Jim Crow, and treason!"Modern Republicans really think this tactic will earn more votes.They've been called the stupid party for a reason.I can just imagine a potential Democratic voter changing his mind while ruminating, "If I cast a vote for
- [Did the South Keep Lincoln Off the Ballot?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-the-south-keep-lincoln-off-the-ballot/) - If you missed it, the Maine Secretary of State has decided to remove Donald Trump from the ballot in 2024.This followed the Colorado Supreme Court decision that did the same, though after Trump appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, the Colorado Secretary of State placed Trump back on the Republican primary ballot.The Supreme Court
- [Will This Case Destroy the Tax Code?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/will-this-case-destroy-the-tax-code/) - I'm back. I hope everyone is ready for a great 2024 and that your year will be healthy, prosperous, happy, and fulfilling.We know our opponents don't want any of that for us.Deplorables don't deserve good things.Without question, this will be an interesting year, and perhaps one of the most "historical" in recent memory.The political theater
- [Thomas Jefferson, Conservative](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/thomas-jefferson-conservative/) - Who is the real Thomas Jefferson?Historians have attempted to answer this question since "Sage of Monticello" died in 1826.Jefferson has been the symbol of nearly every political movement in America, even if he would have disagreed with their positions.He has been described as a radical, a progressive, a liberal, an agrarian, a populist, a libertarian,
- [Texas Secession!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/texas-secession/) - Secession may be on the ballot in Texas.At least it may be on the Republican primary ballot.Proponents of Texas Secession (TEXIT) have gathered close to 100,000 signatures on the issue, meaning the Republican Party may be forced to include it on the primary ballot, as per State law.This is a big development.For years, the Texas
- [Will This Case Destroy the Federal Government?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/will-this-case-destroy-the-federal-government/) - A paranoid leftist law professor worries that the Supreme Court will destroy the federal government. That is if a pending case is decided in the way he fears. You see, this professor thinks that originalist "cherry picking" of the Constitution is going to undermine the regulatory state. What will we do without the SEC, FDA,
- [An Activist Historian's Bad Take on "Insurrection"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/an-activist-historians-bad-take-on-insurrection/) - If you've been listening to my show or reading my emails for even a few weeks, you know I am very hard on establishment activists...historians.And for good reason.They are destroying both the "profession" and more importantly traditional America.Most of these "experts" make glaring mistakes on a regular basis. Their goal is never to understand. They
- [Are Progressives "Liberal"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/are-progressives-liberal/) - I have been teaching the progressive movement in college classes for over two decades.Progressives always had one goal: power.They were born in the Deep North and found a political home in the early Republican Party. They were also smart.Progressives thought locally and acted locally, particularly in the late 19th century when the movement seemed dead.You
- [Has the Middle Class Been Forgotten?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/has-the-middle-class-been-forgotten/) - In 1883, sociologist William Graham Sumner coined the term "The Forgotten Man" in a lecture at the Long Island Historical Society in Brooklyn, New York.This lecture was later published with a collection of essays after his death in 1910.Sumner correctly argued that the American middle class was being squeezed by those at the top and
- [Why Don't Americans Want to Join the Military?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-dont-americans-want-to-join-the-military/) - Young Americans are refusing the join the military. In fact, for several years in a row, the military has fallen short of its recruitment goals.The question is why.Newsweek provided some answers, and surprisingly, were generally spot on.But they missed the larger picture. We take it for granted that the United States needs a standing army
- [African Founders and Albion's Seed](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/african-founders-and-albions-seed/) - I've often been asked a variation of the same question:"If you had to choose one American history book to recommend, what would it be?"The answer is simple: David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed.I don't make this suggestion lightly. There are other fascinating and important works to consider, but Fischer presents a compelling tale of early American
- [The Government Can](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-government-can/) - Back in 2009, the comedian Tim Hawkins created a funny little tune titled "The Government Can".It went viral for a time--as good as it could get in 2009--but the point was simple.The government can do anything it wants.Why? Because the Supreme Court said so, that's why.Don't you know history, McClanahan?You see, the Supreme Court has
- [What is the Real Lie About the "Civil War"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-the-real-lie-about-the-civil-war/) - What is the greatest lie about the Civil War[sic]? If you asked a few dopey establishment professors, they would certainly say "The Lost Cause" while pointed a finger at you and sneering "Neo-Confederate." They really believe that there are in the minority on this issue. I would argue that they have become so entrenched in
- [What is the Greatest Threat to America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-the-greatest-threat-to-america/) - I like reading Jonathan Turley. He is about as honest as a lawyer can get, no offense to any lawyers on my list. I know a few better than Turley.He's sometimes wrong, but so is everyone else, even yours truly at times.That said, that sometimes happened in a recent column he wrote for Fox News.Turley
- [Do Oligarchs Run America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/do-oligarchs-run-america/) - In the early 19th century, John Taylor of Caroline warned about the fusion of big government, big banks, and finance capital.All three could be tamed, but only if they never aligned.He particularly worried about the impact unconstitutional tariffs, federally funded internal improvements, and a central bank would have on the American political order.These were the
- [What is an "American" Foreign Policy?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-an-american-foreign-policy/) - American foreign policy is a disaster. It has been since the 1860s.Most people forget that the American empire was not created in the last thirty years.It began as an extension of the moral self-righteousness of the Republican crusade against the South during the War.Democracy and American liberty needed to be extended across the globe. So
- [Did the Founders Make a Critical Mistake?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-the-founders-make-a-critical-mistake/) - Jamelle Bouie is almost always wrong.But he is the best opinion columnist at The New York Times. Why? Because he at least does some research before he scribbles for the newspaper, and his essays are generally thought provoking.Take for example a recent column that suggested the Founders make a critical mistake.I agree, but not for
- [Why Do Americans Support Secession?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-do-americans-support-secession/) - According to recent polling, about 20 percent of Americans support secession. It is higher in some areas like Texas and the South, but even among Democrats, support for secession has increased in the last several years.The establishment can't figure out why.The Washington Post recently published a piece trying to figure it out.They backed into the
- [Did Governor Grisham Violate the Constitution?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-governor-grisham-violate-the-constitution/) - In case you missed it, last week New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an executive order making it illegal for citizens to carry firearms in public--both open and concealed carry--for 30 days in Albuquerque and the surrounding county.She called it a response to a "public health" emergency.The "Constitutional conservatives" went nuts.How dare she violate
- [Should We Forget Thomas Jefferson?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/should-we-forget-thomas-jefferson/) - About a week ago, a listener sent me an article from National Review that encouraged its readers to declare their independence from Thomas Jefferson.He was outraged and wanted my thoughts.I could just call it stupid, but the article provides a teachable moment for Americans interested in anything that resembles the American tradition. We could call
- [Should We Read the Federalist Papers?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/should-we-read-the-federalist-papers/) - The Federalist Papers are the most overrated series of essays in American history.That's not a hot take. It's a fact.They hold more weight because of the stature of the authors: Hamilton, Madison, and Jay.But that doesn't make them any more important or useful than other commentaries on the Constitution written at the same time.In fact,
- [Do We Have Two "American Foundings"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/do-we-have-two-american-foundings/) - The good news? Progressives admit we've won.The bad news? Progressives have changed the game, the field, and the rules.What do I mean by this?You see, progressives have decided that our side was correct about the founding, the Constitution, federalism, secession, the nature of the Union. All of it.But it doesn't matter. Originalism--real originalism--is dead, and
- [Rich Men North of Richmond](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/rich-men-north-of-richmond/) - If you haven't heard, the world loves Oliver Anthony's "Rich Men North of Richmond." The song raced up the charts in one day thanks to a social media tidal wave of support for the red-bearded farmer from Farmville, VA. Before August 9, not many people had heard of Oliver Anthony. He mostly played to the
- [Throw the Bums Out with Nullification](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/throw-the-bums-out-with-nullification/) - Ain't no better time for throwing the bums out than right now.Unfortunately, it seems Americans have been saying that since 1783.That was the point of the Republican Revolution of 1800 and every subsequent attempt to check the power of the general government.Throw 'em out and things will be better.But what if that doesn't work? I
- [Is the United States Becoming a "Banana Republic"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-the-united-states-becoming-a-banana-republic/) - The latest Trump indictment led to another round of conservatives describing the United States as a "third world country" and a "banana republic."At the same time, Al Sharpton questioned whether Republicans wanted "George III or the confederacy" for their continued support of Trump.American politics are historically stupid.The Untied States isn't in danger of becoming a
- [Why Does the Left Really Hate the New Florida History Standards?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-does-the-left-really-hate-the-new-florida-history-standards/) - The new Florida K-12 history standards have upset the left.Kamala Harris recently suggested that teachers in Florida would be required to tell students that slavery benefited black Americans.Various historians immediately whined to the establishment media that this was an effort to "revise" the past, to minimize the institution of slavery, and, hilariously, to support white
- [What Do Early American Politics Tell Us About Modern Politics?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-do-early-american-politics-tell-us-about-modern-politics/) - In 2009, I wrote my Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers as a way to bring attention to what I called the "greatest generation" of Americans.This doesn't mean that Americans had forgotten the founding generation. Hardly. They were being discussed all the time.But I did have the sense that it was getting harder to
- [What Do We Do About "Gut Level Hatred" in American Politics?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-do-we-do-about-gut-level-hatred-in-american-politics/) - I've talked about this issue many times on my Podcast. Americans are angry, so much so that we are seeing rhetorical conflict unmatched since the 1850s.At least we could define "woman."Regardless, all of the hand wringing and angst over the current polarization of American politics misses one key ingredient: centralization of power.The culture war would
- [This "Jefferson Davis Document" is Fake](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/this-jefferson-davis-document-is-fake/) - Did Jefferson Davis reply to the Emancipation Proclamation with a threat to enslave all blacks in America?That is what some historically challenged people on social media think.Their evidence is a broadside reportedly published in January 1863 by the Richmond Enquirer as "An Address to the People of the Free States by the President of the
- [The Supreme Court Gets it Wrong, Again](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-supreme-court-gets-it-wrong-again/) - This isn't a popular opinion, but the Supreme Court made a grave mistake in the recent decision striking down affirmative action at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.I told a colleague the Court was just trimming around the edges. He disagreed. Let me explain.The Court used 14th Amendment incorporation to invalidate affirmative action admissions
- [Mark Levin is Really Bad at History](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/mark-levin-is-really-bad-at-history/) - Mark Levin is really bad at history.In one of his rants over the weekend, Levin took the time to promote his forthcoming book, The Democrat Party Hates America.Now, more most American conservatives, this is read meat. I agree with some of his assessment.But the devil is in the details.You see, Levin blames every "evil" in
- [Is Trump's Indictment Good for the GOP?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-trumps-indictment-good-for-the-gop/) - Could Trump's indictment be good for the GOP in 2024?This is a bold assertion based on the belief that Trump will be forced to support whomever gets the nomination--if he doesn't--because only a Republican president would dare pardon him.I don't necessarily buy it.Trump doesn't seem to be taking the entire matter seriously, and I'm not
- [Leftists Are Really Stupid](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/leftists-are-really-stupid/) - Sometimes you just have to bathe in the left's stupidity.Take for example their current assault on the federal courts.You see, their entire political agenda has only been possible because of the federal court system.When the Supreme Court seemed intent on undoing FDR's New Deal, he pressured the Court to buckle and they did. The entire
- [We Need to Boot the Neocons](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/we-need-to-boot-the-neocons/) - Don't get conned by the Neocons.That should be a campaign slogan somewhere. Most Americans probably wouldn't get it, but unfortunately most Americans have already been conned by the Neocons.In both parties.If you talk to people who have been around American politics for some time, they'll tell you the Neocons weren't much of a problem until
- [We Should Listen to George Kennan](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/we-should-listen-to-george-kennan/) - American foreign policy is a mess and has been since the early 1950s.If we listened to George Kennan, that would not be the case.Kennan is famously responsible for the "containment doctrine" following World War II, meaning that the United States should contain communism to the areas where it already existed.Taken to its extreme, this involved
- [Is Secession Workable?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-secession-workable-2/) - With secession becoming a much more relevant topic in 2023, the question then becomes can it work?Syracuse Professor Ryan Griffiths studies the topic from a global perspective. He thinks secession can and does work, but not in the United States.Yet, this is an amazing development. Griffiths doesn't use the same tired arguments that secession is
- [Do We Need a Barbarian to Save Us From Barbarians?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/do-we-need-a-barbarian-to-save-us-from-barbarians/) - What do you get when you mix the superhero complex with Lincolnian nationalism?This piece at The American Thinker.What we need, according to this pseudonymous writer, is a good barbarian to save us from the bad barbarians.Someone like, say, Donald Trump.We've been here before. If only we could get our guy in office, the guy who
- [Lincoln Wasn't Conservative](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/lincoln-wasnt-conservative/) - Tim Scott has announced he's thinking about running for president.We're at that point in American politics. Let everyone know you are "thinking about it" so you can raise money.A lot of money. We will be in the "billion dollar" campaign territory very soon.Scott's first fundraising video was filmed at Ft. Sumter.You see, Scott argues that
- [What is "Nationalism"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-nationalism/) - I've spent a lot of time on my show railing against American "nationalism."Why?Simply put, it's one of the most pernicious myths in American history. There never has been an American "nation."This expertly development narrative only appeared after the War. Granted, Americans used the terms "nation" and "one people" prior to the War, but everyone knew
- [Are We Headed for a "French Revolution" in America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/are-we-headed-for-a-french-revolution-in-america/) - Victor Davis Hanson thinks we are headed for a "French Revolution" in America.He is rightly worried about the culture war, but like all Lincolnites, Hanson does not understand that we've already had a "French Revolution."It took place between 1861-1865.This is why I constantly say if you wish to "conserve" Lincolnian Republicanism, you are conserving a
- [Do We Need a Bigger Congress?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/do-we-need-a-bigger-congress/) - If anyone thinks they have adequate representation in Congress, they are either clueless or rich.Maybe both, because the only "people" represented in Congress are corporations, special interest groups, and political action committees.In other words, not you.In fact, the representative ratio in Congress is somewhere around 750,000:1.When the Constitution was written in 1787, George Washington insisted
- [A Mainstream Conservative Praises Calhoun?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-mainstream-conservative-praises-calhoun/) - Maybe we are winning. When a mainstream conservative can write glowingly about John C. Calhoun, perhaps the Straussian smear tactics against the man aren't having the desired effect.Good.This helps American conservatism.I know the other argument. Calhoun was a racist. How can we support that?This is a stupid argument made by historically ignorant and stupid people.You
- [The Truth About the Iranian Hostage Crisis](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-truth-about-the-iranian-hostage-crisis/) - During the 1980 presidential campaign, Republican candidate Ronald Reagan continually hammered President Jimmy Carter for being too soft on communism and too weak in the Middle East.He was on to something with the Reds, though you could make a case that Carter wasn't really aware of how many commies were floating around D.C.But the charge
- [Monuments to Only One Side](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/monuments-to-only-one-side/) - The "contextualization" and removal of Confederate monuments is part of an ongoing process to change the narrative about the War for Southern Independence.How so, you might ask, as most people do not get their history from monuments.This is true, but monuments are tourist attractions and do have a lasting impact on the cultural legacy of
- [The Worst President in American History Is?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-worst-president-in-american-history-is/) - Donald Trump was arrested today, and if I asked the subject of this email to one of my Ukrainian Flag friends on Twitter, they would surely say Donald Trump.Or maybe Ronald Reagan. You might get a George W. Bush or a Richard Nixon.But you would never get an Abraham Lincoln. Nope. The same people who
- [Americans Want a National Divorce](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/americans-want-a-national-divorce/) - According to a recent poll, over 60 percent of Americans want a national divorce.This is significant. This is probably the largest percentage of Americans who are contemplating the value of union since 1860.I know there are some righteous cause mythologists on this email list who will immediately cry, "TREASON", but not so fast.Many members of
- [Is This The Best Way to Sell Secession?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-this-the-best-way-to-sell-secession/) - Marjorie Taylor Greene's national divorce comment started a national conversation.Sean Hannity invited her on to his program to find out what she meant by a "national divorce."She wavered and waffled and eventually concluded that she didn't really mean secession.She meant separation or the ability for red state conservatives to be free from the tyranny of
- [Do the Founding Fathers Matter?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/do-the-founding-fathers-matter/) - Many of us spend a lot of time looking to the founding generation for answers to contemporary political problems.The left doesn't care.In fact, they don't think the founding generation matters. Period.You see, for years progressives have conditioned people to think of the founding generation as little more than a bunch of dead slave-owning white men
- [Were Confederates Nazis?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/were-confederates-nazis/) - Stop me if you've heard this one before: Confederate soldiers were proto-Nazis.This is the worst charge progressives level against the South. You see, if those evil white supremacist Southerners (as opposed to the good white supremacist Northerners) had won the War, Northern Americans would have been plagued with Adolf Hitler Calhoun right on their doorstep.It
- [Missouri Nullification and Texas Secession](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/missouri-nullification-and-texas-secession/) - An Obama appointed federal judge has declared a Missouri law in opposition to federal gun control to be unconstitutional.Why? SUPREMACY!This argument is the weakest in the national arsenal. Even Hamilton said unconstitutional federal legislation should not be enforced, and Hamilton never met a nationalist argument he didn't like.It never stops dopes from being dopes, even
- [Would Washington Hate Presidents Day?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/would-washington-hate-presidents-day/) - I know "Presidents Day" was last week, but an idiotic article at the New York Times had to get some time on The Brion McClanahan Show.Alexis Coe--self proclaimed "leading presidential historian of her generation"--claims that George Washington would have hated Presidents Day.This might be true, or it might not. Washington and the Federalists had a
- [How Did Lincoln Screw Up America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/how-did-lincoln-screw-up-america/) - How did Honest Abe screw up America? It could take a book to answer that question, but I think we could certainly focus on one issue: secession.With Marjorie Taylor Greene's recent viral comments on "national divorce" and several other more public discussions about decentralization taking place in recent years, Lincoln's arguments against secession have become
- [What was Lincoln's Plan for Freed Slaves?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-was-lincolns-plan-for-freed-slaves/) - What did Lincoln propose to do with freed slaves?The answer might surprise you. He famously told Alexander H. Stephens they could "root, hog, or die", but Lincoln had another idea.He wanted to ship them out of the country to anywhere that would take them.When a trial run in Haiti failed about mid-way through the War,
- [Family Wants Their Money Back From Woke University](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/family-wants-their-money-back-from-woke-university/) - In one of the best stories I've read in a long while, a family is demanding that a woke university return their cash.The University of Richmond decided to rename the T.C. Williams Law School because he owned slaves.But instead of rolling over, the family has decided to go on the offensive.Descendants have sent letters to
- [Is Secession Workable?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-secession-workable/) - Last night the SOHO Forum in New York City hosted a debate with the prompt: Is Secession Workable and Would it Benefit Liberty?One of the original panelists had to back out, and I was asked to replace him. I couldn't do it, either, but I thought it would make for a great episode of The
- [The Best President at Handling a Crisis Is?...](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-best-president-at-handling-a-crisis-is/) - Last week, C-SPAN released the results of a survey which polled American historians on the question: "Who was the best president at crisis management?"The results should not surprise you.#1 was good ol' Honest Abe.American historians are a pitiful bunch. They are worse than sheep. Follow the leader would be their favorite game, and unless their
- [A Federal or National Republic?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-federal-or-national-republic/) - We often hear that the United States is a "republic not a democracy."This has great rhetorical effect for "conservatives", and when I published my first book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers, I often had to use the same language on radio interviews.That is what "conservatives" understand.I remember one leftist journalist asking me
- [Did Lincoln Free the Slaves?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-lincoln-free-the-slaves/) - Any honest person knows the answer to the subject line is no.But that hasn't stopped "conservatives" from insisting the opposite.This is a curious phenomenon tied directly to the "proposition nation" myth of America history.Lincoln proclaimed that he was fighting for government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" in order to maintain
- [Biden's Predictably Bad SOU](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/bidens-predictably-bad-sou/) - In case you missed it last week, Joe Biden delivered his "State of the Union" address. We used to call these the annual message, but Woodrow Wilson thought that wasn't parliamentarian enough and started the current tradition of the President getting going to deliver the message to Congress in person.He wasn't the first. Both Washington
- [Three Cheers for Pat Buchanan](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/three-cheers-for-pat-buchanan/) - Pat Buchanan has penned his last weekly syndicated column.That is a real loss for American conservatism and American political intellectual history.Buchanan was a one man wrecking crew against the establishment. I didn't always agree with his positions--he was too Lincolnian and Hamiltonian for my taste--but he always was thought provoking and often right.He is also
- [The Original Constitution vs the 14th Amendment](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-original-constitution-vs-the-14th-amendment/) - Should we follow the original Constitution or the Constitution of 1868?If you suggest the former, then according to many "conservatives" and libertarians, you are walking into a minefield.You see, many Americans see the original Constitution as "pro-slavery." This stance comes from the arguments of nineteenth-century abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison who considered the document to
- [Were the Founding Fathers Proslavery?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/were-the-founding-fathers-proslavery/) - People have a hard time separating slavery from racism.The two terms have become synonymous in American society because of the history of the slavery in America.This description lacks complexity, as white Europeans were also enslaved, albeit at a different rate and manner, as white indentured servitude disappeared long before African slavery in the United States.But
- [Should We Abandon the Original Constitution?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/should-we-abandon-the-original-constitution/) - Should we adhere to the original Constitution of 1789 or the Constitution of 1868?You might be asking, "What is the difference?"Last year, I talked about the rise of the "Progressive Originalists", those who buttress their loose construction on a distorted reading of the 14th Amendment.That is the Constitution of 1868, and there is no louder
- [Did the Declaration Create the Anti-Slavery Movement?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-the-declaration-create-the-anti-slavery-movement/) - Jon Meacham is one of the worst Lincoln worshipers in America.His latest book on Lincoln is pure garbage.But every establishment dope wants his approval.Take for example Professor Manisha Sinha. She has been featured on major cable television shows and has won awards for her work on slavery. She is the establishment's establishment.Yet, she thinks she
- [America in Decline?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/america-in-decline/) - World War III seems to be on the horizon, and every establishment politico is rushing headlong into the abyss.This is the message from the stammering, boot-licking hacks during the Davos summit a couple of weeks ago.Except they don't seem to mind. Climate change, ya know?A little nuclear war could be good for the environment. Anything
- [The Lessons of War](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-lessons-of-war/) - The generals are gathering in their masses.And the United States and NATO are sending tanks to Ukraine to fight the Russians.31 from the United States to be exact. This stupid idea is the result of the stupid establishment.It seems the establishment never learns the lessons of war.Or maybe they know full well that we war
- [Is Secession the Right Thing to Do?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-secession-the-right-thing-to-do/) - National Review of all places recently published an interesting piece on secession, penned by Hillsdale College Professor Miles Smith.I like Professor Smith. He has interesting things to say about the South on social media, and he is genuinely interested in the Southern tradition, not as a specimen to be studied under a microscope, but as
- [Is the Decline in "Professional" History Dangerous?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-the-decline-in-professional-history-dangerous/) - Leftist historian Daniel Bessner dreads the "dangerous" decline in "professional" history. This shouldn't be happening in our society, but, as you might expect, Bessner chalks it up to ignorant conservative hayseeds who don't seem to appreciate the nuances and rigorous academic standards of professional history. Or maybe they are just racist. He can't decide. Either
- [Is the Weaponization of the Government a Partisan Issue?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-the-weaponization-of-the-government-a-partisan-issue/) - If the Republicans in Congress do their job, Democrat corruption will be on full display in several House committees.This doesn't mean the Republicans aren't corrupt. They all are. But the Democrats, most of whom hail from Yankee dominated parts of the Union, have been running around with their treasury of virtue labeling anyone who opposed
- [Did McCarthy Destroy the House?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-mccarthy-destroy-the-house/) - Leftist journalist Dana Milbank at the Washington Post thinks that Kevin McCarthy "destroyed the House" in order to save himself.This is what passes for serious content these days.To Leninists like Milbank, any deviation from the Party line is subject to ostracism, ridicule, and scorn.How are those 20 Republicans took a stand against the establishment!I loved
- [Have Progressives Found Federalism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/have-progressives-found-federalism/) - Has a mainstream progressive found federalism?In our age of government worship, this might be like a lost soul finding Jesus.Not really, but small steps.Jamelle Bouie at the The New York Times has recently pecked out a couple of pieces that make it seem like he has indeed discovered the beauty of federalism.He seems to support
- [The Tyranny of the Majority](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-tyranny-of-the-majority/) - Does the "tyranny of the majority" exist?Short answer, yes.Every astute political thinker has realized this inherent problem with democracy. It's why the founding generation warned against excessive democracy in government.The Constitution was designed to be primarily anti-democratic.The rule of the 50+1 percent allows a very slim majority to plunder the other half of the population,
- [A Return to "Midwestern Values"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-return-to-midwestern-values/) - George Will thinks Americans need to return to "Midwestern values."What does this mean? I have many listeners from the Midwest, and they are all great people, but I don't think any of them would identify with how Will defines "Midwestern values."To Will, like all Straussians and neoconservatives, "Midwestern values" rely on the Lincoln myth of
- [Secession in the 21st Century](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/secession-in-the-21st-century/) - While many dopes in American still hold this view--see the "Naming Commission" and Ty Seidule--the term has found new life in the 21st century.There are multiple secession movements across the United States and people around the world are looking to decentralization as a remedy for the out of control State.The desirability and efficacy of secession
- ["The Squad" and "MAGA Republicans"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-squad-and-maga-republicans/) - We can dream. While the House debates who should be the next Speaker, they can't do any business. Which means they can't make anything worse.I wrote a book titled 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America, but as John C. Calhoun pointed out in the 19th century, it was really Congress that kept screwing up America.Writing
- [Natural Rights, Natural Law, and Liberty](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/natural-rights-natural-law-and-liberty/) - It seems Michael Anton wants to define American conservatism. He accuses the other side of playing this game, but there are not many "conservatives" who have spilled as much ink on the topic as Anton in the last couple of years.I had it out with him in 2021. Now, he has directed his fire at
- [State Mottos and Liberty](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/state-mottos-and-liberty/) - I'm back in the saddle again.It feels good to get behind the microphone again and to welcome in another exciting year of Podcasting and more.I hope you had a great New Year and a Merry Christmas and that 2023 brings you great joy and blessings.It should be interesting.I made some changes to the Podcast. You
- [Slave North](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/slave-north/) - For the penultimate episode of The Brion McClanahan Show for 2022, I tackle a topic I've been asked about dozens of times.What was the North's role in slavery and "white supremacy"?Short answer: a lot.This history was generally suppressed for nearly a century. Southerners, of course, talked about it, but the Lincolnian Myth would not allow
- [The Jeffersonians](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-jeffersonians/) - I paused today on my "listener generation episode week"--I had one of the four last week--so I could talk with Kevin Gutzman about his new book, The Jeffersonians.This is the first real interview on The Brion McClanahan Show, and it corresponds with Episode 750.I won't do another one for a long time, but this was
- [Decentralization is the Way](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/decentralization-is-the-way/) - I'm kicking off my "listener generated episode week" with a discussion of decentralization.My Podcast theme is "Think locally, Act locally," so much of the show covers this topics, but this particular listener wanted to know if I think we are seeing any progress in decentralization in the United States.I had a lot to say about
- [Joe Biden vs. James K. Polk](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/joe-biden-vs-james-k-polk/) - Politico reporter Joshua Zeitz thinks Joe Biden could learn something from James K. Polk.I hope not.Polk has become a popular president among the American monarchists.I get it. I used to be a Polk fan, too, back when I thought Bob Dole was a conservative.It's embarrassing, but we all start somewhere.I used to agree with Mr.
- [How the Next Civil War Begins](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/how-the-next-civil-war-begins/) - When will the next American civil war begin?This has become a popular question over the last decade as people on both the left and the right calculate the value of Union.It's also a poor question because it relies on the incorrect assumption that secession must bring war.We have no one but Lincoln--and the Righteous Cause
- [Pat Buchanan and the Republican Party](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/pat-buchanan-and-the-republican-party/) - Pat Buchanan changed the Republican Party in 1992. That's what the Washington Post thinks, and they hate it.Or did he? If you consider the fact that the Republican Party still acts like the Grand Old Stupid Party as Sam Francis called it, I would argue not much has changed.But Pat's 1992 "Culture War" speech had
- [Virginia First](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/virginia-first/) - If you listen to the Righteous Cause Lincoln Mythologists, the "Lost Cause" was invented after the War by evil Southerners eager to provide cover for their immoral war.In other words, they lied.Pushing this narrative has become a cottage industry for historically challenged individuals, from tenured professors and high school history teachers to YouTube amateurs who
- [The Lincoln Myth as Fact?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-lincoln-myth-as-fact/) - The political left is the single most destructive force in the history of the West.It's not even close.But they would be powerless without certain myths that give their positions the supposed moral high ground.Most of this involves "emotivism."Equity, equality, fairness, justice, rights, etc. are all based on an emotional concept of moral righteousness.In some cases,
- [The Left's War on Culture](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-lefts-war-on-culture/) - Let me welcome all of the recent subscribers from my appearance on the Chad Prather Show.That episode corresponded nicely with my own episode of The Brion McClanahan Show today, "The Left's War on Culture."I've talked about the Arlington National Cemetery Confederate Monument on both my show and through this email list, but Catesby Leigh ran
- [Were the Anti-Federalists Right About the Supreme Court?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/were-the-anti-federalists-right-about-the-supreme-court/) - Jamelle Bouie penned one of the most surprising columns in recent memory.He actually quoted the famous Anti-Federalist Brutus to defend his position.If you don't know, Bouie is a progressive's progressive. He is woke, believes in every leftist cause, and is a firm proponent of federal power to ram the progressive agenda down our throats.But the
- [DeSantis for President?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/desantis-for-president/) - Would Ron DeSantis make a good president?Anything is better than Brandon, or maybe not.If you believe in chaos, Brandon is a good choice. So was Trump.DeSantis would be something entirely different, and when National Review starts making the case, you need to be worried.You see, people like Jack Geraghty think a President Ron is a
- [Is Texas Secession Illegal?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-texas-secession-illegal/) - One of the common arguments against secession, Texas or otherwise, is that the act is illegal."Why, the Supreme Court said in Texas v. White in 1869 that a State cannot unilaterally secede!"I'll give you the answer I provided at a Ron Paul event in 2010: So what?There are so many things wrong with that decision,
- [Did Reconstruction Create American "Gun Culture"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-reconstruction-create-american-gun-culture/) - What created American "gun culture"?If you listen to dimwits like Nick Buttrick, the South.More specifically, wait for it, SLAVERY.You see, gun culture was born out of white Southern fear of black people.They started packing heat because they hated blacks and feared for their lives after the War.Buttrick argues that before the "Civil War," Americans did
- [Guelzo's Gettysburg Address](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/guelzos-gettysburg-address/) - Allen Guelzo is perhaps my least favorite establishment historian.That's saying something.Conservatives love him. He has a great radio or documentary voice and speaks with authority. He is intelligent and holds the right views on a number of issues.But "conservatives" like Guelzo have a fatal flaw that will always result in enhancing the left.They can't help
- [The Red Ripple](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-red-ripple/) - For weeks, I was relatively skeptical about Republican chances for success in the 2022 election.I blasted Oz and Hershel Walker as bad candidates and argued that the Grand Old Stupid Party would mess up a golden opportunity to gain control of the Congress.Then I bought the polling numbers leading into November 8 and predicted that
- [Rum, Ginger Cakes, and Elections](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/rum-ginger-cakes-and-elections/) - Did you end democracy today?Yesterday I wrote that the founding generation may have reconsidered their support for "democracy" if they could see the current state of American politics.But then again, maybe not.In colonial Virginia, it was commonplace to provide potential voters with rum, beer, whiskey, ginger cakes, and other assorted goodies, perhaps even free lodging
- [Brandon's Speech Against "Political Violence"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/brandons-speech-against-political-violence/) - We are in the home stretch of the most important election of our lifetimes.This one just surpasses the 2020 election, which was the next most important election of our lifetime.That election was slightly more important than the 2018 election, which was only a bit more important than the 2016 election.And if we don't vote tomorrow,
- [Straussian "Patriotism"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/straussian-patriotism/) - On Monday, I wrote about an article by Lafayette Lee that defined "patriotism" as a defense of people and place, not some ideological commitment to "natural rights" or some mythical founding expressed by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address.Predictably, Straussian Glenn Ellmers found fault with it.You see, if you take on St. Abraham, the Straussians
- [Dark Age Patriotism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/dark-age-patriotism/) - I've long said that the real problem for American conservatism isn't the left. They are predictable.No, the real issue for a truly conservative American political movement are so-called American conservatives that cling to the Lincolnian Myth of the American founding.You can't spell conservative with 19th century radicalism.R.L. Dabney pointed this out in the late 19th
- [Did Lincoln Save Democracy?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-lincoln-save-democracy/) - The Lincoln myth is never going away.Why? Because people on both the "left" and "right" subscribe to it, so much so that Lincoln is the only person capable of saving democracy.At least that is what Jon Meacham argued in a recent piece at Time magazine.This is almost psychopathy.Meacham thinks Joe Biden needs to take a
- [Is "Presentism" a Good Thing?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-presentism-a-good-thing/) - Eric Foner thinks "presentism" is a pretty good idea.Of course, because "presentism" undergirds Foner's scholarship.In a recent review of a new book about C. Vann Woodward, Foner concludes that Woodward's "presentism" helped bring attention to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.You see, to Foner, historical activism in the name of a good
- [The Beauty of Federalism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-beauty-of-federalism/) - Last week, The New York Times ran an article that exemplifies the current Constitutional ignorance in the United States.While the article was ostensibly about the "independent state legislature doctrine," the subtitle grabbed my attention:"Races in state legislatures are often quiet and turn on local issues like roads or schools. But a Supreme Court case could
- [The Broken Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-broken-constitution/) - For years, academics have argued that Lincoln and the Republicans maintained the Constitution during the War. This is the common tripe from Straussians and their righteous cause myth allies.But what if those who argued Lincoln shredded the Constitution have been correct the entire time.What if "originalism" has been the proper way to interpret the Constitution
- ["Progressive Originalism" and the 14th Amendment](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/progressive-originalism-and-the-14th-amendment/) - Last week, I discussed Justice Jackson's "progressive originalism." This led to an email asking if I denied that such a thing existed.It was easier to make an episode of The Brion McClanahan Show then respond directly, and it also allowed me to review a book that has created quite a stir in the "libertarian community,"
- [Who are the "Straussians"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/who-are-the-straussians/) - I've received several emails over the years asking me to explain what I mean by the "Straussians."With the theme of "myths" this week, I thought it was a good time to go into more detail.The Straussians are a particular type of American conservative based on the teachings of Leo Strauss through perhaps his most important
- [The Myths of American History](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-myths-of-american-history/) - American history is full of myths. The most conspicuous and derided is the "Myth of the Lost Cause."Most people don't know what the so-called "Lost Cause" meant, but they think it means people who argue that slavery wasn't important in the antebellum period or as a contributing factor to the "Civil War."All they know is
- [The United States of Confederate America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-united-states-of-confederate-america/) - Several people sent me a link to a recent Atlantic article tilted, "The United States of Confederate America."I had to cover it on The Brion McClanahan Show.The piece is an example of the absolute disdain the progressive left has for rural America, specifically white, high-school educated, middle and lower middle class Americas. These are the
- [Language Matters](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/language-matters/) - Language matters.The descriptive words we use define our principles and positions.Terms like "rebel" and "neo-confederate" have always been sneers by a supposedly morally righteous individual untainted by "treason" or "slavery".All four of those words are meaningless in current discourse.The same can be said for "federalist" and "anti-federalist". The perversion of the former and the creation
- [Why Can't the United States Military Recruit?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-cant-the-united-states-military-recruit/) - The "Naming Commission" has spoken and the Secretary of Defense has signed off on it's proposals.Unless something happens, the Confederate Monument in Arlington Cemetery will be unrecognizable once they are through with it.It will simply be a block of granite.This is the future of America. Beauty is gone, only communist "equity" will remain. Take a
- [Justice Jackson's Idiotic "Progressive Originalism"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/justice-jacksons-idiotic-progressive-originalism/) - According to the establishment, new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson "schooled" the rest of America on the 14th Amendment last week.Slate called this "progressive originalism."But did she really "school" anyone on anything?Hardly.Justice Jackson supposedly took the Alabama Solicitor General to task for insisting that the 14th Amendment and the Constitution are "race blind."She correctly
- [Shredding the Constitution to Save the Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/shredding-the-constitution-to-save-the-constitution/) - In 1978, Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina appeared on William Buckley's "Firing Line."The two had a memorable exchange about "backbone:"SJE: "Frankly, I think the big trouble in public life is there are too many people in public life with the anatomy of the jellyfish. They haven't got much backbone, and I think they need
- [Causes of the Civil War](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/causes-of-the-civil-war/) - Last week, I received an email from someone who liked one of my books, but who could not figure out why I would suggest that the "Civil War" wasn't about slavery.He wrote that he used to be a "neo-Confederate" like me, but after reading "all" of the primary documents, he changed his mind and now
- [Should "Constitution Day" be a "National Holiday"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/should-constitution-day-be-a-national-holiday/) - I missed "Constitution Day" last week.It was on purpose.It's not that I don't like the Constitution. I wrote a book on it, though I think Southerners wrote a better one in 1861.I also think the proponents of the Constitution duped wavering ratifiers into believing that it would maintain the original federal republic.It didn't.I have also
- [De-legitimizing the American Presidency](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/de-legitimizing-the-american-presidency/) - When I was in graduate school, my roommate and I used to joke about how to de-legitimize the American presidency.We couldn't have drawn up a better blueprint than Donald Trump and Joe Biden.Consider:1. Both the 2016 and 2020 elections have been called illegitimate.2. Trump was impeached twice, and if Republicans take control of the House
- [God Save the (American) King?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/god-save-the-american-king/) - The pomp and circumstance following Queen Elizabeth II's death provided a once in a lifetime spectacle.Tradition trumped modernism.Just about everyone enjoyed watching the show. Some leftists and grumpy woke idiots chimed in to offer their tired "white supremacy" opinions, and certainly the Irish were not impressed, but overall the ceremony was well received. Over five
- [The Problem with "Conservative Nationalism"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-problem-with-conservative-nationalism/) - What is "American conservatism"?I've spent a lot of time on my podcast discussing this issue.I also co-authored a book on the topic with Clyde Wilson about a decade ago.If you haven't picked that up, you should.This a large topic, and no one can sufficiently answer the question in a podcast or two, or perhaps even
- [Is Originalism "Dangerous"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-originalism-dangerous/) - Yesterday I discussed the impact of emotion on American politics.No one can discount the power of the heart, even when it comes to a judge's decision.Take for example most of the leftist decisions of the 20th century.They aren't based on the Constitution. And one dean at a major West Coast law school admits it.You see,
- [The Greatest Threat to American "Democracy"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-greatest-threat-to-american-democracy/) - I've written two books with "The Politically Incorrect Guide" in the title.No one ever said I wouldn't say something about delicate subjects.Today's topic is one of those.Over the weekend, Lew Rockwell republished a piece by Jack Cashill from The American Thinker.The topic? Educated Leftist Females are destroying America. He calls them ELFs. Funny.This is not
- [Calhoun for the 21st Century](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/calhoun-for-the-21st-century/) - John C. Calhoun is often regarded as the American Hitler, so much so that both "conservatives" and progressives go out of their way to portray him as the supreme evil doer in American history.If it just wasn't for that Calhoun, America would have been perfect!This belief is a component of both the "proposition nation myth"
- [Is Real America Progressive?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-real-america-progressive/) - The idiotic neoconservative Max Boot recently penned a piece claiming that real America is in fact blue America.You know, drag queens and blue haired zoomers.He may not be wrong. This leads to an important questions: has America ever really been "conservative"?Louis Hartz argued that America could never claim a real conservative tradition.That may be true
- [Brandon's Lincolnian Anti-MAGA Speech](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/brandons-lincolnian-anti-maga-speech/) - In cast you missed it, President Brandon declared "MAGA Republicans" to be enemies of the State.Then he didn't.The Democrats realized they stepped in it and quickly tried to pivot by arguing that "MAGA Republicans" were not evil, just MAGA policies.Except everyone knows that the speech was exactly what Democrats think. In fact, it was written
- [Is the Constitution Broken?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-the-constitution-broken/) - Is the Constitution broken?Two Ivy League professors think so. Of course, I have argued it has been broken since 1789. Southerners said it was broken in the 1850s.Asking this question is nothing new, but the fact that two leftist law professors have broached the question means something has shifted in the United States.You see, now
- [Are Progressives "Neo-Confederates"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/are-progressives-neo-confederates/) - Victor Davis Hanson's laughable piece at The New Criterion is the gift that keeps on giving, at least if you need a muse.His conclusion is particularly noteworthy for its ahistorical tone:"Or, to put it another way in an ironic fashion, the obdurate blue-state North is reminiscent of the mulish Old South, while the red-state new
- [The Old South Shall Rise Again?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-old-south-shall-rise-again/) - Yesterday I told you about my latest class at McClanahan Academy, Radical Republicans, and how it was essential that you understand that group of men.Why? Because so many modern "conservatives" simply regurgitate what these leftists had to say about the War, the South, and American society.Charles Sumner, for example, wanted to remake the United States
- [The Radical Republicans Screwed Up America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-radical-republicans-screwed-up-america/) - I am going to say something that might surprise you:The most important men in American political history were the Radical Republicans of the 1850s-1870s.It's not even close.The immediate response, I am sure, will be, "But what about the Founding Fathers?"I greatly admire the founding generation, and I consider them to be the greatest generation in
- [Conservatism: A Rediscovery or Distortion?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/conservatism-a-rediscovery-or-distortion/) - Yoram Hazony recently published a new intellectual history of American conservatism.This is a worthwhile topic, but one that Hazony doesn't seem to understand.Russell Kirk did a much better job in The Conservative Mind nearly seventy years ago.Why? Because Kirk included Southerners like Calhoun and Randolph.Hazony argues that American conservatism is tied exclusively to the nationalists
- [Is Claremont Good for Conservatism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-claremont-good-for-conservatism/) - The New York Times published an expose on the Claremont Institute and its influence on modern American conservatism.Anyone paying attention to conservative politics since 2016 would recognize the wide ranging impact on the conservative movement from Claremont and its programs.The quickly abandoned 1776 Commission Report might as well have been stamped, "Produced and Approved by
- [Cancel Culture Comes for Massachusetts](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/cancel-culture-comes-for-massachusetts/) - In 2015, the Christian Science Monitor interviewed me about the push to remove Confederate symbols across the United States.I argued that the next step would be removing the Jefferson Memorial or renaming Washington D.C.It hasn't exactly come to that--of course there is a push to remove Washington's name from George Washington University--but it seems everything
- [Was Obama Following Lincoln?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/was-obama-following-lincoln/) - In 2012, Barack Obama signed the NDAA into law, a bill that suspended the writ of habeas corpus in the United States.Not many noticed, and Obama himself tried to downplay the significance of the bill by issuing a "signing statement" designed to soften the blow to civil liberties.For those that don't understand the terms "signing
- [Don't Spit on Your Ancestors' Graves](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/dont-spit-on-your-ancestors-graves/) - Last week I talked about the situation with Ann McLane and the witch hunt in Virginia to take her down.It worked.McLane resigned from her appointed position, probably at the instance of the spineless governor. We should have expected as much.Youngkin is just another establishment Republican. I pegged him for that a while back.But the real
- [Bring Back the Spoils!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/bring-back-the-spoils/) - Thomas Jefferson famously charged King George III with sending over "swarms of officers" to the American colonies with the sole purpose of "harassing" and "eating out the substance" of the American colonies.These would be called bureaucrats, or the "Deep State".The general government operated with a very small paid cadre of employees for most of the
- [Do We Need Another "Constitutional Convention"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/do-we-need-another-constitutional-convention/) - When the 55 delegates to the Philadelphia Convention assembled at the Pennsylvania Statehouse in May 1787, only a handful knew that the gathering would potentially be a seismic shift in American politics. The majority of the delegates believed they attended to simply review the Articles of Confederation and present amendments.Not so for the nationalists bent
- [Copperheads](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/copperheads/) - When I was a young lad in graduate school, I wanted to to write my dissertation in Abraham Lincoln. This was post Tom DiLorenzo's The Real Lincoln, and I wanted to focus exclusively on Lincoln's abuse of power.This had already been done, at least to an extent. One faculty member at South Carolina pulled me
- [The Real Goal of American Education](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-real-goal-of-american-education/) - American conservatives seemed to be confused about the real goal of American education.It isn't to foster creative thinking or problem solving skills.It isn't to introduce students to the classics or a wide range of topics.It's to "educate," and by educate, I mean "indoctrinate."That means having the "correct" opinion on every important subject. Nothing is safe.You
- [Should We "Fix" the Supreme Court?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/should-we-fix-the-supreme-court/) - Recent Supreme Court decisions have the progressive left apoplectic.They almost can't understand how their monster, the federal court system, has gone rabid and turned against them.I say almost because they believe they know the culprit.You.You vote for conservatives who in turn have had the chance to nominate dozens of justices to the federal courts.That has
- [The Confusing Meaning of July 4th](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-confusing-meaning-of-july-4th/) - On Jul 4, 1976, President Gerald Ford addressed a large crowd at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.His advisors worried that his previous speeches on the meaning of the founding were getting lost in the media shuffle, and they wanted him to make a definitive statement about the bicentennial.This was his chance. Everyone would be watching and
- [Cornell Takes Down Lincoln](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/cornell-takes-down-lincoln/) - I predicted in 2015 that the woke mob would not stop at Confederate monuments.Neocons didn't listen and instead hid behind their self-righteousness and moral preening. You see, they loved Abraham Lincoln, so they were on the right side of history. Confederates were Democrats (or Nazis) who deserved to be purged.And what American doesn't love the
- [A Pathway to Reparations?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-pathway-to-reparations/) - A few weeks ago I talked about Harvard's $100 million project to atone for their complicity in the institution of slavery.That isn't good enough, at least according to one lawsuit.The original suit was filed in 2019, long before Harvard pledged the mea culpa dough, but a Massachusetts court recently held that Harvard could be sued
- [An "Insult to the 9th Amendment"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/an-insult-to-the-9th-amendment/) - Damon Root at Reason.com thinks the recent Dobbs decision is an "insult to the 9th Amendment."His position is based on two faulty premises:1. That "originalism" is based on what the opponents of the Constitution worried the document would do rather than what the proponents swore it would not do, i.e. consolidate all power in the
- [Dobbs and New York Rifle](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/dobbs-and-new-york-rifle/) - The 14th Amendment is the gift that keeps on giving but more like HPV than a rich benefactor.In the last three days, the Supreme Court has either accepted or rejected using the 14th Amendment to radically remake America.And by radically remake America I mean the destruction of actual federalism.Conservatives are cheering for the New York
- [Joe Biden vs. Jimmy Carter](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/joe-biden-vs-jimmy-carter/) - Welcome to the new establishment Republican talking point: Joe Biden is Jimmy Carter 2.0.When I tell people I wrote a book about bad presidents, the first question I usually get is something like this: "Is Jimmy Carter at the top of your list?"No. He doesn't even make the top fifteen worst presidents.Carter was a symptom
- [National Conservatism: A Statement of Principles](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/national-conservatism-a-statement-of-principles/) - You can't keep the Struassians down. In fact, they want to define what it means to be a "conservative," and they might just be successful, unfortunately.This doesn't mean I don't agree with them on several issues.But their insistence on "national conservatism" presents major problems, not the least of which is their entire "nationalist" worldview.Calhoun said
- [The Sovietization of American Life?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-sovietization-of-american-life/) - Every so often, Victor Davis Hanson writes a piece that gets a few things right.Take for example his recent effort at American Greatness, "The Sovietization of American Life."Hanson describes the wholesale destruction of traditional American society as a byproduct of the Marxist drift of American culture over the last half century.What he doesn't get is
- [A Red Wave or a Red Ripple?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-red-wave-or-a-red-ripple/) - A lot of people on the right are banking on a "red wave" this November to turn the tide of American politics.Uncle Joe's approval ratings are tanking, and the Democrats don't seem to have a clue about what is causing the worst inflation since the 1970s.Americans are tired of the culture war, tired of woke
- [The Origins of Originalism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-origins-of-originalism/) - If you listen to progressives, "originalism" is nothing more than a crackpot conservative way to discriminate against minorities through "bad" court decisions.Or maybe it's just to overturn what they consider to be "good" court decisions.Either way, the fear is that conservatives will scrap their ability to legislate from the bench.Most progressives believe that "originalism" wasn't
- [Would DeSantis Make a Good President?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/would-desantis-make-a-good-president/) - A listener asked if I thought Ron DeSantis was wrong about Alexander Hamilton.Most people are wrong about Alexander Hamilton, particularly those who consider him to be the most important American in the founding generation.He was certainly driven, intelligent, and patriotic, but he was also a duplicitous liar who laid the foundation for the destruction of
- [Monuments to White Supremacy?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/monuments-to-white-supremacy/) - Yesterday was Memorial Day. Most Americans don't know three facts about the holiday:1. It originated in the South to honor Confederate (and Union) dead.2. The day became an officially recognized holiday because GAR commander John Logan copied the Southern event in 1868.3. John Logan helped push through the legislation that prohibited blacks from living in
- ["Neo-Confederate" Nikole Hannah-Jones](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/neo-confederate-nikole-hannah-jones/) - Nikole Hannah-Jones is clearly a "neo-Confederate." Why? Because she had the audacity to claim that the War wasn't fought to end slavery.Gasp!You can almost hear the head of every righteous cause mythologist exploding.How dare this faux historian/journalist claim that the War was not about slavery. And she not only said it, she TRIPLED DOWN on
- [What is Democracy?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-democracy/) - The left wants more "democracy." You see, they think more "democracy" means better government.But what does that term mean, and more importantly, what if more "democracy" meant worse government?Calhoun certainly thought it would lead to that, but you have to understand how he defined "democracy."To most eighteenth century Europeans--democracy didn't exist anywhere else--democracy was the
- [Bring Back Stonewall Jackson (High School)!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/bring-back-stonewall-jackson-high-school/) - During the 2020 Summer of Love, progressives were orgiastic about tearing down traditional American society. The low hanging fruit had always been Confederate history.2020 was just a continuation of 2015 and 2017. Of course, no one could identify how a school named for Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley affected police officers in Minnesota, but
- [How Congress Screwed Up America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/how-congress-screwed-up-america/) - While most American conservatives have embraced "Let's Go Brandon!" the problems of executive abuse run deeper than the drooler in chief.Real American conservatives should have been chanting "Let's Go Brandon" to virtually every president over the last one hundred years.Not even the "conservative" Reagan should get a pass, but he does.In fact, you could say
- [Roe v. Wade](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/roe-v-wade/) - The recent leak of the potential reversal of Roe v. Wade has the left going nuts and predicting the apocalypse.It's pure stupidity.On the other hand, as Michael Boldin at the Tenth Amendment Center likes to point out, it's usually "constitutional conservatives" that have the hardest time coming to grips with real federalism.They want nationalism as
- [NASCAR and Woke America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/nascar-and-woke-america/) - I remember watching the Daytona 500 in February 2001. Any NASCAR fans knows what happened at the end of the race.Dale Earnhardt was killed in a nasty collision with the wall.Wells King at The American Conservative pegs that moment as the day NASCAR died.NASCAR went woke without the influence of The Intimidator around.Today, you can't
- [Why the South Lives On?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-the-south-lives-on/) - I'm constantly amazed at how many Americans are perplexed by the South.It is the curious specimen that must be viewed under microscope. The curiosity that just doesn't mesh with American norms.John C. Calhoun, according to a recent biography, is an "American heretic," as if the entire South was heretical.Hillary Clinton certainly let the cat out
- [Is Marjorie Taylor Greene an Insurrectionist?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-marjorie-taylor-greene-an-insurrectionist/) - Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is currently on trail for being an "insurrectionist."A federal judge allowed Greene to stand trial in State court in an effort to have her removed from the November ballot for violating the 14th Amendment.There are several legal problems with this line of thinking, as legal scholar Jonathan Turley recently pointed out
- [One Nation Indivisible?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/one-nation-indivisible/) - If Kevin Levin wasn't bad enough yesterday, Lindsay Chervinsky upped the ante.Chervinsky is a well regarded popular historian. She wrote a little book on Washington's cabinet that generated some buzz and has a fairly prominent public speaking routine. She is good on media and has a nice personality.But she's not a great historian.Case in point,
- [What Would Lincoln Do?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-would-lincoln-do/) - I almost feel sorry for these people. Almost.I'm speaking of the righteous cause mythologists, people like Kevin Levin who think they are "bringing their A game" when attacking "Neo-Confederate Lost Causers."What would constitute Levin's "A game"? Pointing out that there were pockets of Union sentiment in the South during the War.No way! You got us,
- [Considering Secession](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/considering-secession/) - In 1999, no one would have believed that in less than 25 years, secession would be a topic of discussion in the United States, so much so that major pollsters are starting to ask questions about it.A lot has happened since the late 90s, particularly the growth in the size and scope of the general
- [Why Was Washington a Nationalist?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-was-washington-a-nationalist/) - About a week ago, Michael Boldin at The Tenth Amendment Center asked me to explain why George Washington was a nationalist.Good question. After all, Washington hailed from Virginia, and to many men from the Old Dominion, Virginia was a fine enough country without another central government telling it what to do.But Washington wasn't alone. John
- [Black Confederate Myth?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/black-confederate-myth/) - Were "black Confederates" a myth?If you listen to Kevin Levin, then yes. In fact, he wrote an entire polemic, published by the University of North Carolina Press, on the topic.Problem is, he didn't really write on the topic.Most of the book is a screed against "neo-Confederates" and in particular the UDC, SCV, and UCV and
- [Bill Maher is Thinking Locally and Acting Locally](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/bill-maher-is-thinking-locally-and-acting-locally/) - Sometimes you win, and sometimes you have to take a victory lap for even small things.Like Bill Maher admitting that local government is more important than the "national" stupidity in D.C.Maher is a staple for the left, though he has fallen out of favor with the more idiotic progressives because he has hammered woke cancel
- [To Save the War Bonds!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/to-save-the-war-bonds/) - Every now and then, an establishment historian gets something right without knowing it.It's almost shocking.Take for example a new book by David Thomson, Bonds of War.Thomson has not sympathy for the South or for "Lost Cause mythology." He is as establishment as it gets.Yet, Bonds of War surprisingly shows that the main objective of the
- [Did the South Invent "State's Rights"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-the-south-invent-states-rights/) - One common narrative from establishment hacks, I mean historians, involves the term "State's rights." You see, to these dopes, the South invented State's rights as a convenient way to enforce "white supremacy." They insist no one was talking about it before slavery became an issue in American political life.That would mean that the term was
- [Objective History Doesn't Exist](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/objective-history-doesnt-exist/) - The historical profession has a tendency to hide behind a supposed veil of objectivity.Kind of like Yankees have a treasury of virtue.Establishment hacks believe that a publication with a university press--"peer reviewed"--gives them a badge of trust. You see, these people believe this validates their work.Except it just means that they sent it to a
- [Conservatives Don't Conserve Anything](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/conservatives-dont-conserve-anything/) - Saying "Conservatives don't conserve anything" has become a cliche in modern American political discourse.The evidence is overwhelming.Much of this is the result of American conservatives believing the Republican Party has a spine or that as an organization is has any interest in fundamental American conservative principles.Judging by their actions, they might as well claim to
- [The Lies That Lead to War](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-lies-that-lead-to-war/) - Most American wars have been started based on a lie.James K. Polk lied that "American blood had been shed on American soil," and the United States Congress declared war on Mexico.Abraham Lincoln lied that secession was illegal and that the Southern States were in "rebellion." He called up 75,000 volunteers to "save the Union" and
- [Nationalize the Economy? Not.](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/nationalize-the-economy-not/) - World War I is the gift that keeps on giving. Or is it World War II? Or perhaps the Cold War?Several "lawmakers" have urged President Biden to invoke "Cold War powers" to nationalize the economy and stop soaring energy prices.I've read the Constitution hundreds of times, and I have yet to find the "Cold War
- [Joe Doesn't Know History](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/joe-doesnt-know-history/) - A few weeks ago, "historian" Heather Cox Richardson traveled to the White House to interview our "historic" President, Joe Biden.Think about what this means for the history "profession."Richardson is a prize winning historian at Boston College and a media celebrity. Why? Because she is an establishment leftist shill who spends her time dreaming up ways
- [Guelzo's 1619 Mistake](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/guelzos-1619-mistake/) - If Hollywood is a problem for an accurate portrayal of the South, don't count on "conservative" academics to save the day.Take Allen Guelzo for example.He was hired a Princeton a few years ago to "balance" the history department. In other words, Guelzo is the token "conservative" on staff.Except he agrees with his leftist colleagues on
- [Driving Miss Woke Daisy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/driving-miss-woke-daisy/) - Hollywood never gets the South right.This is mostly because they have a conception of the South built by sensationalized television coverage and an establishment education system that has been openly hostile to the region for half a century, particularly in the universities.Or maybe it was just because of George Wallace.Take Forrest Gump, for example. If
- [Confederacy = Hitler?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/confederacy-hitler/) - You've probably seen this stupid argument before: The Confederacy was a proto-fascist societyMoreover, John C. Calhoun was the precursor to Hitler.It's not just leftist dopes who come up with this nonsense. Neoconservatives like to spout this stupidity and even some non-Straussian conservatives have been fooled into becoming American Nazis because they believe it, too.This is
- [Biden's SOU Stunk](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/bidens-sou-stunk/) - I suffered through Joe Biden's first State of the Union so you didn't have to.It wasn't a malaise speech. It also wasn't a good speech. Anyone watching the event should have been thinking about the 25th Amendment. Biden is clearly not mentally fit for the job.It's bordering on elder abuse. But Joe always wanted to
- [Boomer Mandates Boomerang](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/boomer-mandates-boomerang/) - Joe Biden is getting ready to make his first State of the Union address tomorrow night.Things couldn't be going worse for the Democrats.War, inflation, and a healthy resistance to their stupid policies are driving the administration into the ground.Good.Not that Biden is much worse than just about any other president in the twentieth century, but
- [The Left's Salami Tactics](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-lefts-salami-tactics/) - With all the news about Russia and the Ukraine, people have briefly forgotten about the authoritarian tactics being used against peaceful protestors to our north.They won't once the convoy makes it to Washington D.C.Of course, establishment conservatives hope that it doesn't show up with any Confederate flags.One man showed up at a rally in Canada
- [Ken Burns's Documentary Deception](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/ken-burnss-documentary-deception/) - Ken Burns has become the most recognized American "historian" in the world.Documentaries can have that impact. In fact, two thirds of American adults get their history from documentaries.Books finish far down the list.This has several implications for the future of American history.First, Americans in the visual age are duped by the leftist drivel they get
- [It's Presidents Day [SIC]](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/its-presidents-day-sic/) - "Presidents Day" is here again. Time to grab a sofa or some other piece of furniture and reflect on the blessings of the imperial presidency.Or not.Of course, "Presidents Day" does not officially exist, though some States have adopted that language. It makes it easy to lump all of the criminals into one batch and impeach
- [Neil Young's Cancel Culture](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/neil-youngs-cancel-culture/) - The Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan dust up is just another example in a long line of Yankee stupidity in American history.No one really cares about Neil Young, but Young is the personification of the secular Puritan: my "city upon a hill" is being threatened by your words, so they must go.Kenneth LaFave chalked this
- [Perlman the Secessionist](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/perlman-the-secessionist/) - D list celebrity Ron Perlman thinks its time for a divorce.The actor recently had the epiphany that perhaps separation would be better than forcing other people to bend to his will.This is the man who has consistently and viciously attacked anyone on the right on social media as being a Nazi or some other slogan
- [States Need to Stop Slopping at the Trough](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/states-need-to-stop-slopping-at-the-trough/) - My slogan "Think locally, act locally" has inspired a lot of people to get active in local government.That's great, but some have figured out that the federal Leviathan has its teeth in just about every level of American society.That makes it difficult to break free from Washington D.C.But what if the solution was as simple
- [Did the British Cause the Civil War?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-the-british-cause-the-civil-war/) - Did the British cause the War for Southern Independence?Richard Poe at LewRockwell.com has argued yes.In a thought provoking piece, Poe details how years of British interest in Southern raw materials fostered Southern dependence on foreign markets.This argument is not new. Poe is viewing the War from a macro rather than micro perspective and doing so
- [What is American Equality?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-american-equality/) - Yesterday I covered James Fenimore Cooper's discussion "On Equality." This is a devastating chapter for the woke minions running American society.If more people read it, they would walk away with a different understanding of the term.The same can be said for the next chapter in the book, "On American Equality," an "equally" devastating critique of
- [What is Equality?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-equality/) - No word in the American political lexicon incites as much conflict as "equality."Is the United States based on the "proposition" that "all men are created equal"?Are "equality" and "democracy" inextricably linked?These are pressing questions and in some respects key battle lines between both the left and right and the right and "right."Consider the longstanding debate
- [What is a Yankee?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-a-yankee/) - A long time listener of the program sent me an email asking me to define the term "Yankee."He hosts a group of around ten men that regularly listen to the show. Some of them became agitated when I recently used Yankee to disparage a particular type of American. They were offended ostensibly because they are
- [Were Confederates "Evil"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/were-confederates-evil/) - Were Confederates "evil"?Wayne Allyn Root seems to think so. In fact, if you didn't know better, you would believe Eric Foner, Karen Cox, or some other leftist dope wrote this piece.This is a problem I have been discussing for quite some time on my podcast and elsewhere.With "friends" like these "conservative intellectuals," who needs the
- [Activist History of Confederate Monuments](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/activist-history-of-confederate-monuments/) - Meet Karen Cox, Activist at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her biography reads "Professor" and "Historian" but those descriptions don't apply.Cox is the personification of the current historical profession. She has no integrity, makes up straw man fallacies to suit her political positions, and cherry picks information to defend her predetermined narratives.In other words,
- [The "Cult of Robert E. Lee"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-cult-of-robert-e-lee/) - Meet Laura Fairchild Brodie, visiting Professor of English at Washington and Lee University.Professor Brodie has created quite a stir with a recent publication for Harvard Magazine titled "Harvard and the Cult of Robert E. Lee."You probably can already guess where she takes the story. A bunch of racists at Harvard, notably Charles F. Adams, admired
- [Was Martin Luther King a Conservative?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/was-martin-luther-king-a-conservative/) - The conservative establishment has gone hog wild over Equality.The Straussians at the Claremont Institute have always shoveled this garbage, but because they have taken a prominent role in the modern "conservative movement"--even if they like to consider themselves to be dissident voices--they are pushing the same message as the neocons and Con. Inc., namely that
- [David Barton Doesn't Know Nullification](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/david-barton-doesnt-know-nullification/) - About twelve years ago I was invited to give a talk in Texas on the Founding Fathers. This was on the heels of my Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers, and was at a large church with good people.The talk went well, and afterward one member of the audience came up to me and
- [The Left Insists on "Civil War"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-left-insists-on-civil-war/) - Don't be fooled by your friendly neighborhood hippie. The left has always been the instigator in the culture war, and while they pretend they don't know what's stoking the flames of American angst, they fully know they are at the wheel.They just project onto the other side.This recent piece at Politico is a great example.
- [Robert E. Lee's Loyalty](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/robert-e-lees-loyalty/) - Today is Robert E. Lee's birthday. Alabama and Mississippi still mark the occasion with a State holiday, both on the Monday of that week, which means it will always line up with the federal celebration of Martin Luther King.This really vexes the Left.Good. All Americans should recognize Lee and Jackson, two of the best men
- [Does Secession Equal Civil War?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/does-secession-equal-civil-war/) - One of the most abused myths of American history is the belief that secession causes war.You see, according to this line of thinking, if one party wants to be free of another party, then the party left in the dust has every right to violently badger the other into staying.And I thought we lived in
- [What the War was Really About](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-the-war-was-really-about/) - If you have to ask "what War?" then you probably aren't from the South.The War is the key event in American history. Nothing comes close. The War for Independence founded the United States, but The War for Southern Independence has come to define American history.It dominates American memory. Unfortunately, as this excellent article at The
- [A War Over the History of Slavery?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-war-over-the-history-of-slavery/) - If you listen to the woke idiots on the left, you would think that no American has ever heard about slavery, or that they have been taught that slavery was a benevolent institution devoid of any "sin."You see, if we just doubled down and taught more woke history, then America would be alright.I guess they
- [The 14th Amendment Continues to Screw Up America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-14th-amendment-continues-to-screw-up-america/) - This one won't win me any friends among some libertarian and conservative groups.The 14th Amendment is one of the worst things to happen to America.It was well intended, and as originally interpreted (and ratified) it would have allowed newly freed slaves access to the courts and would have protected their private property.That was it.Then the
- [Hamilton Really Screwed Up America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/hamilton-really-screwed-up-america/) - Today is Alexander Hamilton's birthday, at least as far as we know. There is some debate about when he was born, but regardless, January 11 has long been recognized as his day.If you have followed me for any length of time, you know that I am very hard on Hamilton. Rightfully so, particularly when you
- [Rethinking Reconstruction](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/rethinking-reconstruction/) - Very few journalists are willing to take a heroic stand for the truth, particularly if that means taking down a sacred cow like W.E.B. DuBois.You see, both the left and the right have an affinity for DuBois's version of Reconstruction. Notice the love "conservatives" like Bill O'Reilly, Brian Kilmeade, and Dinesh D'Souza have for Frederick
- [The Most Successful Modern Secession Movement?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-most-successful-modern-secession-movement/) - If blind squirrel can find a nut then every now and then a terrible website can publish a moderately decent article.The Atlantic is typically stinking garbage, but a recent piece on the movement to merge several Oregon counties with Idaho--a modern secession movement--is not bad.It has typically leftist stupidity (all of these people are dangerous,
- [Michael and Sonia Sitting in a Tree](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/michael-and-sonia-sitting-in-a-tree/) - It's good to be back in 2022. I hope you had a great Holiday season, and I wish everyone a productive, happy, and healthy 2022. Back to business, and the core of my "business" is pointing out the absurdity of the Straussian/neocon "proposition nation" myth. And the heart of that myth is both an unhealthy
- [The Law That Ate the Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-law-that-ate-the-constitution/) - What legislation led to the woke madness of modern America?Christopher Caldwell points to the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s.This is near heresy in 2021. Suggesting that anything the civil rights crusaders did was detrimental to American society is almost like nailing the 95 Theses to the door in Wittenberg.You cannot challenge leftist dogma.But, if
- [Should We Abolish Judicial Review?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/should-we-abolish-judicial-review/) - Should we abolish judicial review?That's a tricky question. It's easy to argue that the practice was never intended to be used. Jefferson said as much after John Marshall kept sticking his nose into every constitutional question, both at the federal and State level.Marshall wasn't the first to do it. The Supreme Court declared a federal
- [Did America Have a Founding?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/did-america-have-a-founding/) - Did America really have a "founding"?It depends on how you frame the question. If America was a "proposition nation" as Lincoln and modern politicos on both the left and right argue, then yes, the United States had a distinct "founding" based on new principles.But what if it was a continuation of the Anglo-American tradition or
- [The Power to Control](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-power-to-control/) - John Grove published an excellent piece on political power the other day at Law and Liberty. If you don't read that website, you're missing out. It's one of my favorite intellectual corners on the Web.It's a great piece because Grove channels M.E. Bradford, and you can never go wrong when you rely on the man
- [Hanson's Strange "Blue Confederacy"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/hansons-strange-blue-confederacy/) - Victor Davis Hanson can't help himself. Just when you think he might have turned the corner, Hanson decided the South and the Confederacy probably should be expunged from American history or at the very least attached to his political enemies.You see, to Hanson, the Straussians, and their neoconservative cousins, the South represents everything bad in
- [Musk's Internal Improvements](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/musks-internal-improvements/) - Most Americans probably think that contentious political debates from the early 19th century don't have any relevance to modern American society.Take for example the Old Republican opposition to "federally funded internal improvements." We have virtually abandoned any opposition to such expenditures. Just look at the massive amount of federal cash the Congress just authorized for
- [Kamala the Irrelevant](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/kamala-the-irrelevant/) - Following Charlemagne's death in the 9th century, most Frankish kings did not have grand titles. The Franks became very good at naming kings for their shortcomings: Charles the Bald, Charles the Fat, Louis the Sluggard. This continued into the modern era. Francis I was known as "Francis the Big Nose."Perhaps we should adopt this practice
- [Republic vs. Democracy?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/republic-vs-democracy/) - Anyone who has listened to my Podcast or read my material knows I am hard on most "establishment" historians, and for good reason.They don't do much that is worthy of any accolades, let alone the prestigious awards some of them are handed annually.You might say to yourself, "McClanahan, you are just jealous they aren't reading
- [Biden Loses The Lottery](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/biden-loses-the-lottery/) - If you've been caught up in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial (found not guilty on all counts), you might have missed one of the most bizarre news stories in recent years.So many States have sued over Joe Biden's vaccine mandate that the justice department had to use a lottery to select which federal circuit court would
- [Northern Slavery](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/northern-slavery/) - If you listen to the neoconservatives like Allen Guelzo or the talking stiffs at Fox News, the North heroically saved the United States from the evil South and ushered in a new birth of freedom in America.Guelzo goes so far as to thump his chest and proclaim that he is a Yankee of the highest
- [Mother Do You Think They'll Drop the Bomb?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/mother-do-you-think-theyll-drop-the-bomb/) - Over the weekend, woke leftist "scholar" Nikole Hannah-Jones made some comments about the atomic weapons strike on Japan in 1945. She said felt "shame" when visiting Hiroshima and thought of the "fascism" in the American South. When some people challenged her, she wrote this: Her stupidity is boundless, but this brings up an interesting historical
- [Selective "Originalism"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/selective-originalism/) - Leftist legal scholar Saul Cornell has made a career on the Second Amendment. His claim to fame comes from several articles and one major book on the origins of the right to "keep and bear arms."Most important, Cornell thinks that this right can be limited by government, and that the history of firearms possession in
- [The Revolution of 1800](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-revolution-of-1800/) - A listener asked me to name the best book on the Revolution of 1800. If you don't know what I am talking about, this was Jefferson's victory--and a Republican sweep--in the 1800 election. The Federalists were sent packing and the Republicans took power.It has been described as a bloodless revolution, as nothing short of the
- ["Contextualizing" Lincoln and Emancipation Monuments](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/contextualizing-lincoln-and-emancipation-monuments/) - I've said many times that the correct response to the American monument Taliban should be "No, shut up."But fair is fair, and the main argument that have made against traditional American monuments, but particularly Confederate monuments, has been that the monuments represent bad history and false "myths."With that in mind, perhaps it's time to tear
- [How to Teach Jacksonian America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/how-to-teach-jacksonian-america/) - A high school history teacher asked me this question: How do you teach Andrew Jackson, but more importantly, how do you incorporate John C. Calhoun into a unit on Andrew Jackson?I love answering these types of questions. I have already prepackaged my "Jacksonian America" lecture at McClanahan Academy, so if you want my full spin
- [Is the Declaration "Organic Law"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-the-declaration-organic-law/) - It's been a couple of weeks since you've heard from me. That's bad.You will be hearing from me more often in the coming weeks, particularly if you are a subscriber to McClanahan Academy. That's good.I haven't stopped producing The Brion McClanahan Show. You can get it on all major podcast platforms. Just search for it
- [Which Conservative Heroes?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/which-conservative-heroes/) - You aren't conserving anything if you think Abraham Lincoln was a conservative.Or Frederick Douglass. Or Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Or Martin Luther King.Or frankly any Republican from the 1850s through the 1870s.Even after that is questionable.But that's exactly what the modern conservative establishment wants to dupe the rest of American into believing.You see, all of these
- [Breaking Up is Easier Than You Think](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/breaking-up-is-easier-than-you-think/) - Breaking up should be easy to do, even for States. That is, of course, if Americans truly believed in self-determination.Most don't. Couple that with the perception among some "conservatives" that secession is just a Leninist plot to destroy America and it's really surprising that nearly a quarter of Americans think that a political divorce would
- [Youngkin's Anti-Woke Mandate?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/youngkins-anti-woke-mandate/) - Glenn Youngkin's victory in the Virginia Governor's race has spurred some to believe that Americans have thoroughly rejected critical race theory.Not so fast. While I agree that wokism may have reached its zenith and most Americans don't like it, I'm not certain the soccer moms who have been labeled FBI terrorists aren't on board with
- [Voting a Right or Privilege?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/voting-a-right-or-privilege/) - Asking if voting is a right is almost blasphemy in modern American society.We believe in democracy! Everyone should vote!But as a great piece at Chronicles highlights, you can make it "easy to vote" OR you can make it "hard to cheat." You can't have both.To those on the left, making it "easy" to vote means
- [Guelzo's Robert E. Lee](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/guelzos-robert-e-lee/) - The only certain things in life are death, taxes, and "conservative" historian Allen Guelzo calling Robert E. Lee a traitor.In fact, his recent book makes that clear on the first page. Guelzo is a self described Yankee who bleeds blue and genuflects to his statue of Abraham Lincoln. That last part I made up, but
- [Leftists Discover Something About Monuments](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/leftists-discover-something-about-monuments/) - They don't like them, that is unless they glorify some underrepresented group in America.In other words, wokies think there are too many monuments to white men, and in particular white men who owned slaves or they think were racist.Tearing down monuments is an indirect (and somewhat passive aggressive) response to "right wing" America.They don't like
- [Soccer Moms are Dangerous](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/soccer-moms-are-dangerous/) - Last week, our SCOUTS wannabe Attorney General instructed the FBI to investigate "dangerous" activity by school board moms.You see, people are upset all over the United States about critical race theory and masking mandates for their kids.This, coupled with an already meager return for our education dollars in many States across America, has parents challenging
- [Why Pick a Fight with the Jaffaites?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-pick-a-fight-with-the-jaffaites/) - Earlier this year, I picked a fight with the Straussian/neoconservatives in Chronicles magazine.This led some people to openly wonder why now, and more importantly what was the point?If the right is being badgered by the left, why do we need to pick a fight with our allies?My response is simple: You can't win if you
- [The Origins of Make America Great Again?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-origins-of-make-america-great-again/) - The left seems to think Donald Trump made up the slogan "make America great again" as a dog whistle for "white supremacists."The (il)logic behind this buffoonery rests on the premise that Trump wanted to take America back to the 1950s, a time when segregated schools dotted the American landscape, black children couldn't drink at the
- [How To Solve America's Anger Problem](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/how-to-solve-americas-anger-problem/) - Americans are angry. They are angry at their government, their neighbors, their schools, their football team--particularly if you aren't an Alabama or Georgia fan. Or perhaps you're angry at the SEC or the PC stupidity from modern universities.Some of this is rational. Universities are a cultural wasteland, and in the South are now governed by
- [Three Cheers for Sarah Silverman's Secession!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/three-cheers-for-sarah-silvermans-secession/) - Sarah Silverman and Ken Burns are in agreement on one thing: America is in bad shape.Burns thinks things are as bad as they were in the 1850s on the eve of war. Silverman just wants to create two separate countries.Huzzah!Silverman is an award winning actress most famous for her voice work in Disney films, but
- [Calhoun Didn't Invent the Filibuster](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/calhoun-didnt-invent-the-filibuster/) - It seems politicos on the left and right agree that if you want Americans to believe in your cause, you need to demonize John C. Calhoun.To the right, Calhoun is evil. To the left, Calhoun is evil.Both are wrong. We've lost all concept of the meaning of that term, something I'll cover later this week
- [Good Riddance to Russell Moore, Not R.E. Lee](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/good-riddance-to-russell-moore-not-r-e-lee/) - Last week, Virginia removed the statue of Robert E. Lee, a national historic landmark that stood for over a century in Richmond. The same statue Douglas S. Freeman saluted every day while he was working on his monumental study of the man."New Virginia" doesn't deserve Lee.This was destined to happen, particularly since some "conservatives" have
- [Biden's Illegal Edict](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/bidens-illegal-edict/) - We know Joe Biden's vaccine mandate isn't constitutional.Joe Biden knows it isn't constitutional.But that didn't stop him from telling OSHA--yes, OSHA because this is an occupational safety hazard--to issue the mandate to private companies with over 100 employees while the USPS, Congress, and his staff aren't required to get the vaccine.It also led to the
- [Calhoun was "Evil"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/calhoun-was-evil/) - People might think it's counterproductive to keep debating the importance of John C. Calhoun to the American political tradition.It's not.The Straussians are troubled by Calhoun. This has led to people like Hugh Hewitt calling Calhoun an "evil" person and the reason America went off the rails.Larry Arn, President of Hillsdale College, agrees. Just listen to
- [SCOTUS Gets it Right, Again!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/scotus-gets-it-right-again/) - I wrote last week that we should celebrate every small victory from the Supreme Court.That still applies, but when the Court gets something right twice in less than a month, something good might be happening.I wouldn't get your hopes up. SCOTUS will always let you down in the end, but two correct majority opinions will
- [SCOTUS Gets One Right](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/scotus-gets-one-right/) - Even a blind squirrel can find a nut every now and then.Just like the Supreme Court can get one right, but it's so infrequent we should celebrate small victories.Last week, the Supreme Court struck down the CDC moratorium on evictions. I told you a couple of weeks ago that Biden knowingly supported this move by
- [Preserving the American Idea?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/preserving-the-american-idea/) - The Claremont Institute has raised a lot of money with the slogan "Recovering the American Idea."What that means precisely is open to debate. What idea?Of course, if you've followed my work for any amount of time you know that their "idea" is Lincoln's "proposition nation" myth. They proudly point to his interpretation of the Declaration
- [The Founders Never Intended](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-founders-never-intended/) - I published my Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers in 2009 knowing that it would only be a matter of time before the left fully embraced tearing down what I consider to be America's greatest generation.They are as relevant today as they were in 1789 or 1776. But to the left, the founding generation
- [Imperialism for Girls](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/imperialism-for-girls/) - Leftists don't know what to do.They correctly were against American occupation of Afghanistan, but now that the Biden administration has followed through on plans to withdraw American troops, they worry about the impact on "human rights."This puts them in a difficult position with their base.On the one hand, modern wokes think men and women are
- [Supremacy Nonsense](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/supremacy-nonsense/) - The feds don't like Missouri and Florida standing up for real federalism.They never will. And they'll tell you that the "supremacy clause" gives them arbitrary power they don't possess. This is the precisely why opponents of the Constitution warned that the "supremacy clause" would be dangerous. They were told not to worry. It would only
- [Field of Dreams](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/field-of-dreams/) - Sometimes we need a break from politics, war, and economics. We all agree that the world has gone insane. What do you do to unplug, to escape?Baseball has long been one of my distractions. We all know MLB is a woke corporation. Their decision to pull the All-Star Game from Atlanta this summer was embarrassing.
- [Neocons and Afghanistan](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/neocons-and-afghanistan/) - I recorded episode 496 of The Brion McClanahan Show on Afghanistan over the weekend, before the events of Monday and Tuesday.Before we had people getting run over by airplanes and falling off the sides of the aircraft at 5000 feet.Before we had several laughable moments from the Biden administration asking the Taliban to have an
- [All Totalitarian Governments are Right Wing?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/all-totalitarian-governments-are-right-wing/) - This is a given, but stupid leftists say stupid things.And it seems to be getting worse as more "college educated" people are sent into the American workforce.There's a reason "Joe the Plumber" had some common sense. He never went to college.Now, what does that say about yours truly who spent years in universities?My wife has
- [Biden's Impeachable Offense](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/bidens-impeachable-offense/) - I've often said that almost every president in the last one hundred years should have been impeached and removed from office for violating their oath to "uphold and defend the Constitution."But I have never seen a president openly say they knowingly violated the document.That is until Joe Biden.When the "CDC" extended its illegal and unconstitutional
- [Would You Support This Candidate?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/would-you-support-this-candidate/) - American political parties are generally a joke. They don't contain any substance, are hidebound by large donors or the prospect of appealing to a "big tent," and always betray their constituents.Progressives complain loudly about Joe Biden. He isn't one of "them," but he wasn't Donald Trump so the establishment backed his candidacy.Trump was the outlier.
- [What Can the "Civil War" Teach America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-can-the-civil-war-teach-america/) - What can the "Civil War" teach America?If you asked this question in 2011, at the 150th anniversary of the event, the modern historical establishment said something like, "The South went to war to defend white supremacy and slavery and we should put an end to the "Lost Cause" myth of the event."Or"Let's understand that Southerners
- [What is Conservatism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-conservatism/) - What is conservatism?If you ask twenty different "conservatives," you'd probably get about twenty different answers.If you ask someone on the left, they would probably say it is racism, xenophobia, hate, and fascism.See how this works?Conservatives are still trying to figure out what to "conserve."At the same time, you have "conservatives" who think we need to
- [How To Punish Political Turncoats](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/how-to-punish-political-turncoats/) - When I was an undergraduate, I purchased Why Not Freedom? by the Kennedy twins out of Louisiana.I was hooked. At the time, I was your typical "conservative." That booked opened my eyes.They were talking about nullification and the 10th Amendment, and it made sense.I started thinking about American government differently, and I remember telling my
- [Why An American Nation Cannot Be Salvaged](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-an-american-nation-cannot-be-salvaged/) - Many Americans used the word "nation" to describe both the government and society in the United States.This is the most glaring social problem in America.You see, both the left and right use this as a weapon against their political enemies.The left likes to brand the United States a "nation of immigrants" and pushes one size
- [Can "Conservatism" Save America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/can-conservatism-save-america/) - Can "conservatism" save America?The obvious answer is no, particularly if your brand of "conservatism" is tied to the Lincolnian nationalist myth.That would be Claremont/Hillsdale conservatism. But even some of them are reassessing their belief that "conservatism" can turn things around.Take Glenn Ellmers for example. In March he argued that "Conservatism is not enough." I agree.
- [What is American Populism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-american-populism/) - Was Donald Trump a "populist"?How about Bill Clinton, or Barack Obama, or Joe Biden?What about Pat Buchanan?Trump's victory in 2016 created real interest in American populism. Is it simply a rural version of progressivism?What are it's goal and origins?You can't understand American populism without first understanding Jeffersonianism. There's a reason Tom Watson called his newspaper
- [The Battle Over 1776](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-battle-over-1776/) - The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is just five years away. That means progressives and neocons get to battle it out over who defends the proposition nation the best.It also means the real meaning of the document will remain buried under Lincolnian stupidity.To the Straussian/Jaffaite/neocon "conservative" establishment, the real meaning of the Declaration
- [We Need No Declaration of Independence](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/we-need-no-declaration-of-independence/) - Neocons can't seem to understand the real purpose of the Declaration of Independence.It was quite simply a secession document.Not to them. Those who worship at the feet of "conservative" Harry Jaffa seem to think the Declaration was all about the first sentence of the second paragraph: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that
- [A Proslavery Constitution?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-proslavery-constitution/) - Nikole Hannah-Jones and other 1619 acolytes have been consistently pushing the idea that the Constitution was a "pro-slavery" document.This comports to 19th century abolitionist rhetoric led by William Lloyd Garrison. To Garrison and his followers, the Constitution was not only a pro-slavery document, it was a pact with the devil.You know who didn't believe this?
- [To Tenure or Not to Tenure?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/to-tenure-or-not-to-tenure/) - Last week, the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees caved and voted to give journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones tenure.She then said thanks but no thanks and bolted for Howard University.That's unfortunate, because both the UNC School of Journalism and the academy deserve her.Granted, Hannah-Jones wasn't qualified for the position. She was also given a non-tenure
- [Radical Hamilton?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/radical-hamilton/) - In 2017, I published How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America, a book designed to challenge the conventional (both on the left and the right) wisdom about the now hip Hamilton.You see, to leftists, Hamilton had become a fad, a founder with a man bun who liked to rap and personified their vision of America.To those
- [Can "Liberal Nationalism" Save America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/can-liberal-nationalism-save-america/) - Michael Lind has been drumming the same tune for nearly thirty years: American political problems can only be solved by "liberal nationalism."Lind is widely regarded as a "conservative," and publications like Chronicles have reviewed his work, the latest being an attack on the "managerial elite" in his 2020 book The New Class War.Lind is a
- ["Radical Federalism" or Just Federalism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/radical-federalism-or-just-federalism/) - Lincolnian nationalists have started to see the light, but they still don't really understand their new perspective.A senior fellow at the Claremont Institute thinks some type of "radical decentralization" might be the only path forward for the United States.This would involve not just federalism, but decentralization to the city and county level.I have to ask,
- [Woke Generals Fear Losing Money](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/woke-generals-fear-losing-money/) - Woke generals are nothing new.During the War for Southern Independence and Reconstruction, woke Northern generals operating as Republican Party partisans set out to remake America.And they let Southerners know about it.In one of the most hilarious recorded episodes, a woke German immigrant general attempted to instruct former Confederate General Richard Taylor on what it meant
- [Biden's Extra Legislative "Democracy"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/bidens-extra-legislative-democracy/) - Now that HR 1 failed to make it through the Congress, the left has dusted off their old playbook: take "voting rights" violations to the courts.You see, the supposed defenders of "democracy" can't ever get much of their agenda done democratically, so they rely on the federal court system to ram it down the throats
- [Could You Buy a Cannon?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/could-you-buy-a-cannon/) - Joe Biden is a gaffe machine. Back in May 2020 when he was still candidate Biden, Coma Joe argued that you couldn't buy a cannon.Even the sympathetic media ripped him apart. No matter. Biden's mental incompetence allowed him to double down on the stupid claim last week, all while suggesting that in order to resist
- [Federalism is the New Woke](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/federalism-is-the-new-woke/) - United States Senator Ron Johnson told a Wisconsin audience over the weekend that Republicans need to ditch federal office and take over State and local governments.Who else has been saying this for years now?It seems "conservatives" are finally understanding the real game that needs to be played. Forget the center and focus on where the
- [Oh, Canada!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/oh-canada/) - The Brion McClanahan Show is international, and the largest number of listeners outside of the United States hail from Canada.I told you I like to produce listener generated episodes, and when I received two requests from listeners North of the U.S. border, I thought it was the right time to feature a Canadian themed show.Most
- [I Told You So, Neocon](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/i-told-you-so-neocon/) - A couple of months ago, I wrote a piece for Chronicles magazine taking the 1776 Commission Report to task.You can't be called a "conservative" if you're attempting to "conserve" a left wing agenda. Case in point, the Commission trumpeted Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Martin Luther King while placing all the evils of American
- [The End of Slavery?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-end-of-slavery/) - Both the Senate (by unanimous consent) and the House of Representatives approved a bill making June 19th a federal holiday.Fourteen Republicans voted against the bill in the House. There should have been more.This isn't because we shouldn't celebrate liberty and emancipation. On the contrary. A case could easily be made that such a celebration should
- [Trump's Return to the Presidency?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/trumps-return-to-the-presidency/) - According to a few news outlets, Trump has suggested to some advisors that he thinks he'll be back in August. And by "back" he means in the presidency.Is this really going to happen? Not likely. It would take a legal miracle. The Constitution does not have a "reinstatement" clause. Trump would need the Supreme Court
- ["Coma" Joe and What Comes Next?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/coma-joe-and-what-comes-next/) - Joe Biden can't get out of his own way. He can't even find where he is supposed to go.His administration is an open embarrassment. Everyone knows it, even the Left, which is why they keep providing cover.Kurt Schlichter wrote a funny piece at Townhall the other day on "Coma" Joe.He asked, "What comes next?"If Biden
- [Democracy Dies from Stupidity](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/democracy-dies-from-stupidity/) - You might remember the Washington Post slogan that "Democracy Dies in Darkness."This was an attack on the Trump administration and the perception that Trump peddled lies and false narratives.Democrats and those on the Left firmly believed that they were fighting the forces of evil and that only they could save "democracy."Except democracy is structurally bound
- [An American Nation?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/an-american-nation/) - Every problem we face in American politics can be boiled down to one word: nationalism.Out of many, one. It's on our "money." But did the founding generation really believe this phrase?Nope. Not if you read the documents that led to the ratification of the Constitution. Americans more properly identified with their States, their sections, and
- [1776 vs. 1619?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/1776-vs-1619/) - The 1776 commission is back in the news. Erased by the Biden administration, the 1776 commission report seemed to be dead. Not so fast. The leadership team will be launching a new website and has refocused its energy at the State and local level.Just like the 1619 project. Both of these groups realize that thinking
- [The New Secession Crisis](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-new-secession-crisis/) - Jeremy Carl at American Greatness thinks we are in the midst of another secession crisis.The Democrats, he says, have seceded from the American order, and it's up to real America to save the Union, just like Abraham Lincoln saved the Union in 1861.You see, Carl thinks we need a Lincolnian revival.In his opinion, conservatives have
- [WW II and Lincolnian Nationalism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/ww-ii-and-lincolnian-nationalism/) - Yesterday marked the 77th anniversary of Operation Overlord, better known as the D-Day invasion of Northern France.Some "conservative" commentators mark it down as a secular holiday, the day that American democracy doomed Nazism in Europe.If only they kept it out of the United States, and I am not just talking about the stupid neo-Nazis who
- [Local Political Activism 101](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/local-political-activism-101/) - A friend of mine has been knee deep in local political activism for the last several months. The government in his State has only recently seen the light and started opening the economy. In other words, they were living in the dark ages while those of us in real America had long ago been able
- [Economic Civil War](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/economic-civil-war/) - The "Righteous Cause Myth" folks would like you to think that it's "settled science" that the War was "about slavery." No other explanation is acceptable.These neo-revisionists spill a lot of ink beating back "neo-Confederate" bogeymen who amount to very few mainstream academics, if any. It's almost as if they are trying to convince themselves that
- [She's Just a Girl, Not a Politico](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/shes-just-a-girl-not-a-politico/) - A year goes by fast when you're having fun. It's been almost one year to the day since I released Southern Scribblings.I'm pleased to announce that my newest book, The Jeffersonian Tradition, is now ready for you to purchase, read, and digest.Like Southern Scribblings, The Jeffersonian Tradition is a collection of essays aimed at the
- [Yankee Revenge](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/yankee-revenge/) - Yankees are having their revenge on the rest of America.Michael Lind argues that the modern mess of wokism is blowback from Southern dominance the general government from the New Deal through the 1980s.Lind correctly shows that Southerners used the government against powerful Yankees for about fifty years. It's payback time.He might have a point. We
- [Lincolnian Mythmaking](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/lincolnian-mythmaking/) - Americans need myths. The left and the neoconservatives will tell you that Southerners believe in a "lost cause myth" of honorable Southerners fighting for independence and not for slavery.The left also likes to slap down the neoconservatives for their belief in an anti-slavery and anti-racist founding generation. Some were anti-slavery, yes, but you really can't
- [All Your Base Are Belong To Us](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/all-your-base-are-belong-to-us/) - If you're over 50, you probably don't get the joke in this subject line.Let me explain.Several years ago, a video game manufacturer attempted to translate some content for English speaking gamers.In one hilarious gaffe, the translators wrote, "All you base are belong to us."The empire had spoken (broken English). This phrase has now been used
- [SCOTUS' Selective Precedent](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/scotus-selective-precedent/) - Justice Kagan doesn't like it when her colleagues ignore precedent, at least a particular type of precedent.She wants the decisions of the Warren Court to be set in stone. Almost anything else is fair game.I have long argued that progressives are the modern conservatives. They seek to conserve the leftist revolution of the middle 20th
- [Secession 2.0?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/secession-2-0/) - Seven Oregon counties have voted to secede from the State and join a "Greater Idaho."One historian called this "Secession 2.0" on social media.Not quite, but it's a start. Of course, the people of Oregon should just elect a new government and start acting like they are independent. This would create a constitutional crisis, to be
- [Biden is Off to a Predictable Start](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/biden-is-off-to-a-predictable-start/) - I tuned into talk radio on my drive home the other day for the first time in months. Sean Hannity had Bill O'Reilly on to talk about Joe Biden. O'Reilly wasn't killing anyone and neither praised Lincoln, at least during the time I listened.That's a start. But they did talk about three things Biden has
- [A Newspaper's Incorrect Mea Culpa](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-newspapers-incorrect-mea-culpa/) - In our woke era, people have to take some "time off" after someone discovers they said something or did something offensive at any point in their life.Corporations and the press have to do the same thing. Sometimes, they think by owning up to their "mistakes," people will just forgive them.For what? What someone said or
- [Confederate Rocks are Dangerous](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/confederate-rocks-are-dangerous/) - Prince Harry is confused about the First Amendment. It seems many Brits have the same problem. The rights of Englishman have lost their anchor.One brave Limey flies various historical flags to honor major events. Recently he decided to hoist the Confederate Battle Flag in honor of Stonewall Jackson. This led to a political puritan turning
- [Progressive Puritans](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/progressive-puritans/) - When I started teaching nearly two decades ago, I never thought the term "progressive" would come back in style.It had been discredited and rightfully dumped into the historical trash heap, that is until leftists figured out "liberal" became so toxic they had to come up with something else.Thus, the new "progressives" were born, but not
- [A Progressive Gets It](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-progressive-gets-it/) - I've been hard on the progressives this week, from those on the "right" like Allen Guelzo and Michael Anton to those on the left like Clint Smith.Progressives get many things wrong, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again.A recent piece by Zaid Jilani at Newsweek proves my point.Wokism is at the
- [Why Progressive Lies Live On](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-progressive-lies-live-on/) - We could say "progressive lies live on" in multiple areas: economics, "health science," government. But progressives lies form the core of American history and thus the basis of the American memory.I'm not talking about Charles Beard progressives but the twits that dominate the modern historical profession. These incestuous careerists can't really be called "historians" any
- [The Neoconservative Fairy Tale](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-neoconservative-fairy-tale/) - Last week, "conservative" Michael Anton at American Greatness published a lengthy hit piece on yours truly. He didn't like my attack on the 1776 Commission in Chronicles magazine, and he was clearly personally insulted that I called out some of the people who wrote the report.These are his friends, and he circled the wagons. I
- [You Wanna Publish a Conservative Book?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/you-wanna-publish-a-conservative-book/) - Book publishing isn't an easy game. Most books never sell more than one thousand copies.Nonfiction is the most difficult market of all, and with the proliferation of self-publishing, everyone has a book.This isn't a bad development. Many people have an idea they want to market and they work hard to do it.The recent brick and
- [No. Shut Up.](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/no-shut-up/) - "Conservative" historian Allen Guelzo thinks he has an answer to the modern debate over American monuments.First, anything that honors John C. Calhoun should not just be destroyed, it should be put on a rocket and launched into the sun.Second, he has a five point test to determine if a monument is good or bad.You can
- [National Democratic Party](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/national-democratic-party/) - In 1896, conservative Democrats bolted the part and formed a splinter party known as the National Democratic Party, or NDP.They produced a "campaign handbook" outlining their political principles, and they focused on real issues and constitutional restraint.How refreshing.They also nominated a truly "national" ticket for the time by selecting John Palmer for President and Simon
- [The Neocon Value of Union](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-neocon-value-of-union/) - Glenn Ellmers wonders if America is too unified.This is a stunning confession. Ellmers is a disciple of Harry Jaffa. If you don't know Jaffa, he long argued secession was illegal.Ellmers still thinks so, but if the other States agreed to boot out some of the red States, then perhaps secession could be constitutional.That would be
- [Joe Biden's Stupid 100 Days Speech](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/joe-bidens-stupid-100-days-speech/) - Joe Biden took center stage last week on the eve of his "100th day" in office.We can thank FDR for such idiotic benchmarks. No one asked Washington what we hoped to accomplish in his first 100 days. That would have been an interesting question then, but as the president was never intended to be everything
- [The Mire of a Democracy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-mire-of-a-democracy/) - Fisher Ames had a devastating wit and used it quite effectively against his opposition, often Southern members of Congress.I don't often agree with what Ames had to say, but even when I don't, he could be very funny. Ames would have given Trump a run on Twitter.Ames had two redeeming qualities: he detested democracy and
- [Originalism is Easy to Understand](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/originalism-is-easy-to-understand/) - The term "originalism" can be a bit confusing. What does this actually mean? Are the terms "originalism" and "textualism" the same thing?If someone calls themselves an "originalist," does that mean they think women shouldn't vote and that black Americans should be counted as 3/5ths of a person toward representation?Of course not, but this is how
- [Florida's Riot Act](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/floridas-riot-act/) - Florida is reading leftist losers the riot act.I love it.They hate it.Ron DeSantis has been doing a great job pushing back against wokism for the last several months and in the process has taken on the corporate press and all the sludge it drags with it.Most normal Americans would look at the Florida anti-rioting act
- [Washington D.C. Statehood?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/washington-d-c-statehood/) - Senate Democrats are going to vote on making Washington D.C. the 51st State. House Dems already have.Well, sort of.They actually know this would be illegal, so as a work around they're going to carve out a small portion of the city to leave as the federal capitol and take the rest to make the "Washington
- [The Slaveholders' Dilemma](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-slaveholders-dilemma/) - When I was in graduate school in the 1990s, one of my professors assigned Eugene Genovese's The Slaveholders' Dilemma as part of our reading seminar on American history.This was Genovese's first book in nearly a decade, and it marked a transition in his worldview. Genovese rose to prominence in the American historical profession in the
- [Conservative as "Defender of Liberty"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/conservative-as-defender-of-liberty/) - In 1960, the great Southern political philosopher Richard Weaver penned an essay titled "Conservatism and Libertarianism: The Common Ground." Most people considered Weaver to be a "conservative," and he accepted the term, but he also thought American conservatives and libertarians had much in common and should work together for a common goal: liberty. The current
- [What if the Antis Won?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-if-the-antis-won/) - I try to get to listener questions when possible, and this past week you, my loyal listeners, gave me a couple of juicy softballs.I had to hit them out of the park.The first wondered, "What if the Anti-Federalists won and the Constitution failed ratification?" What would America look like.The second listener was confused about the
- [Court Packing is Infrastructure](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/court-packing-is-infrastructure/) - In a social media post last week, Congressman Mondaire Jones called court packing "infrastructure." You can't make up this kinds of stupid, but the left certainly tries. This is part of a dedicated campaign to redefine virtually every element of American society. If you erase the names and historical understanding of words, places, events, etc.,
- [Alabama Gun Rights](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/alabama-gun-rights/) - A State Senator from Alabama wrote a very good bill.Senator Gerald Allen presented a bill to protect Alabama gun rights. It passed by a crushing majority but not without some Democrat opposition.You see, "green people" are being killed by "assault weapons." Aliens.Or maybe this Democrat was talking about the Mobile Leprechaun.Either way, this shows how
- [Mandatory "Founding Documents"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/mandatory-founding-documents/) - A bill before the South Carolina legislature would make teaching America's "founding documents" a requirement at public colleges and universities.This sounds like a great idea on the surface. After all, the progressive left continually works around the Constitution in order to advance their agenda.The problem is, so does the neoconservative right.And who would be teaching
- [Remember Secession! Texas Style](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/remember-secession-texas-style/) - The Fort Worth Star-Telegram doesn't like the idea of Texas secession.At least Bud Kennedy at the FWST doesn't like the idea of Texas secession.Why? Because Bud thinks secession is illegal and led by "bubbas."In a piece titled "Remember the Alamo!-- but forget secession," Bud the legal scholar/historian lets his readers know that Texas can't leave
- [Corporations vs. Georgia](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/corporations-vs-georgia/) - Corporations have gone to war against Georgia.Worse, corporations have gone to war against America. This was easily predicted.Most Americans have developed a mental false dichotomy regarding politics and corporations.One one side are the pro-corporate Republicans hell bent on ensuring their big business buddies get as many kick backs as possible.On the other side are Democrats
- [A Homeschool Revolution?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/a-homeschool-revolution/) - COVID-19 has changed American life. Studies suggest that many Americans will permanently alter the way they work. Commercial real estate, particularly office space, has taken a nosedive in the last year. This is also happening to education at all levels. Parents are questioning if they want to send their kids back to school, some because
- [Conservative as an Idea?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/conservative-as-an-idea/) - The Heritage Foundation accepted the resignations of two members of its leadership team last week.This prompted MSN.com to write a piece wondering "What is the future for conservative ideas?"Notice conservative and ideas bonded together in a symbiotic relationship as if "conservatism" is an ideology.The Staussian neoconservatives think to. Lincoln created this myth with the Gettysburg
- [Seidule and Twitter vs. Lee](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/seidule-and-twitter-vs-lee/) - If you were asked to choose a better judge of military acumen, General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower or Professor Emeritus at West Point General Ty Seidule, who would you pick?Your first response would probably be, "Who is Ty Seidule?" Followed by, "Is this even a real choice?"One man won World War II in Europe.
- [Texas Seed was Unconstitutional](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/texas-seed-was-unconstitutional/) - March 18 is a great day for birthdays.Not only was John C. Calhoun born on that day, so was Grover Cleveland.Most Americans don't know anything about either man except the standard platitudes: racist, conservative, xenophobe, etc.Or they might know Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms as president. But that's it.Cleveland was a rock star of a
- [Calhoun's Definition of Conservative](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/calhouns-definition-of-conservative/) - Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, Yankees could praise Calhoun and everyone cheered. This was normal.In 1910, the Massachusetts born and bred Henry Cabot Lodge gave a gallant speech on the Senate floor praising John C. Calhoun as one of the truly great Americans in its history. This was to honor
- [The AP Prints Fake News](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-ap-prints-fake-news/) - The unholy alliance between the modern historical establishment and the media is only slightly worse than that of the media and the progressive political establishment, but both have the same results.America becomes less informed by the day.Take for example a recent piece in the AP titled, "160 years later, Confederate constitution an ignoble relic."You would
- [Cancel Culture Commies](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/cancel-culture-commies/) - Dr. Seuss is being canceled?Not so fast. Only six of his books are being shelved by the publisher. But conservatives everywhere went nuts over another round of cancel culture.At first glance, this looks like an open and shut case of idiotic overreach. Seuss published material indicative of the time in which he lived when people
- [The Neocon Con on King](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-neocon-con-on-king/) - Was Martin Luther King, Jr. a conservative? Social justice conservatives would have you believe so. The same would hold for Elizabeth Cady Stanton and a host of other reformers who would have rejected the term outright during their lifetimes. See Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Paul Gottfried argues that's the point in a recent essay
- [Lincoln's Mercenaries](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/lincolns-mercenaries/) - John Randolph of Roanoke always had a good quip, and more often than not a prescient position on a contemporary event.Take standing armies. Randolph thought that standing armies were a form of welfare. People who could not obtain work often joined the military.Not much has changed. The modern United States army will fork over up
- [The Lincolnian Myth](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-lincolnian-myth/) - What is a myth? To many Americans, a myth denotes a lie, a fairy tale that cannot be proven.Take for example the "Lost Cause" myth and how establishment historians use the term myth as a pejorative.But myths are the foundation of much of our historical consciousness, and a recent piece in The Smithsonian Magazine wants
- [The Tenth Amendment's Original Intent](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-tenth-amendments-original-intent/) - You might recall that back in December I talked about the lawsuit Texas filed in federal court to try to stop the certification of the Electoral College results.They built their case around the "Electors Clause" of the Constitution, meaning that the Constitution explicitly states that the Electors are to be chosen by the legislatures of
- [Beating Incorporation](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/beating-incorporation/) - America isn't in trouble because of Joe Biden. Uncle Joe wouldn't remember to tie his shoes unless someone told him to do it.America isn't in trouble because of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and "The Squad." They are too stupid and mentally unstable to be taken seriously, though most leftists on Twitter seem to do so. That alone
- [Biden Should Play More MarioKart](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/biden-should-play-more-mariokart/) - In 2012, I wrote a piece for the Daily Caller titled, "President Obama Doesn't Play Enough Golf." Critics complained that Obama spent too much time hitting the links and not enough time in the Oval Office. How wrong they were. The more Obama sat behind his desk in Pennsylvania Avenue, the more damage he did
- [The Real Reason for Union Monuments](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-403-the-real-reason-for-union-monuments/) - If you listen to the woke idiots on the left (and neocon right), Confederate monuments were built to honor and perpetuate white supremacy and slavery.This would logically mean that the Union monuments built during the same period would explicitly state that they were built to honor abolition and egalitarianism.Except very few of them say anything
- [Blue State Secession?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-404-blue-state-secession/) - You know you are winning when so called "Blue States" are talking about secession.Case in point, CALEXIT or a host of other secessionist movements that popped up during the Trump administration.It's hard to determine if these are going to be lasting secession movements. Progressives typically love centralized power too much to give it up, but
- [Podcast Episode 402: Obama the Best President?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-402-obama-the-best-president/) - According to a poll from YouGov and The Economist, a plurality of respondents think Barack Obama is the best president in American history. This is stunning. Donald Trump was also ranked in the top five, which means most Americans don't know history beyond the last two decades. Sad, but true. Which is why you need
- [Podcast Episode 401: The 2020 Political Conspiracy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-401-the-2020-political-conspiracy/) - You almost can't make up the hubris of the political left. No one holds them accountable, so they can be as corrupt (and stupid) as possible. Case in point, an article in Time Magazine that openly admits to a political conspiracy before the 2020 election in an effort to defeat Trump. The term is included
- [Podcast Episode 400: The New Company Towns?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-400-the-new-company-towns/) - Nevada is going to allow large tech companies to create self-autonomous cities in order to lure them to the State. This prompted a listener to ask me if this was a think locally, act locally issue. Short answer, no, but there are some interesting things to discuss with the issue, so I covered it in
- [Podcast Episode 399: Should Biden Listen to Grant?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-399-should-biden-listen-to-grant/) - Leftist "journalist" Casey Michel penned a piece for Politico insisting that Joe Biden take a page from U.S. Grant concerning potential "insurrection" in the United States. His solution? Use the military to bully people and then crush civil liberties. Michel sounds like a nice guy. This piece is nothing more than hysterical history and hyperbole
- [Podcast Episode 398: Executive and Judicial Imperialism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-398-executive-and-judicial-imperialism/) - Sixty years ago, the left worried about the "Imperial Presidency" and put all their faith in the federal court system. Now, conservatives fret over Joe Biden's executive overreach while hoping that a newly "conservative" federal court system will provide a few victories. But what if the left was right sixty years ago on the presidency
- [Podcast Episode 397: What is an American?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-397-what-is-an-american/) - Both the 1776 and 1619 Projects have a similar view of American history: America is an idea. One views it as a bad idea, the other as a good idea. Either way, they conceptualize Americans as tied together by ideology and nothing more. But this raises the questions: what is an American and more importantly,
- [Podcast Episode 396: Remembering the Right](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-396-remembering-the-right/) - Chronicles Magazine published a special edition issue this past month titled "Remembering the Right." These 18 essays are dedicated to prominent real conservatives, not the plastic glory hounds like Dinesh D'Souza or Sean Hannity. They have their place, but Paul Gottfried did a marvelous job in bringing this collection to print. I discuss first principles
- [Podcast Episode 395: Biden's Inauguration](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-395-bidens-inaugural/) - Chris Wallace thinks Biden's Inaugural Address was the best he's heard since 1961. This is why Chris Wallace is an idiot. In the real world, Biden's speech was historically bad and appeared to be written by one of his tween grandchildren. He's probably not sure which one or in fact where he was today. I
- [Podcast Episode 394: The Joe Show](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-394-the-joe-show/) - Political theater comes to Washington January 20. This will be an inauguration unlike any in American history, even Lincoln's second in 1865. The Left created a narrative of violence while President Joe promises to "unify" the United States. But looking at his agenda shows that this isn't his real intent. What will the next two
- [Podcast Episode 393: Arlington Road Fantasy Land](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-393-arlington-road-fantasy-land/) - It seems the left has watched Arlington Road too many times. According to the HuffPost, "right wing insurrectionists" are planning to violently take over the government and hand it over to the Republicans. Right. The FBI and other federal "law enforcement" agencies have briefed the Congress on potential violence next week. I don't buy it,
- [Podcast Episode 392: Social Media and Free Speech](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-392-social-media-and-free-speech/) - Most mainstream social media platforms have banned Donald Trump, at least for a time. This is unprecedented in American history. No American president has ever been censored. At the same time, censorship is something Americans have faced at various times since the founding. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 390: Thinking Locally Works](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-390-thinking-locally-works/) - A couple of listeners sent some great news the past week: their efforts at thinking locally and acting locally are getting results. Why? Because small is beautiful. Even James Madison knew it which is why his original "1st Amendment" was an apportionment amendment. I discuss in this final 2020 episode of the Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 391: 25th Amendment Time?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-391-25th-amendment-time/) - Is it time to invoke the 25th Amendment? The Democrats and some Republicans think so. As you might imagine, this is a complete distortion of the original intent of the Amendment and is as laughable as it is stupid. More importantly, it's a play by the Democrats to avoid doing their job in the Congress.
- [Podcast Episode 389: Secession 2020](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-389-secession-2020/) - Texas is now openly talking secession. This is predictable, but Lincolnian nationalism presents a formidable roadblock. Americans are rethinking the value of Union, just as the founding generation debated the value of Union. Hamilton's Federalist No. 9 contains an interesting discussion of the topic and is fit podcast fodder.
- [Podcast Episode 388: Electors Clause](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-388-electors-clause/) - My last episode stimulated a lot of debate on social media, some productive, some idiotic. I appreciate the conversation, and I understand that people are rightly frustrated with the election. But as I pointed out yesterday, this lawsuit is not the correct course, either constitutionally or politically. I expand on my statements, particularly in light
- [Podcast Episode 387: Texas Files a Bad Lawsuit](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-387-texas-files-a-bad-lawsuit/) - Texas is suing several States over potential voter fraud in the 2020 Election. Many conservatives have cheered the move while the Left calls it a desperate Hail Mary for the Trump administration. The State should've just seceded. I explain why this is a bad lawsuit and a bad move for conservatives in this episode of
- [Podcast Episode 386: NPR Admits Biden Isn't President-Elect](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-386-npr-admits-biden-isnt-president-elect/) - Every news outlet is calling Joe Biden "president elect." Except he isn't. Not until the Electoral College meets and those results are verified by the Senate. NPR actually admits this, just after calling him "president elect." They also whine about the period between the election and inauguration because bad things happen. This is what passes
- [Podcast Episode 385: Lockdowns, Grabbers, and Churches](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-385-lockdowns-grabbers-and-churches/) - The SCOTUS blocked a New York law shuttering religious services and Joe Biden wants to slap a $400 tax on "assault rifles" all while States are in the process of creating new lockdowns. If this wasn't a time for thinking locally and acting locally, I don't know when would be better. A friend of mine
- [Podcast Episode 384: Low Information Voters](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-384-low-information-voters/) - A recent piece at NewsBusters.org explains that when Biden voters were presented with more information about Uncle Joe, 17% said they would not have voted for him. That is huge and an important starting point for a discussion about the dangers of "democracy" and the corporate media. I explain in this episode of The Brion
- [Podcast Episode 383: Joe Biden's "Unity"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-383-joe-bidens-unity/) - Joe Biden has called for "unity," but what does this really mean for the half of the American public that didn't vote for him? We all know the answer, but the fools in the establishment think most Americans are too stupid to realize that the fix is in. I discuss American "unity" and its historical
- [Podcast Episode 382: Biden's Executive Orders](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-382-bidens-executive-orders/) - Should Joe Biden ultimately win the 2020 election, he has already signaled that he will be issuing a slew of executive orders quickly after taking office aimed at reversing several executive orders Donald Trump issued shortly after taking office in 2017. If that seems confusing, it should be. We don't have an elected monarchy, but
- [Podcast Episode 381: America's Love of Election Fraud](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-381-americas-love-of-election-fraud/) - America loves election fraud. Don't believe me? Just review the many questionable presidential elections from the late 19th century: 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, 1888. And that doesn't include the thousands of times (alleged) cheating swung an election for other offices in the United States. In other words, 2020 isn't unique and it will happen
- [Podcast Episode 380: If Republicans Had Guts](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-380-if-republicans-had-guts/) - Donald Trump refuses to concede the election and with widespread accusations of voter fraud--and now confirmed cases--it might be another month before anything is sorted out. Maybe longer. That's because if the Republicans had any guts they could use the 12th Amendment to their advantage. I explain in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 379: The Final Days of President Trump?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-378-the-final-days-of-president-trump/) - Is Joe Biden the "president elect"? No. Are these the last days of the Trump administration? Could be. So, what should he do with these next two months? Lew Rockwell had some suggestions. I discuss what could happen in the next two months, what Trump should do with that time, and how stupid the modern
- [Podcast Episode 378: Does 2020 Equal 1960?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-378-does-2020-equal-1960/) - The 2020 election is eerily similar to another presidential election in recent history. Not 2000, but 1960. Nixon lost to Kennedy in a close contest that was full of voter fraud. Nixon conceded but never gave up the argument that it was stolen from him. He was probably right. There are many parallels between 1960
- [Podcast Episode 377: This is How I'll Vote in 2020](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-377-this-is-how-ill-vote-in-2020/) - It's time for the big reveal. Who (or how) will I vote in 2020? I did a show on this topic when the Podcast first started in 2016, and while I didn't predict the winner--I didn't try--I let you know how I would be voting in that election. I have a strategy for the 2020
- [Podcast Episode 376: NRO's Silly Calhoun "Scholar"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-376-nros-silly-calhoun-scholar/) - Cameron Hilditch is at it again, this time publishing several idiotic pieces on John C. Calhoun at National Review Online. It wasn't bad enough that he was eviscerated by John Grove and Lee Cheek. No. He had to double down with equal stupidity. This time I had to respond to the 12 year old Irish
- [Podcast Episode 375: The Last Round in the Debate Ring](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-375-the-last-round-in-the-debate-ring/) - Trump the Thumper vs Glass Joe went down last week in a relatively tame final round of debates. If Trump had presented his case this way just a month ago, the polls would be quite different right now. As it stands, the "debates" were still sound and fury signifying nothing and a manifestation of our
- [Podcast Episode 374: Tommy Lee's Yankee Imperialism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-374-tommy-lees-yankee-imperialism/) - Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee said he's going to leave the country if Trump is re-elected in 2020. He also shared a post suggesting the "payback" Trump supporters are going to receive should Biden win in the same election. No one really cares where Tommy Lee lives, but his support for a cultural imperialistic post
- [Podcast Episode 373: Why Progressives Really Fear Judge Barrett](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-373-why-progressives-really-fear-judge-barrett/) - Progressives on the left and right have tried to stop Amy Coney Barrett's appointment to the Supreme Court. Why? Because they know that every pieces of sacred cow legislation they worship is unconstitutional. This is the natural result of centralization, and I talk about what is really at stake with her appointment in this episode
- [Podcast Episode 372: Remembering Lee](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-372-remembering-lee/) - Today marks the 150th anniversary of Robert E. Lee's death. Just about three weeks after he surrendered at Appomattox, a reporter from the New York Herald sat down and interviewed Lee about the War, secession, and Lincoln. Lee was the embodiment of reconciliation. This is why the left wants to tear him down. I discuss
- [Podcast Episode 371: Pence v. Harris](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-371-pence-v-harris/) - The candidates for Vice President have "debated," and I think there is a clear winner and clear loser. We all lose, but Pence did a better job than Harris on virtually every issue. He missed opportunities to stick it to the authoritarian at the other table, but Pence did what Trump couldn't do: hold it
- [Podcast Episode 370: No Monarchy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-370-no-monarchy/) - Less than two weeks after the Framers signed the Constitution in 1787, Pennsylvanian Tench Coxe published a series of essays in defense of the new document. The first was aimed at critics of the new office of president. They thought it would create an elected monarchy (they were right) but Coxe thought otherwise. In light
- [Podcast Episode 369: To Divide or Not To Divide](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-369-to-divide-or-not-to-divide/) - Americans want less divided government. A new Gallup poll shows that more Americans support one party control of the federal government than at any time in recent history. Why? Power. This is the clear result of Lincolnian nationalism. It needs a correction.
- [Podcast Episode 368: Trump v. Biden Round 1](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-368-trump-v-biden-round-1/) - I watched the "debate" so you didn't have it. No one who did watch it came away thinking that it was either man's best performance, but I thought it better to focus on the stupidity of the entire process. Welcome to how the presidency screwed up America.
- [Podcast Episode 367: Trump's Effort to Save History](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-367-trumps-effort-to-save-history/) - As I've said on this show, who knew that the 2020 presidential election would be a referendum on American history? This is a logical extension of the culture war that Pat Buchanan warned about in the 1990s (and that began in the 1960s) and has fully reached the executive office. Trump has consistently insisted on
- [Podcast Episode 366: Best SCOTUS Justices?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-366-best-scotus-justices/) - I have been asked several times: Who are the best justices in Supreme Court history? There haven't been many to write home about, but I give you a few that deserve our respect in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 365: Originalists and Anti-Federalists](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-365-originalists-and-anti-federalists/) - What is "originalism" and what does it have to do with the "Anti-Federalists"? More importantly, if we believe in originalism, does that immediately rule out judicial activism? How does this affect the Supreme Court and federal court system? I discuss all of these issues in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 364: Hylton, Cohens, and a Slaughterhouse](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-364-hylton-cohens-and-a-slaughterhouse/) - A listener asked me to discuss a few landmark Supreme Court cases and how they affected the United States. Great idea during SCOTUS week. That led me to one in the 18th century, one in the antebellum 19th century, and one during Reconstruction. I cover all three in my American Constitutions course at McClanahan Academy.
- [Podcast Episode 363: Notorious RBG](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-363-notorious-rbg/) - In case you are living under a rock, Ruth Bader Ginsburg died over the weekend. The left has gone nuts, as expected, and her death has created a supposed "constitutional crisis." Not so. It should also never be so. Ginsburg was a disaster for the Constitution, but her death also highlights why the Supreme Court
- [Podcast Episode 362: Pennsylvania Smackdown](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-362-pennsylvania-smackdown/) - A federal judge declared the Draconian lock downs in Pennsylvania to be unconstitutional. This is a great win for liberty, right? Yes and no. Anyone with a brain knew that these laws were problematic legally according to the PA Constitution. But that is not what the federal judge decided. The laws were unconstitutional because they
- [Podcast Episode 361: Three New Yorks?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-361-three-new-yorks/) - Some New York legislators want to decentralize New York. Instead of letting New York City run the State, these independent thinking New Yorkers want to divide the State into three regional governments. The Governor would have little power and New York City would be reduced to ruining its own territory instead of the entire State.
- [Podcast Episode 360: 1619's Language Problem](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-360-1619s-language-problem/) - Is there some truth to the 1619 Project? Absolutely. The problem is not in the information but in the interpretation. The project uses words like "genocide" to describe the "founding" of the United States. That is a distortion of the historical record. The real aim, veiled by the project;s supporters, is to supplant traditional "nationalist"
- [Podcast Episode 359: Gohmert's Gaffe](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-359-gohmerts-gaffe/) - Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas wants to cancel the Democrat Party. This might seem like a good idea (while we're at it, can we cancel the Republican Party), but it's based on a stupid and juvenile understanding of American history, one that undercuts American conservatism and opens the door to progressive triumph. I talk about
- [Podcast Episode 358: America's "Guts"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-358-americas-guts/) - President Trump told people in North Carolina that the assault on monuments is "aimed at America's guts." What does this mean? Do monuments represent the "guts" of the American people, and how so? This is more than just an attack on history. But what are the "guts" of the American experience. I try to answer
- [Podcast Episode 357: Sasse Gets Sassy on the Senate](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-357-sasse-gets-sassy-on-the-senate/) - Senator Ben Sasse wants to "Make the Senate Great Again." To do so he suggests that we repeal the 17th Amendment along with other structural changes. Some of his suggestions make sense. Others, not so much, but his proposal hides the real problem with the Senate (and the US Government): nationalism. Get the scoop in
- [Podcast Episode 356: Cancel Culture's War on Speech](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-356-cancel-cultures-war-on-speech/) - Donald Trump has come under fire for language the could "incite" his supporters to violence. Other speech has been canceled by the left because they don't like the message. What does this say about American culture and the Constitution? This is an old debate, and I cover some history of "free speech" in this episode
- [Podcast Episode 355: New Georgia Secessionists](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-355-new-georgia-secessionists/) - Four Georgia families had enough. Faced with what they consider to be a violent environment, these families pooled their resources and bought over 96 acres of land in Georgia to create a safe-zone and eventually an incorporated town. Called the Georgia Freedom Initiative, these Georgians want to rid themselves of "Karens"--Yankees--and have a safe community
- [Podcast Episode 354: Washington and Lee Marxist Insurrection](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-354-washington-and-lee-marxist-insurrection/) - A professor at Washington and Lee offers a freshman writing seminar on how to properly pen a communist manifesto. If that isn't good enough, this professor will also help you "rewrite" history. The left isn't hiding what they truly believe any longer. They have been emboldened by 2020 and this latest example is just one
- [Podcast Episode 353: Bowser DCFACES Monuments](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-353-bowser-dcfaces-monuments/) - WASHINGTON District of COLUMBIA Mayor Murial Bowser suggested that several evil federal monuments in the city need to be removed, relocated, or contextualized. Among them are the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial, along with the Columbus fountain. You can't make up this kind of stupid, but the good news for any American with one
- [Podcast Episode 352: Social Justice Sports](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-352-social-justice-sports/) - Americans cannot escape politics, not even to watch their favorite ball game. The NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, NASCAR, and even college programs have become social justice loudspeakers. That's fine on a personal level. Players have the freedom to express their political views on their own time, but when games are canceled, these millionaires are telling
- [Podcast Episode 351: Trump's Lincolnian Speech](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-351-trumps-lincolnian-speech/) - Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party's nomination for president last week. His speech was perhaps the best Lincolnian nationalist speech of his four years in office. This is not a good thing from a "think locally, act locally" perspective, but it was red meat for his supporters and should find favor among the target audience:
- [Podcast Episode 350: The Last Boat Shoe Progressive](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-350-the-last-boat-shoe-progressive/) - Joe Kennedy III wants a U.S. Senate seat. He is attempting to oust long time Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey in a Sept 1 primary battle. Kennedy is behind in the polls, and if he loses and Biden goes down in defeat in November, we could be seeing the last of the boat shoe progressives. What
- [Podcast Episode 349: Jill vs. Melania](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-349-jill-vs-melania/) - The "First Ladies" have spoken. Jill Biden's speech last week was praised for its compassion while Melania Trump was-criticized by those on the Left. This shouldn't be shocking to anyone with one brain cell. Melania Trump has routinely come under fire from those on the Left for being out of touch, but did their respective
- [Podcast Episode 348: Woke Names as Bad Philosophy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-348-woke-names-as-bad-philosophy/) - A recent piece at The American Conservative by Casey Chalk offered a unique position on woke name changes across America. They are bad ethics and bad philosophy. His analysis is worthy of discussion because this conflict is not really about history, but about philosophy and how we understand our past and our traditions, meaning the
- [Podcast Episode 347: Joe Biden's Stupid Speech](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-347-joe-bidens-stupid-speech/) - Joe Biden is officially the Democrat nominee for president. It took Uncle Joe forty years to get here, and he proceeded to give one of the most ridiculous speeches in modern political history. It lacked substance and was full of platitudes and slogans that don't mean anything.
- [Podcast Episode 346: Obama Invents America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-346-obama-invents-america/) - Barack Obama's 2020 DNC speech has been hailed as the greatest in the history of convention speeches. I, of course, have a different opinion. Forget the Cross of Gold. We have the cross of stupidity. For a "Constitutional Scholar," Obama sure doesn't know the Constitution. I discuss Obama's continuation of "remaking America" in this episode
- [Podcast Episode 345: Californization of America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-345-californization-of-america/) - A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how a vote for Trump might mean California secession. This was before Kamala Harris was chosen as the VP. Do we really want California governing the United States? A recent article in the UK Daily Mail answers the question with a resounding no. And thousands of Californians
- [Podcast Episode 344: The DNC's Preamble](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-344-the-dncs-preamble/) - Constitutional ignorance is a serious problem in America. It constitutes a real pandemic. Public evidence #1: The DNC's laughable "convention" last night that kicked off with a reading of the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Most Americans are required to read it and perhaps memorize it in school, but it is the most insignificant portion
- [Podcast Episode 343: Breaking Up Is Easy To Do](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-343-breaking-up-is-easy-to-do/) - Breaking up should be easy to do, at least politically. But we have been taught secession is illegal, treason, and un-American. A new book by Richard Krietner exposes that position as a lie. I discuss secession and Kreitner's book in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 342: Cancel Culture is for the Birds](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-342-cancel-culture-is-for-the-birds/) - Just when you think cancel culture couldn't get any more ridiculous, it can. Bird names are now considered racist. Add that to star names. You see, woke SJW cancel culture morons want to make sure no one feels unsafe when reading the name of a bird. I said it wouldn't stop at Confederate monuments. I
- [Podcast Episode 341: Vice President Kamala](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-341-vice-president-kamala/) - Joe Biden "chose" Kamala Harris to be "his" VP. I predicted this would happen on March 11, but what does this mean for both the Democrats and the general election in 2020? Is this the end of the line for the Trump campaign or only the beginning of his impending victory? I discuss Kamala the
- [Podcast Episode 340: Read These Books on the War](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-340/) - I get asked all the time, "Hey Dr. McClanahan, what books should I read on the War?" A listener sent me Drew Gilpin Faust's list. Before I even read it, I knew it would be establishment nonsense. So, in honor of Dr. Faust, here is my list. She wouldn't approve, which means you will. Hint:
- [Podcast Episode 339: Executive Usurpation](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-339-executive-usurpation/) - Donald Trump signed four executive orders last week aimed at shoring up the economy. One had to do with taxes, the others with student loans, unemployment benefits, and rental agreements. This was a blatantly unconstitutional move, but Trump's response shows the reach of the imperial presidency. So what? He has a point, but there is
- [Podcast Episode 338: YSRDD](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-338-ysrdd/) - The LA Times recently discovered that Portland, America's "whitest" big city, is the "unlikely hub of Black Lives Matter." This makes perfect sense. Portland is infected with YSRDD or Yankee Self-Righteous Delusional Disorder, as are most Northern (and some Southern) urban areas in America. Yankeeism is a disease that has been around for hundreds of
- [Podcast Episode 337: Blame Hamilton](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-337-blame-hamilton/) - A new book by Christian Parenti urges the left to finish Alexander Hamilton's big government dream. This has already been accomplished, as I outlined in my How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America, but Parenti has been praised for coming up with a "novel" idea. If only that were true. Regardless, I discuss the book and
- [Podcast Episode 336: An Odd Endorsement For Trump 2020](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-336-an-odd-endorsement-for-trump-2020/) - The New York Times ran a piece on Sunday, August 2, claiming that Democrats have "war gamed" the possibility of a Trump election victory. What does this mean? If that happens, they believe under one scenario, California, Oregon, and Washington would secede. What an odd endorsement of Trump 2020. This should be his new campaign
- [Podcast Episode 335: Right-Wing #Resistance "Riots"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-335-right-wing-resistance-riots/) - If Joe Biden wins, will the American right rise up in resistance like the anti-Trump progressives? No. What to know why? Because a "right wing" American can't even protest Planned Parenthood in chalk without getting arrested while idiot progressives can pillage, plunder, and ignore every law they choose almost without repercussion.
- [Podcast Episode 334: Gubment Edumacation](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-334-gubment-edumacation/) - A listener sent me an email explaining how the government teaches the Constitution to its employees. As you might have expected, it's pretty stupid. At the same time, we have "conservatives" blaming every problem of the federal government on, you guessed it, the Confederacy. Right. I discuss these two issues in the episode of The
- [Podcast Episode 333: Personal Responsibility](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-333-personal-responsibility/) - Much of what is happening in American society today can be chalked up to two conflicting versions of liberty: freedom to and freedom from. At the same time, Americans have been turned into a "Victim" society where what ails you is always someone else's fault. This is why thinking locally and acting locally is so
- [Podcast Episode 332: Higher Education Nightmare](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-332-higher-education-nightmare/) - Americans are lost, unsure what to do about the current higher education nightmare and the mess progressivism has made . At the same time, we are isolated and very much alone. This is where thinking locally, and acting locally can help.
- [Podcast Episode 331: Ivy League Lies](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-331-ivy-league-lies/) - Ivy League History Professor Stephanie McCurry has made a career out of the Confederacy. Unfortunately, it's been built on a set of straw man fallacies and outright distortions of the historical record. That will get you a tenured full professor position at an Ivy League institution in 2020. I take apart one of her sophomoric
- [Podcast Episode 330: Trump's "Legendary" Violation of the Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-330-trumps-legendary-violation-of-the-constitution/) - Donald Trump has decreed that hundreds of federal "law enforcement" officers will be sent to Democrat controlled cities around America in order to rid them of crime. This comes on the heels of using federal "law enforcement" officers--troops--in Portland to protect the federal courthouse there. Just this week on this podcast I suggested this was
- [Podcast Episode 329: Yoho vs. Ocasio-Cortez](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-329-yoho-vs-ocasio-cortez/) - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is back in the news. A reporter overhead Representative Ted Yoho of Florida call her an "F'in [female dog]," not to her face, mind you, but as she was walking away. He then Tweeted the insult thus allowing AOC to again trend on Twitter, not for anything real but for a tiff with
- [Podcast Episode 328: Portland Hypocrites?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-328-portland-hypocrites/) - The mess in Portland has some progressives railing against unconstitutional federal boots on the ground, as it should. But where are these constitutionalists when "right wing" groups are rounded up by the federal government or when their favorite social programs take without remorse? I discuss Portland and federal power in this think locally, act locally
- [Podcast Episode 327: A National Museum Makes a Mess](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-327-a-national-museum-makes-a-mess/) - The National Museum of African American History and Culture stepped in it last week when they released a document explaining "whiteness" in America. It was critical race theory 101, and the worst part? American taxpayers funded it. I discuss the issue in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 326: Masks and the State](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-326-masks-and-the-state/) - Can a State mandate that you wear a mask? Can a State tell cities they can't mandate that you wear a mask? The answer to both is simply yes. This is an interesting think locally, act locally issue. How far do we decentralize and what "police powers" do the States have? More importantly, what role
- [Podcast Episode 325: The Neocon Religion](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-325-the-neocon-religion/) - Paul Gottfried has edited an excellent new collection of essays on American conservatism. Titled The Vanishing Tradition, the authors explore the destruction of a real American right over the past thirty years and what that means for modern American society. I discuss one of the best essays in the collection, Jack Kerwick's smack down of
- [Podcast Episode 324: Kanye and Jo](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-324-kanye-and-jo/) - What do Kanye West and Jo Jorgensen have in common? Both are running for president as "third-party" candidates. That name shows how ingrained the two party system has become in America. A listener asked if I could discuss why voting "third-party" is not throwing away your vote. We should be thinking locally and acting locally,
- [Podcast Episode 323: Redefining a "Karen"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-323-redefining-a-karen/) - We've all seen the term "Karen" used to describe a modern busybody. But is that the proper term to use? No. "Karens" are a byproduct of a particular type of American culture. I'll give you a hint. It begins with Y and ends with E. I discuss in this episode of the Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 322: Beck's Restoration Flop](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-322-becks-restoration-flop/) - Glenn Beck wants to restore the American covenant, whatever that means. He spent over two hours on July 4 giving a fake American history lesson, complete with every nationalist and New England centered myth you could imagine. I watched it so you didn't have to, and I talk about it in this Episode of The
- [Podcast Episode 321: Rove vs. Trump](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-321-rove-vs-trump/) - Karl Rove didn't like a couple of recent Donald Trump Tweets. McClanahan, why is this news? Because Karl Rove is now "advising" Donald Trump. Herein lies the problem with Trump and explains why his "heroes" are acceptable to the establishment Republican Party. They gave him the list. And they don't want anyone talking about the
- [Podcast Episode 320: Faithless Electors](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-320-faithless-electors/) - Can States mandate how electors vote for the president? The Supreme Court just said yes, and I agree, but like Clarence Thomas, I disagree with the majority opinion. Why? I explain in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 318: Secession?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-318-secession/) - F.H. Buckley's book on secession is a welcome and timely addition to the modern conversation on secession. This would have been a forbidden topic just 15 years ago, but with the current madness in American society, Buckley is wondering why and how secession could work in the 21st century. This is think locally, act locally
- [Podcast Episode 319: Trump's Monumental Garden](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-319-trumps-monumental-garden/) - Donald Trump has ordered that the United States government build a "National Garden to American Heroes" complete with new monuments to what he and other neoconservatives consider to be the greatest people in American history, like Christa McAuliffe. Nothing screams American hero like Christa McAuliffe. Not that her death was not a tragic reminder of
- [Podcast Episode 317: The Slippery Slope of Stupidity](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-317-the-slippery-slope-of-stupidity/) - Rich Lowry and Tim Kaine are not often lumped together. They should be. The "conservative" editor of National Review and the United States Senator from Virginia are both two idiot peas in a pod. Lowry doesn't think that taking down Confederate monuments or symbols will lead to anything other than a recognition of national greatness
- [Podcast Episode 316: With Friends Like These...](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-316-with-friends-like-these/) - National Review writer and native Brit Cameron Hilditch thinks Confederate symbols should be erased from American society. Why? Because they are "Un-American." That's right. National Review, a "conservative" publication, thinks getting rid of Confederate symbols would be a good thing because those guys were not really Americans. You can't make up this kind of stupid,
- [Podcast Episode 315: The Third American Revolution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-315-the-third-american-revolution/) - Are we in for another revolution in America? The first "revolution" between 1775-1783 didn't change much in American society. The second, 1861-1877, set in motion the third. In fact, this has been one long war without much of a break since 1861. The current pogrom against all things Confederate isn't really about the Confederacy but
- [Podcast Episode 314: American Nationalism is a Disease](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-314-american-nationalism-is-a-disease/) - This might sound like something out of the Left-wing anti-Trump playbook, but I have been railing against nationalism longer than Trump's been in office. Nationalism has always been the great antithesis of the American political system, and the twin "crises" of COVID and George Floyd have exposed this, again. I discuss in this episode of
- [Podcast Episode 313: Nationalization of the Militia](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-313-nationalization-of-the-militia/) - Donald Trump has suggested he'll call out the national guard to put down the protests and riots taking place across the United States. Can he legally do this? Short answer: No. But he does have historical precedents that give him cover. I discuss Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution, Donald Trump, the riots and
- [Podcast Episode 312: Where's the Beef?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-312-wheres-the-beef/) - COVID 19 has created meat shortages in the United States? Why? Because the entire industry is over-regulated and centralized, or so Paul Schwennesen (conslusively) argues. If we were already thinking locally and acting locally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but because Americans now embrace one size fits all policies, expect to ask "Where's the
- [Podcast Episode 311: Open Borders?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-311-open-borders/) - Did open borders cause a spike in COVID infections? In the United States, New York was public enemy #1. Most cases across the eastern half of the US (and in some cases the western)were brought from NYC. If the States shut down their borders, even to interstate travel, could this have been prevented? Americans should
- [Podcast Episode 310: The Constitution Party](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-310-the-constitution-party/) - After Episode 309 on Justin Amash and the Libertarian Party, several listeners asked me to produce an episode on the Constitution Party. This was easy. I have long been interested in the Constitution Party, and while their current crop of candidates is not that great, I thought an overview of their platform would allow me
- [Podcast Episode 309: President Amash and the LP](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-309-president-amash-and-the-lp/) - Justin Amash has decided to run for president as the Libertarian Party candidate. This comes on the heels of such esteemed heavyweights as Gary Johnson and Bob Barr. Does he have a shot? No. Is Amash a better libertarian than either one of those previous candidates? Yes, but he is no Ron Paul, either. I
- [Podcast Episode 308: America's "republican" Heritage](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-308-americas-republican-heritage/) - That's not a typo in the title. The late Mel Bradford hit a home run with his essay "A Teaching for Republicans," an essay I bring to you in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show. Why? Because he clearly outlines the importance of Roman history--most importantly republican Roman history--during the founding period. This destroys
- [Podcast Episode 307: "First Amendment" Protests](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-307-first-amendment-protests/) - Protests over "First Amendment" violations by State and local governments have popped up across the United States in recent weeks. Americans have petitioned their State legislators to stop the violation of their "Constitutional right" to assembly or to halt violations of the "First Amendment." This is cutting their nose off to spite their face. Is
- [Podcast Episode 306: Neo Federalism or Feudalism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-306-neo-federalism-or-feudalism/) - Is the United States on the path to a renewed interest in the Articles of Confederation? COVID-19 has certainly forced governors to spare with the general government over how to manage the internal affairs of the United States. This has led to a call for more decentralization and ABC News of all places to cite
- [Podcast Episode 305: Is Tradition an "Ism"?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-305-is-tradition-an-ism/) - COVID-19 is racist. Don't believe me? Just look at how the new Left is responding to the virus and government action to tame the pandemic. If you use "Chinese Virus" you are racist. Because the virus has affected the black American community in larger numbers than white Americans, any talk about reopening the economy is
- [Podcast Episode 304: Trump is the Law?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-304-trump-is-the-law/) - Donald Trump has declared "I am the Law!" Judge Dredd is back in town. At least he said this for about 24 hours, but even what backpedaling, he said governors must respect his authority. What has happened to the American presidency, and more importantly, is Trump correct? No, he isn't, but Trump is a symptom
- [Podcast Episode 303: The Bomb](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-303-the-bomb/) - Did the United States end World War II in Japan by dropping two atomic weapons? That has long been the contention, but beginning in 1969, scholars have challenged that position. A fairly recent book by Ward Wilson suggests the bomb had nothing to do with ending the War and was unnecessary. I discuss this position
- [Podcast Episode 302: Locals Only](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-302-locals-only/) - Is it legal for local governments to ban outsiders? This is a pressing question in the quarantine age, and many areas are attempting what just a few weeks ago would have seeming impossible. And it's legal. This is the think locally, act locally renaissance. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 301: The Only Thing We Have to Fear](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-301-the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear/) - Franklin Roosevelt delivered one of the most important speeches in American history on March 4, 1933. It is one of the top three addresses in presidential history and perhaps the transformational speech of the 20th century. Why? You probably know a line or two, but most people have never read this short but important speech.
- [Podcast Episode 300: Constitution Owner's Manual](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-300-constitution-owners-manual/) - Let's return to first principles. In honor of the 300th episode, I thought it would be important to discuss where think locally, act locally gets it constitutional juice, and there is no better way to do it than by discussing a new book by Mike Maharrey, Constitution Owner's Manual. This is vitally important in the
- [Podcast Episode 299: What Can Save America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-299-what-can-save-america/) - What will America look like in three months? If the quarantines continue, and it looks like they will for the foreseeable future, what will happen to the United States both politically and economically? These are difficult questions to answer, but I surmise that the Southern tradition has much to say about it. I can't predict
- [Podcast Episode 298: Presidential Crisis](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-298-presidential-crisis/) - When did the president become the Doctor in Chief, or the Banker in Chief, or the Landscaper in Chief? When it become acceptable for the president to weigh in on every crisis in the United States? We have come to believe the president should "calm the nation" or lead the recovery effort in every bad
- [Podcast Episode 297: Quarantine](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-297-quarantine/) - Does the general government have the power to quarantine people? How about banning travel? If not, do the States have this power? This are pressing constitutional questions in the age of COVID-19. Judge Napolitano wrote that he considers all such bans, at both the State and Federal level, to be unconstitutional. A listener wanted my
- [Podcast Episode 296: Joe Biden](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-296-joe-biden/) - It seems Glass Joe is going to be the Democrat nominee. What does this mean for the future of the Democrat Party? Not much. The real juice is going to be who he picks for VP. We are witnessing a repeat of the 1840 Whig Party and the 1850s Democrats. The future is not great
- [Podcast Episode 295: The 1776 Project](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-295-the-1776-project/) - The 1619 Project has led to the forthcoming 1620 Project and the 1776 Project. If nothing else, the 1619 Project achieved its core goal of starting a conversation. The 1620 Project will be worthless and the 1776 Project is not far behind. These are the "conservative" counters to the 1619's historical inaccuracies. Unfortunately, the 1776
- [Podcast Episode 294: History by Men, About Men, For Men?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-294-history-by-men-about-men-for-men/) - A new book on George Washington, You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe, promises to give a fresh perspective on the first president. How? Why its written by women and for women about men. We've never seen this before, right? It's so laughable it's sad, but Coe honestly thinks she is blazing new trails
- [Podcast Episode 293: How Would Secession Work?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-293-how-would-secession-work/) - Several listeners have asked about the practical application of secession. How would it work? Is it legal? How could a State secede from the Union? Can counties secede from States? These are big questions, so I provide the answers in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 292: Is 2020 the New 1860?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-202-is-2020-the-new-1860/) - The Democrats put on a show last night. It was the masses against Bloomberg and Warren delivered the tomahawk chop. But what does this mean for American politics in 2020? The debates personified everything that is the modern Democrat Party, and more importantly, set the stage for what could be a very interesting 2020 presidential
- [Podcast Episode 291: Virginia Secession](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-291-virginia-secession/) - With the recent political revolution in Virginia and the slew of legislation coming from the now leftist controlled capital in Richmond, some Virginia counties want to secede and join West Virginia. Is this legally possible? And if so, could it happen? I tackle this interesting question in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 290: Glenn Beck's Restoring the Covenant](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-290-glenn-becks-restoring-the-covenant/) - Glenn Beck relies too much on David Barton. How do I know this? His latest event, Restoring the Covenant on the Sacred Land of Gettysburg, is just pure Lincolnian myth making and New England fantasy at its finest. This presents all kinds of problems for American conservatives. In fact, it is more dangerous long term
- [Podcast Episode 289: Pierre Delecto's Moment](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-289-pierre-delectos-moment/) - Mitt Romney, aka Pierre Delecto, had his moment this week. Delecto voted to convict Trump on the "Abuse of Power" charge and in the process made a "moving" speech in the Senate, one that was described as bringing members of the Democrat Party to tears. What a joke. His speech was nothing short of grandstanding
- [Podcast Episode 288: State of the Union](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-288-state-of-the-union/) - Trump's latest "State of the Union" address was pure political theater, from the opening (non) handshake to the shredding of the script. But what about the actual substance? Was Trump right about anything he said? The Democrats embarrassed themselves, the Republicans pumped their fists, and the average voter watched with curious amazement at what has
- [Podcast Episode 287: Coronavirus!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-287-coronavirus/) - The hysteria surrounding the coronavirus hasn't reached its peak. It will when more cases show up in the United States. Hopefully, that won't happen, but if it does, expect the worst. But what if we thought locally and acted locally? Would a viral pandemic be possible? And how does the coronavirus fit within the history
- [Podcast Episode 286: Kobe Bryant and the Cult of Personality](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-286-kobe-bryant-and-the-cult-of-personality/) - Kobe Bryant's death has been covered wall to wall on network and cable television since it happened Sunday Jan 26, 2020. Both Trump and Obama Tweeted about the crash that killed Bryant and eight others, including the tragic loss of three young teenage girls. We have seen a national outpouring of grief. Just two days
- [Podcast Episode 285: 1917](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-285-1917/) - 1917 is the best anti-war war movie ever made. Of course there is no shortage of anti-war movies, but 1917 has everything you would want except the sad ending. I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but I thought the film deserved an episode along with a little WWI historical inference. What if
- [Podcast Episode 284: Electoral College Goes to SCOTUS](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-284-electoral-college-goes-to-scotus/) - The Electoral College is headed to the Supreme Court. This doesn't mean that SCOTUS will do away with the method of electing the president. It can't. But it will decide if so called "faithless electors" can be disciplined by the State. In other words, if an elector decides to choose a qualified candidate other than
- [Podcast Episode 283: Millhiser's Modest Proposal](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-283-millhisers-modest-proposal/) - Ian Millhiser is always good for a laugh. The fact that Think Progress went belly up couldn't have happened to a more despicable leftist. No worries. Vox quickly scooped up the king of platitudes and slander so he can continue to spew his leftist fantasies on a regular basis. Take for example a recent piece
- [Podcast Episode 282: The War Powers Act](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-282-the-war-powers-act/) - Is the War Powers Act of 1973 unconstitutional? John Bolton thinks so and Tweeted as much. Donald Trump immediately praised the move, and Republicans for several decades have called for its repeal. They are all right, but not for their stated reasons. The War Powers Act of 1973 is unconstitutional because it grants TOO much
- [Podcast Episode 281: The Antifederalists](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-281-the-antifederalists/) - Were the antifederalists "antifederalist"? The short answer: no. The long answer, at least according to some historians, it's complicated. Aaron Coleman had a great book review at Law and Liberty that tackles this question and more, so I decided to cover both his review and the topic in detail. This is the intellectual ammunition you
- [Podcast Episode 280: Why is Iraq so Important to the United States?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-280-why-is-iraq-so-important-to-the-united-states/) - Donald Trump ordered a drone strike on Iranian General Soleimani in Iraq and in the process created a potential crisis in the Middle East. What was an Iranian general doing in Iraq? The parliament in Iraq subsequently passed a resolution asking the United States to vacate at once which has led to a conflict in
- [Podcast Episode 279: Virginia 2A Sanctuary Counties](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-279-virginia-2a-sanctuary-counties/) - Dozens of counties in Virginia have declared themselves to be "Second Amendment Sanctuary" zones in anticipation of new gun control restrictions next year. This has led to a potential showdown between the State government and the people of Virginia. Can these counties do this? Is this constitutional? And is there a historic precedent for this?
- [Podcast Episode 278: Understanding the Neoconservatives](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-278-understanding-the-neoconservatives/) - Paul Gottfried has edited a new collection of essays on conservatism. It hits the shelves in July. That is all you should need to know before pre-ordering it. Without even cracking open the cover, you know it will be a double-barrelled assault on neoconservatism. That alone makes it worthwhile. David Gordon reviewed the book at
- [Podcast Episode 277: Stagflation Then and Now](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-277-stagflation-then-and-now/) - Paul Volcker died recently. Most Americans have never heard of him, but he almost single-highhandedly ended the "stagflation" crisis of the 1970s. How? As Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Volcker jacked up interest rates even though the short term pain would be substantial. It was, but the crisis ended and the dollar stabilized. We are
- [Podcast Episode 276: Lincoln and the 13th Amendment](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-276-lincoln-and-the-13th-amendment/) - If you watched Spielberg's Lincoln, then you undoubtedly know that the prevailing myth has Lincoln pushing for the 13th Amendment, so much so in fact that he was unwilling to compromise when he secretly met with Southern representatives in Hampton Roads in February 1865. Except this isn't true. Paul Escott blew this narrative up before
- [Podcast Episode 275: Is Trump a Better President Than Lincoln?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-275-is-trump-a-better-president-than-lincoln/) - The nerve of those grassroot Republicans. A recent poll said that a majority of Republicans think Trump is a better president than Honest Abe. You might guess what happened next. Every Lincoln cultist on the Right and Left went nuts. The lefties responded by calling these people idiots who just want to have slaves. The
- [Podcast Episode 274: The Adam Schiff Show and Impeachment](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-274-the-adam-schiff-show-and-impeachment/) - Adam Schiff released his long awaited report on impeachment, and as expected it is full of hypocritical talking points and short on concrete evidence of any impeachable offenses, at least in regard to foreign policy. I found the report laughable. The next morning, legal scholar Jonathan Turley made available his prepared statements to the House
- [Podcast Episode 273: Lincoln the Conservative?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-273-lincoln-the-conservative/) - The neoconservatives would have you believe that Abraham Lincoln was a conservative. This is blatantly false, but alas the myth persists. A new piece at the Kirk Center doubles down on the narrative. Lincoln, it seems, was not just a conservative, but a Burkean conservative. I discuss this lunacy in this episode of The Brion
- [Podcast Episode 272: Can Moderates Save America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-272-can-moderates-save-america/) - Yoni Appelbaum believes moderate Republicans are the future. You see, every problem in America can be summarized by one phrase: right-wing extremism. The only way to change this, he believes, is for moderate Republicans to repudiate these outlaws, take back the party, and continue to support good progressive measures. There's just one problem with this
- [Podcast Episode 271: Judge Nap and Impeachment](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-271-judge-nap-and-impeachment/) - Judge Napolitano has become public enemy number one for the Trump administration. Why? Because he argues Trump deserves to be impeached. This does not sit will with Fox News viewers who think Judge Nap has gone to the dark side. Is Napolitano right? More importantly, should he be taking the heat from both the Trump
- [Podcast Episode 270: How WWII Screwed Up America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-270-how-wwii-screwed-up-america/) - World War II was a transformational event with dire consequences for the future of the United States.
- [Podcast Episode 269: Which Ancestors?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-269-which-ancestors/) - Discussing Richard Weaver and Russell Kirk.
- [Podcast Episode 268: Does Nullification Naturally Lead to "Civil War?"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-268-does-nullification-naturally-lead-to-civil-war/) - Nullification and decentralization are always blamed for "civil war," but is this true? No.
- [Podcast Episode 267: PC History Tours](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-267-pc-history-tours/) - Have historical sites gone too far in pushing a slavery narrative? Some people think so. I do, too.
- [Podcast Episode 266: Jefferson and Taylor Talk Secession](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-266-jefferson-and-taylor-talk-secession/) - What did Thomas Jefferson and John Taylor of Caroline really think about secession?
- [Podcast Episode 265: Are We Heading for a Civil War?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-265-are-we-heading-for-a-civil-war/) - Americans think we're on the verge of a civil war. This is bad news.
- [Podcast Episode 264: The Triumph of Progressivism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-264-the-triumph-of-progressivism/) - Progressivism has transformed American society and most Americans don't know it.
- [Podcast Episode 263: The War on History](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-263-the-war-on-history/) - A review of Jarrett Stepman's War on History
- [Podcast Episode 262: Can Roman History Save America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-262-can-roman-history-save-america/) - Professor Steele Brand wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post arguing that Roman History should be the savoir of America. The founding generation were certainly reared on stories of Roman republicanism, there is little doubt that this type of republicanism molded the culture of the founding generation. But can this help us today? In short,
- [Podcast Episode 261: Should Trump Be Impeached?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-261-should-trump-be-impeached/) - The big question of the day: has Trump committed impeachable offenses? The talking points have been distributed and almost every Democratic presidential candidate insists that Trump violated his oath of office. It's almost as if they read my book 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America. Except, if they had, they would know that their position
- [Podcast Episode 260: Most Americans Need Think Locally Act Locally Education](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-260-most-americans-need-think-locally-act-locally-education/) - Donald Trump is facing impeachment. Climate alarmists are twerking in DC. The Republicans in Washington are still spineless, and the Democrats are lunatics, and I say to myself, what a wonderful world. Why? Because none of that matters. I adopted a think locally, act locally mentally long ago. Most Americans, however, do not share the
- [Podcast Episode 259: Another Leftist Blames the South](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/another-leftist-blames-the-south/) - The Washington Post published a piece by journalist Eve Fairbanks a few weeks back titled, "The 'reasonable rebels.'" Guess what? Everything we hate about American politics, particularly the rhetoric from the right, is because the South ruined America. That's right. You really can't make up this kind of stupidity, but Eve Fairbanks tried. You see,
- [Podcast Episode 258: Guelzo's Reconstruction Gaffe](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-258-guelzos-reconstruction-gaffe/) - Professor Allen Guelzo has a new video at Prager U "explaining" the "good, bad, and ugly" of Reconstruction. Anyone that has watched a Prager U video knows where this is headed. I laughed through the entire six minutes. Guelzo has a history of South hating rhetoric, and he is a Lincolnian's Lincolnian. This guy never
- [Podcast Episode 257: Do the States make people hate each other?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-257-do-the-states-make-people-hate-each-other/) - Professor Donald Kettl has an interesting spin on the current partisanship in America. In his mind, the States are driving conflict. Why? Because they are passing legislation other States don't like in an effort to push an agenda. Sounds like history to me. It also misses the point. The only way this would create conflict
- [Podcast Episode 256: Professor Cries Over Trump](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-256-professor-cries-over-trump/) - Rutgers Professor Ross Baker wrote an opinion piece in the USA Today crying over Trump's impact on the executive office. This is pure leftist derangement hysteria. As I discussed in the last episode, Trump is a symptom of the disease. If Professor Baker is just now coming to the conclusion that the executive branch is
- [Podcast Episode 255: Has Donald Trump Screwed Up America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-255-has-donald-trump-screwed-up-america/) - I have probably been asked this question a thousand times. Has Donald Trump screwed up America? I have held off answering it for a while, simply because his term is incomplete, but I thought I could partially answer it today with the same criteria I used to rate the other presidents. Trump is a symptom
- [Podcast Episode 254: The 1619 Project and John C. Calhoun](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-254-the-1619-project-and-john-c-calhoun/) - The leftist 1619 Project is perhaps the worst piece of popular history to hit the market since Bill Oreilly's "Legends and Lies," and that was just a few months ago. This seems to be trend. Produce some idiotic drivel for your echo chamber to either sell books or sell newspapers. Except the progs don't usually
- [Podcast Episode 253: Little Jemmy and the Gerrymander](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-253-little-jemmy-and-the-gerrymander/) - Politico ran a piece the other day slamming Gerrymandering because it almost prevented Little Jemmy Madison from being elected to the First Congress. The horror. The piece was typical Leftist nonsense with a bit of hysterical hyperbole and a scattering of incongruous arguments. And it was written by a "journalism" professor. Go figure. I take
- [Podcast Episode 252: The 538 Political Confessional](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-252-the-538-political-confessional/) - The leftist website Five-Thirty Eight has recently produced a column titled "Political Confessional" where people submit "forbidden" political thoughts. This is standard leftist fare, but one was intriguing: "The Man Who Thinks The U.S. Is Better Off As A Bunch Of Separate Countries." Now for those that listen to my show, this is just an
- [Podcast Episode 251: The Cornerstone Speech](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-251-the-cornerstone-speech/) - Alexander H. Stephens's "Cornerstone Speech" is perhaps the most infamous speech in the 19th century. It is cited by every SJW group as clear "evidence," the "smoking gun" that it was slavery, slavery, and slavery that drove the Confederacy. Is this true? The speech offers a clear example of "contextualization," but not in the way
- [Podcast Episode 250: World War I](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-250-world-war-i/) - World War I was as transformational for the United States as the War for Southern Independence. While the 1860s helped produce the imperial executive and then led to Reconstruction, World War I created the American nation. I explain in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 249: Washington's Farewell](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-249-washingtons-farewell/) - Washington's Farewell Address used to be an important part of every Congress. The House stopped reading it in 1979 while the Senate still continues the practice. What does it say and what can we learn from it? A listener wanted an overview, so this is it. I consider it to be an important letter, one
- [Podcast Episode 248: Lincoln the Socialist?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-248-lincoln-the-socialist/) - The Washington Post published a piece celebrating Lincoln's ties to Karl Marx. This is something I have been saying for years, but what do I know? I am not the Washington Post. But if the Washington Post prints it, it has to be true and acceptable. Of course, I agree, and I discuss Lincoln and
- [Podcast Episode 247: What is Incorporation?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-247-what-is-incorporation/) - A listener asks, "What is this incorporation thing you keep talking about? I hear it all the time, and I don't know what it is. Please help!" I've got you covered in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 246: Political Puritans](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-246-political-puritans/) - "The Squad" held a press conference the other day in order to make their case for impeaching Donald Trump. His crime? Being a political heretic. The four stooges made that clear by the language they used to denounce his language. These people are political puritans, and anyone who does not agree with them has to
- [Podcast Episode 245: Origins of "Conservative Republicans?"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-245-origins-of-conservative-republicans/) - A listener asked what are the "origins of the conservative faction of the Republican Party?" This is a good question. He provided three plausible scenarios and asked in any had merit. I discuss his question and the GOSP in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 244: Taking On Politically Charged History](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-244-taking-on-politically-charged-history/) - Kevin Levin has a new book coming out that Yale historian David Blight thinks will destroy the most pervasive myth of the "Civil War," that of Black Confederates. Both Blight and Levin, and their bosom buddy Bruce Levine, knock down this neo-Confederate straw man whenever they can. If you listen to these three knuckleheads, every
- [Podcast Episode 243: Should We Listen to David Barton?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-243-should-we-listen-to-david-barton/) - This one is for the dozens of people who contacted me about my thoughts on David Barton. Should we listen to him? Short answer: no. Longer answer: run away. I explain why David Barton is one of the most problematic people on the "right"--while pointing out just a few of his stupid statements in a
- [Podcast Episode 242: Welcome to Progressive America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-242-welcome-to-progressive-america/) - June 30 marked the 10th anniversary of the publication of my Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers. I knew that the founding generation was under assault when I wrote it, but little did I know things would spiral out of control so quickly. In ten years we have gone from contextualization to outright removal.
- [Podcast Episode 241: Debates, Debates, Debates!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-241-debates-debates-debates/) - The first round of "debates" are in the books and they were just as awful as I expected. I suffered through them so maybe you didn't have to, but several things were made clear by this political circus, and I tell you what those are in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 240: Enough With Hamilton](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-240-enough-with-hamilton/) - I have been saying that for almost two years. Enough with Hamilton! But it seems some other people are catching on, like the Wall Street Journal. Maybe not their editorial board, but a couple of WSJ reporters went out and found enough people who want to downplay Hamilton to write an article about it. I
- [Podcast Episode 239: Chernobyl](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-239-chernobyl/) - The HBO miniseries Chernobyl has been a major hit. If you haven't watched it, you should. Leftists love it because they see Donald Trump and the modern United States. This is just stupid. You can't watch the show and not see the evils of communism, that is unless your entire world view is warped by
- [Podcast Episode 238: How do we define "legitimate government?"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-238-how-do-we-define-legitimate-government/) - China wants to invade Taiwan because Lincoln invaded the South. This makes perfect sense, but not to most Americans, particularly those brainwashed by the Lincoln myth. If you believe in self-determination, then Taiwan should be independent, as should the Southern States. But this leads to the question, what constitutes legitimate government? If you celebrate July
- [Podcast Episode 237: The New American Conservatism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-237-the-new-american-conservatism/) - Trump's election produced a reevaluation of the American conservative movement. What is it? Who is in it? What does it mean? What are the core principles? Several pieces have been published in the last several weeks addressing this topic. This is part II of my discussion of the New Right.
- [Podcast Episode 236: The New Right](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-236-the-new-right/) - Michael Malice has a new book titled The New Right. It's an honest evaluation of what has been termed the "alt-right" from an intellectually curious person. I think the book is a fantastic read, and I explain why in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 235: Why Can't We All Get Along (Constitutionally)?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-235-why-cant-we-all-get-along-constitutionally/) - Why can't we all get along? Perhaps because we are speaking two different constitutional languages. I have been saying this for years, but three law professors have now "discovered" so-called "sobering" evidence that this is the case. Welcome to the show. I discuss these two different games in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 234: Why Don't Young People Like History?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-234-why-dont-young-people-like-history/) - Young people are terrible at history. This is a pandemic, but the question is why? John Davidson at TheFederalist.com gets it mostly right by suggesting that students don't want to learn history because it is just the bad stuff. Who cares about awful people? This is true, but then he suggests that we need to
- [Podcast Episode 233: Stupid Self-Righteous Zealots](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-233/) - I received a couple of emails/Tweets that just had to be used for podcast fodder. The first focused on "immorality" of Confederate monuments and the second on the supposed pristine history of the Republican Party. The two cannot be divorced so I crush both stupid positions in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 232: D.C. vs Heller](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-232-d-c-vs-heller/) - Former SCOTUS Justice John Paul Stevens (99 years old) published an op-ed last week called the U.S. vs. Heller decision the worst of his tenure on the bench. Why? Because he thinks it distorted the 2nd Amendment. This is an absurd position, but one that deserves attention. I discuss in this episode of The Brion
- [Podcast Episode 231: Tulsi Gabbard and the Imperialists](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-231-tulsi-gabbard-and-the-imperialists/) - Tulsi Gabbard has taken a beating from the establishment. The mainstream media has resorted to "fake news" and she is at odds with her Party on foreign policy. This is typical and unfortunately stupid. But what can we expect from the modern imperialists. I discuss Gabbard in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 230: Is Removing Confederate Monuments a Think Locally, Act Locally Issue?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-230-is-removing-confederate-monuments-a-think-locally-act-locally-issue/) - A piece by Billy Binion at Reason.com argues that the time has come to remove Confederate monuments if the people of the city say they want them removed. One listener asked if this agreed with my think locally, act locally mantra. I respond in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 229: Are Tariffs a Sign of Piety?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-229-are-tariffs-a-sign-of-piety/) - John Howling at Chronicles wrote a piece recently extolling the virtues of tariffs. He claims it is a matter of "piety" to favor protective measures because it helps "family, folk, and fatherland." This makes tariffs policy an economic vs. moral argument. I dive into this dichotomy in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 228: Can the General Government Use Force to "Guarantee" a Republican Government?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-228-can-the-general-government-use-force-to-guarantee-a-republican-government/) - A couple of listeners sent two very good questions over the last week. The first asked if the "guarantee clause" in the Constitution authorizes the general government to use force in the event that a State alters its government from a republican form. The second wondered if the founding generation had differing views on the
- [Podcast Episode 227: Will American Political Parties "Realign?"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-227-will-american-political-parties-realign/) - Frank Distefano thinks American political parties are heading for a "realignment" based on a dispute over the meaning of the "American Dream." Is this true? Maybe, but perhaps the parties will realign over something else. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 226: Should we love the founding generation?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-226-should-we-love-the-founding-generation/) - A listener sent me a long email with three very good questions about the founding generation. Rather than respond in written form to one person, I thought it would be beneficial to respond in a way that everyone could enjoy. If one student has a question, chances are several have the same questions. This was
- [Podcast Episode 225: "Conservative Democracy?"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-225-conservative-democracy/) - Yoram Hazony argues in a piece for First Things that the solution to our political problems is the adoption of what he calls "conservative democracy." This is a thought provoking piece, but one that falls apart in its core insistence on "nationalism." We don't need "conservative democracy." We need a return to federalism. I discuss
- [Podcast Episode 224: The Constitution and Executive Power](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-224-the-constitution-and-executive-power/) - A leftist professor wants to limit executive power. This should not be news in the Age of Trump. Every leftist wants to do that, but this leftist might be slightly different. Professor Julia Azari wrote a piece for Vox arguing that the Constitution doesn't do enough to limit executive power and suggests amending it to
- [Podcast Episode 223: Rethinking Thomas Jefferson](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-223-rethinking-thomas-jefferson/) - Thomas Jefferson is under attack. Who didn't see this coming? There are, however, people who try to defend the man, but they do so very poorly. One such case is a recent opinion piece in the Richmond Dispatch that gave an offhanded nod of approval to a bunch of Hofstra students who want to take
- [Podcast Episode 222: Fake News Fakes Its Knowledge About the "Civil War"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-222-fake-news-fakes-its-knowledge-about-the-civil-war/) - Facebook is now "Fact Checking" posts. This is bad news for a variety of reasons, but maybe most embarrassingly because they are using a former CNN reporter to do the fact checking. What could go wrong with that, particularly when they are "fact checking" the civil war [sic]. I hit this issue head on in
- [Podcast Episode 221: The New Yorker Gets it Wrong on Reconstruction](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-221-the-new-yorker-gets-it-wrong-on-reconstruction/) - Adam Gopnik at The New Yorker has written one of the most stupid (but typical) pieces on Reconstruction. The presentism, the historical revisionism, and the downright laughable assertions are so cringe worthy, I had to podcast about it. It also makes for a great introduction to my newest course at https://mcclanahanacademy.com Reconstruction and Recreation. This
- [Podcast Episode 220: Did Identity Politics Lead to the "Civil War?"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-220-did-identity-politics-lead-to-the-civil-war/) - Conservative scholar Daniel Mallock blames identity politics, in particular Southerners, for the sectional conflict and "civil war." Is he correct? In short, no, at least in regard to the South. He also supports a type of neoconservative nationalism that would find favor with leftists like Jill Lepore. I discuss in this episode of The Brion
- [Podcast Episode 219: Creating an Americanism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-219-creating-an-americanism/) - Harvard professor Jill Lepore thinks we need to write more nationalist histories of the United States, but they have to be a certain type of nationalist histories. She gets so many things wrong in a recent article for foreignaffairs.com that I had to take her positions apart.
- [Podcast Episode 218: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Think Locally, Act Locally](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-218-the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-think-locally-act-locally/) - We witnessed an example of good, bad, and ugly in state politics this week. Missouri did something good, no great, Mississippi the bad with good intent, and Colorado and Delaware the ugly. I explain all three in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 217: Leave Joseph Story Out of the Federalist Society](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-217-leave-joseph-story-out-of-the-federalist-society/) - The Federalist Society has decided to give an award named after the "originalist" Joseph Story. This is a bad idea for so many reasons. I explain why in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 216: Is John Tyler the Worst or Best President?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-216-is-john-tyler-the-worst-or-best-president/) - Libertarianism.org has called John Tyler the worst president in American history. This is lunacy. I like the author of the piece, but in this case, he's just flat wrong. I tackle the issue in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 215: Incorporation, Establishment, and Originalism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-215-incorporation-establishment-and-originalism/) - Is incorporation settled law? More importantly, what does the "Establishment Clause" contained in the First Amendment mean? And could/can States have state established churches? These are big questions. One candidate for a Wisconsin State court position believes that the States did have the ability to establish a religion--he is correct. He then backtracked when attacked
- [Podcast Episode 214: Lincoln Invents History at Cooper Union](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-214-lincoln-invents-history-at-cooper-union/) - This is a listener requested episode. Lincoln's Cooper Union Address is considered to be one of his best speeches. Figures. It is full of historical inaccuracies, half-truths, and logical fallacies. Typical Honest Abe. I take apart this speech and discuss what it means for American history on this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 213: Presidential Rankings by Historians are Stupid](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-213-presidential-rankings-by-historians-are-stupid/) - I mean this in the nicest way. Avoid presidential rankings by collections of esteemed historians. They aren't worth the time and effort to read them. I do that for you and comment on the absolute stupidity in their ranking system--and the justifications for them--in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 212: "Draft the Women!" say the men without chests.](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-212-draft-the-women-say-the-men-without-chests/) - According to a federal judge, women are now eligible for the draft. This is a sad day for Western Civilization. I Tweeted something on a similar line and of course the radical leftists went crazy. I explain everything in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 211: Timbs, the 8th, and the Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-211-timbs-the-8th-and-the-constitution/) - Oops they did it again, they played with the Constitution, and they're not quite innocent. Of course I am not referring to Brittany Spears, but to the 9 actors on the Supreme Court. While many people stood up and applauded the SCOTUS decision in Timbs v. Indiana, the Court, as usual, got it wrong. Only
- [Podcast Episode 210: Taxes, Republicans, and Progressives](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-210-taxes-republicans-and-progressives/) - Progressives want a 70% top marginal income tax rate and claim this has always been the American way, that is until those evil Republicans changed things in the 1980s. This is all hogwash. I discuss taxes, Republicans, and progressives in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 209: Lincoln vs. Washington](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-209-lincoln-vs-washington/) - Are George Washington and Abraham Lincoln really the best presidents in American history? More importantly, are they similar in any way? No. In fact, Lincoln should be regarded as one of the worst. I take apart President's Day, Lincoln, and the Lincoln myth on this Episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 208: Just Blame Calhoun](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-208-just-blame-calhoun/) - When something is wrong, just blame Calhoun. That is what anyone with half a brain decides to do. It doesn't matter if you are on the "left" or the "right," Calhoun is the root of all American evil. This is a cartoonish narrative that unfortunately gets used too often. I take apart a recent attempt
- [Podcast Episode 207: What's Wrong with Education in America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-207/) - What's wrong with education in America? It sure isn't money. It sure isn't a lack of teachers or people trying to teach in higher education, but that is what the Left would have you to believe. The problem is indoctrination and stupid majors that should not exist. The progs break it and then have the
- [Podcast Episode 206: What the SOU Should Have Said](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-206-what-the-sou-should-have-said/) - Trump delivered the State of the Union address to a group of spoiled teenagers last night. He said some good things, but as usual, the address had little substance and was heavy on slogans and platitudes. I give you a SOU that we all should applaud, that is all adults should applaud.
- [Podcast Episode 205: Progressives NEED to Control the Federal Bench](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-205-progressives-need-to-control-the-federal-bench/) - Progressives need to control the federal bench, which is why they are so worried about "RGB" as I like to mix up the letters. Very 90s. Regardless, they worry that the bogeyman Federalist Society will have more input in selecting judicial appointments. Will the Federalist Society change the direction of the United States? Nope. I
- [Podcast Episode 204: Would the Founders Oppose Billionaires?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-204-would-the-founders-oppose-billionaires/) - "AOC" thinks the billionaires are immoral. Leftist "journalist" pens pieces supporting her claim with quotes from the founding generation. Predictable and stupid. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 203: To SOU or Not to SOU, That is the Question](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-203-to-sou-or-not-to-sou-that-is-the-question/) - Trump and Pelosi are slugging it out over the forthcoming State of the Union address. This raises some interesting political, constitutional, and ceremonial questions. I discuss them all in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 202: Academics are the Worst](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-202-academics-are-the-worst/) - It has become a fairly standard procedure to bash the academy. There's a reason for that. The academy is a cesspool that doesn't meet its stated mission, namely to produce people able to think critically and independently. That is the point. Most academics don't want students who think critically and independently. Why? Because most academics
- [Podcast Episode 201: Can the Courts Save Federalism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-201-can-the-courts-save-federalism/) - National Review thinks the courts can save federalism. At least they are talking about saving federalism. The courts cannot be trusted to do anything. I discuss in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 200: Trump's Emergency Powers](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-200-trumps-emergency-powers/) - Does Donald Trump have emergency powers to build the wall? This is an important legal question, but one with a simple (but unpopular for many people) answer: No. If we are going to say the Constitution needs to be upheld, then we need to be consistent. I discuss my thoughts on Trump's wall, the Republicans,
- [Podcast Episode 199: Carlson vs. Shapiro](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-199-carlson-vs-shapiro/) - Tucker Carlson gave perhaps the most important political television monologue of early 2019 last week in response to Mitt Romney's op-ed critical of Donald Trump. It was bold, meaty, and it ticked off establishment Republicans like Ben Shapiro. That's why it was great. I discuss both the monologue and Shapiro's response in this episode of
- [Podcast Episode 198: Generation or Culture?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-198-generation-or-culture/) - The Millennials have taken over the building, or so it seems if you watch the news. "AOC" is the media darling and everyone is jumping on board. But this isn't the whole truth. We are seeing a slight generational shift in the United States Congress, but the Generation Xers have more seats than the Millennials
- [Podcast Episode 197: History as a Social Science?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-197-history-as-a-social-science/) - Is history a social science? No. In fact, the social sciences are the enemy of both history and tradition. I explain in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show, the last of 2018.
- [Podcast Episode 196: No Slavery, No War?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-196-no-slavery-no-war/) - I get this all the time: "Okay, Lincoln didn't go to war to free the slaves, but without slavery, the South wouldn't have seceded and therefore Lincoln would not have gone to war to prevent secession. No slavery, no war." This is an important and nuanced argument, but one that misses several important pieces, most
- [Podcast Episode 195: The Donald, Nancy, Chuck, and Mike Show](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-195-the-donald-nancy-chuck-and-mike-show/) - December 11, 2018, a date which will go down as one of the single greatest examples of modern political stupidity but perhaps the best example of political theatre in the modern age, the Donald, Nancy, Chuck, and Mike Show. This episode episod of the Brion McClanahan Show covers the glorious meeting, including Pence’s silence, Trump’s
- [Podcast Episode 194: Heavy Metal and Western Civilization](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/heavy-metal-and-western-civilization/) - Heavy metal music was invented by Western Civilization. I know to some people this might be sacrilege, but it's true. It could not have been made without it, and it embodies urban white working class society. It also was a hearty reaction to the Cold War and the prospect of mutual assured destruction. I discuss
- [Podcast Episode 193: Abolish the Senate?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-193-abolish-the-senate/) - Former Representative John Dingall recently wrote an op-ed for The Atlantic in which he proposed to, among other idiotic measures, abolish the Electoral College and the Senate. Yes, because Progressives really believe in "minority" rights. But this is instructive. We should know who these people are and what they really want. Dingall, as a cranky
- [Podcast Episode 192: The Elected King](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-192-the-elected-king/) - George H.W. Bush is dead, long live George H.W. Bush. Might as well say it. We have an elected king. The overkill in our public mourning proves it. This was created and now perpetuated by the Republican Party, and we have strayed so far from our republican principles the founding generation would be spinning in
- [Podcast Episode 191: John F. Kennedy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-191-john-f-kennedy/) - Was John F. Kennedy a conservative? I get this question a lot, and I have been asked several times to do an episode on JFK. The wait is over. Short answer, yes Kennedy would be a modern "establishment conservative," but that isn't saying much. It is, in fact, a criticism. I take on Kennedy the
- [Podcast Episode 190: Lincoln vs. Johnson vs. Trump](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-190-lincoln-vs-johnson-vs-trump/) - It has become a cottage industry to compare Donald Trump with the "worst" presidents in American history, among them Andrew Johnson. The comparison is apparently easy. Both men were and are, in the words of a recent op-ed, "unpopular and unfit." Is this true? More importantly, was Johnson any different from Abraham Lincoln? The Twitter
- [Podcast Episode 189: The First Thanksgiving](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-189-the-first-thanksgiving/) - Dust off your black cockle hat and buckle shoes and get ready to celebrate the first Thanksgiving in Pilgrim style! Or not, because the Pilgrim event in 1621 wasn't close to the first Thanksgiving. That honor would go to the Spanish in Florida and the English in Virginia. What happened? If the glorious Pilgrims were
- [Podcast Episode 188: Remember Traditional Children's Shows? Me Neither](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-188-remember-traditional-childrens-shows-me-neither/) - Remember when children's television had a fairly traditional message? Me neither, at least not in the last decade. Everyone's a princess, and the "princes" are all bad guys. It hasn't always been this way, and there is at least one modern film that bucks this trend. I discuss modern children's entertainment in this episode of
- [Podcast Episode 187: What Can We Learn From 1876?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-187-what-can-we-learn-from-1876/) - Nationalism presents a real problem in American politics. The razor thin majorities in federal elections means that half the population will use the power of government to abuse the other half of the population. Winner take all elections have consequences. The founding generation designed a system that could prevent this, but the nationalists on both
- [Podcast Episode 186: Trump's Hamiltonian Confederate America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-186-trumps-hamiltonian-confederate-america/) - Donald Trump is a Confederate and Alexander Hamilton invented America. I learned both last week while sorting through my email. Several people sent me a piece from the Guardian that claims Trump is nothing more than a reincarnation of the Confederacy while Prager U. published a short video on how we live in Hamilton's America.
- [Podcast Episode 185: 2018 Thinking Locally and Acting Locally Election Recap](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-185-2018-thinking-locally-and-acting-locally-election-recap/) - Did you survive the most important election of our lifetime? I thought that was two years ago, or perhaps ten years ago. Regardless, one thing is certain: big government was going to win no matter which party controlled the general government. But what about thinking locally and acting locally? There were interesting elections and ballot
- [Podcast Episode 184: What is American Nationalism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-184-what-is-american-nationalism/) - Nationalism has become the new political pejorative. According to such geniuses like Alyssa Milano and Sarah Silverman, nationalism equals Nazi. And the young minds of mush believe it. This is a strange development but par for the course in the age of social media. If they'll eat Tide Pods....Regardless, what is American nationalism and what
- [Podcast Episode 183: Citizenship and the 14th Amendment](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-183-citizenship-and-the-14th-amendment/) - Donald Trump is the most important political figure of the early 21st century. No one else has been able to turn the political discussion on a dime like Trump, and that discussion quickly turned to immigration and the 14th Amendment on October 30, just days after everyone was talking about political violence. Not anymore. But
- [Podcast Episode 182: Federal Police Power?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-182-federal-police-power/) - Does the general government have the authority to get involved in the horrible mass murder in PA? Short answer: No. Had the founding generation thought otherwise, the Constitution would not have been ratified. There are countless examples from the early federal period that point to opposition to federal overreach, but Americans today have become accustomed
- [Podcast Episode 181: Progressive Neo-Confederates?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-181-progressive-neo-confederates/) - Hillary Clinton tweeted that the progressives need to start using the States to protect their citizens. Sounds a lot like nullification. Is Hillary a closet "neo-confederate?" The progressives have become more interested in real federalism since Trump won the 2016 election. Their dedication may be fleeting, but this provides a "think locally, act locally" teachable
- [Podcast Episode 180: The Real Motivation Behind Confederate Monuments](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-180-the-real-motivation-behind-confederate-monuments/) - We've all been told by the "actual historians" that Confederate monuments were erected to perpetuate "white supremacy." Unfortunately for these "actual historians," they have no evidence. In fact, the primary documents point to an entirely different conclusion. The Oak Woods monument in Chicago proves the point. I discuss that monument and its dedication ceremony in
- [Podcast Episode 179: Is the Electoral College Racist?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-179-is-the-electoral-college-racist/) - The progressives want to kill the Electoral College. This isn't really new, but why is the bizarre part. They say it is a vestige of slavery. This is one of the more idiotic positions in a list of idiotic positions. The Electoral College had nothing to do with slavery, nor is it "racist." I discuss
- [Podcast Episode 178: Repeal the 13th Amendment?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-178-repeal-the-13th-amendment/) - Kanye West stirred the pot recently with his visit to the White House and an earlier social media post calling for the "repeal of the 13th Amendment." The progressives haven't been this upset with an African-American visiting the White House since Booker T. Washington dined with Teddy Roosvelt in the early 20th century, nor have
- [Podcast Episode 177: Downton Abbey and Tradition](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-177-downton-abbey-and-tradition/) - I find tradition to be a fascinating topic, and no modern show better explores the subject than the British hit Downton Abbey. There are so many areas to discuss--paternalism, class, economics, manners, sport--that a quick podcast does not do it justice, but I wanted to whet your appetite and get you to binge watch like
- [Podcast Episode 176: Andrew Jackson](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-176-andrew-jackson/) - Should we admire Andrew Jackson? Brad Birzer of Hillsdale College says yes, and I generally agree. I have written two chapters on Jackson, once in my Politically Incorrect Guide to Real American Heroes, and once in my 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America. Brad has done a service to Jackson's reputation and his book is
- [Podcast Episode 175: Would Repealing the 17th Amendment Save Federalism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-175-would-repealing-the-17th-amendment-save-federalism/) - I have argued that repealing the 17th Amendment would be a step in the right direction for restoring federalism in America, but would it be sufficient? Some "conservatives" stop there, thinking that once the 17th is gone, the States would wrest control of the government from the bureaucrats and bring some sanity to Washington. There
- [Episode 43: Kaepernick, the Anthem, and Nationalism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-43-kapernick-the-anthem-and-nationalism/) - Colin Kaepernick has taken a stand, or a knee. Is he right in doing so? He is making a "national" statement about issues that are purely local, and the "national" response is one of the major problems with American politics today. I talk about Kaepernick, the national anthem, the pledge, and American nationalism in Episode
- [Podcast Episode 174: A republican President](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-174-a-republican-president/) - What did the founding generation want and expect from the executive branch? Did they desire an elected king? And did Americans following that generation think the American presidency should have the powers of a monarch? The answer is unequivocally no. The Congress was designed to be the most powerful branch in the federal city. The
- [Podcast Episode 173: Webster and Calhoun vs. Trump and McCain](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-173-webster-and-calhoun-vs-trump-and-mccain/) - John McCain's death and Donald Trump's subsequent snub have sparked a moderate debate over how to properly remember a political adversary. I believe no one did this better than Daniel Webster after John C. Calhoun's death in 1850, but of course the circumstances were different as was the character and legacy of the men in
- [Episode 172: The Idea of the South?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-172-the-idea-of-the-south/) - Time Magazine thought it was necessary to produce a "Southern Issue." What does this mean? Is the South still the "other" in American society? Has it always been so? Is there an "idea" of the South that is different from the "real South?" Time seems to think so. I discuss their "Southern Issue" in this
- [Podcast Episode 171: State Independency?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-171-state-independency/) - A listener sent me an email the other day (I do read them) about an argument he had with his father-in-law concerning the meaning of union, the American political structure, and the founding period. Now, I don't encourage listeners to get into heated debates with family due to my podcast, but I wanted to respond
- [Podcast Episode 170: The Next Civil War?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-170-the-next-civil-war/) - Will there be another "civil war" and what would it look like? Are Americans so different today that this is a real possibility? Harry Crocker thinks so, and I tend to agree if we continue down the path of nationalism, top down, one-size fits all policies, and Cultural Marxism. The only real solution is to
- [Podcast Episode 169: Secession and Reconciliation](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-169-secession-and-reconciliation/) - Mainstream academics are beginning to pay attention to the issues of secession and "treason." Did Southerners commit treason when they seceded from the Union in 1860-61? Did Northern leaders violate civil liberties during the War? Most importantly, how did Americans, North and South, view these issues in the immediate aftermath of the War? And was
- [Podcast Episode 168: How Can We Change the Supreme Court?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-168-how-can-we-change-the-supreme-court/) - I was asked on social media how I would alter the powers of the Supreme Court, the idea being that it should be the least powerful branch of the general government. This is a great question and one that I cover in part in my How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America. I discuss where the
- [Podcast Episode 167: "Think Small" is Catching On](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-167-think-small-is-catching-on/) - Think locally, act locally has been my podcast theme since its inception. It seems the idea is catching on. Even the normally neoconservative American Spectator published an article in June championing its merits. This would have been unthinkable just twenty years ago, maybe even ten years ago, but more Americans are coming around to the
- [Podcast Episode 166: The "Democratic-Socialist" Deception](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-166-the-democratic-socialist-deception/) - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's victory in a New York Democratic primary has made her the recent media darling of the Left. It has also brought the term "democratic-socialist" to the fore. She can't define it. The media can't define it. Stupidity runs in packs. So I define it for you and explain why it is nothing more
- [Podcast Episode 165: Time's Founding Fathers](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-165-times-founding-fathers/) - Time Magazine produced a special issue on the Founding Fathers just in time for Independence Day. Great right? Wrong. This is the politically correct foil to my Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers (and for the same price!). I go over what they got wrong and very wrong--and why you should buy my three
- [Podcast Episode 164: Is Anti-Immigration Un-American?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-164-is-anti-immigration-un-american/) - Some people would have you believe that being anti-immigration is not only un-American, it's a product of Nazi Germany. These same people insist that every effort to restrict American immigration has been based on race. Is this true? No. The role of the general government in immigration is, however, debatable. I discuss all of this
- [Podcast Episode 163: Lincoln and Trump](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-163-lincoln-and-trump/) - Dinesh D'Souza will release another political documentary this summer. The topic? Lincoln, Trump and the "Death of a Nation." Lincoln worshipers firmly believe that he "saved America" during the War and if only we could have another Lincoln, America would be alright. This is problematic. I explain why in this episode of The Brion McClanahan
- [Get Your Brion McClanahan Show Gear](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/get-your-brion-mcclanahan-show-gear/) - Get my new logo on a t-shirt, skin or cover for your electronic device, wall art, wall clock, coffee cup or travel mug, bag, sticker, or stationary: Get Brion McClanahan Show Gear
- [Become a Member of McClanahan Academy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/become-a-member-of-mcclanahan-academy/) - The Politically Incorrect Gateway to a REAL History Education McClanahan Academy courses sandblast away the years of rust, corrosion, and brain-rot produced by mainstream history curriculum. My courses challenge conventional wisdom and modern group-think. They are for the strong minded, curious student who wants a real history education untarnished by establishment academics. You can watch
- [Podcast Episode 162: Why the War Still Matters](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-162-why-the-war-still-matters/) - Why does the "War" still matter in 2018? This is a good question and one I seek to answer in my newest course for McClanahan Academy, "The War for Southern Independence." I give you the scoop on why the War was a transformational episode in American history and why everything that followed is current events.
- [Podcast Episode 161: Harry Truman](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-161-harry-truman/) - Every politician seems to like Harry Truman these days. Conservative Inc. admires his stand on communism and the Left understands that without Truman FDR's "Second Bill of Rights" dream would never have gotten off the ground. When everyone likes someone, it's time to reconsider how "great" they are. Truman is by far one of the
- [Podcast Episode 160: The Cold War](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-160-the-cold-war/) - I find the Cold War to be one of the most fascinating periods in American history. There are three distinctive epochs in the 250 years the United States has existed: The American War for Independence and the original federal republic (1776-1861), Lincolnian America and the quest for national greatness (1861-1945), and the Cold War (1945-present).
- [Podcast Episode 159: Jefferson and Missouri](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-159-jefferson-and-missouri/) - What did Jefferson mean when he wrote about the "fire bell in the night?" Most interpretations focus on slavery and the threats it posed to the stability of the Union, but this is reading history in reverse and it misses Jefferson's main point. The Union was in trouble because of the potential violation of the
- [Podcast Episode 158: Should Cities Be States?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-158-should-cities-be-states/) - The city of Birmingham thinks it should be a State and is suing in FEDERAL court to determine if it can ignore State law. This would be a disaster for federalism and would produce all kinds of problems. I explain why in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-158-should-cities-be-states
- [Podcast Episode 157: Marbury v. Madison. Good or Bad?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-157-marbury-v-madison-good-or-bad/) - A listener generated episode. Was Marbury v. Madison a good or bad decision? What are the misconceptions of the case, and what did it mean for the future of American constitutionalism? Get the scoop on this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-157-marbury-v-madison-good-or-bad
- [Podcast Episode 156: They Also Ran](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-156-they-also-ran/) - This is a listener generated episode. Keep sending your requests. If ______ candidate won ________ presidential election, what would have been different, or more importantly, did the wrong man win? Irving Stone wrote a breezy tome on this topic in the middle of the 20th century titled "They Also Ran." His book is popular history
- [Podcast Episode 155: What is American Liberty?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-155-what-is-american-liberty/) - Liberty minded Americans might be unaware that there are several different concepts of American liberty all born in the colonial period. This presents a problem when discussing current events and creates the climate of "incompatible things." I discuss liberty in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-155-what-is-american-liberty
- [Podcast Episode 154: Wilson, FDR, or LBJ?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-154-wilson-fdr-or-lbj/) - Woodrow Wilson, FDR, and Lyndon Johnson should rank at the bottom of every presidential list. Unfortunately, they don't. Of course, I placed them among the 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America. But of those three, who is the worst? Tom Woods made a case for FDR and Michael Malice for Wilson in a recent episode
- [Podcast Episode 153: Why are my College Professors Liberal?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-153-why-are-my-college-professors-liberal/) - This is a question many people in Western countries ask today. Why are my college professors so liberal? It seems the academy is overrun with hippie has-beens and revolutionary wannabes. How did this happen? Some of it has to do with field and the rest with culture and hubris. I discuss in this episode of
- [Podcast Episode 152: The Disuniting of America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-152-the-disuniting-of-america/) - Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. was a court historian of the court historians, the bridge between the Old Left and the New Left. He would also be attacked by the New Left of today for his views on "multiculturalism." His book "The Disuniting of America" is an interesting discussion of history, politics, and more importantly the myth
- [Podcast Episode 151: Democracy?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-151-democracy/) - The recent events in Florida had some members of the media suggesting that 16 year old Americans should be able to vote. This is democratic and fair, they say. Why stop at 16? Why not 12? or 5? The American infatuation with "democracy" has led to several interesting debates in American history, most importantly the
- [Podcast Episode 150: Shut Up and Dribble?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-150-shut-up-and-dribble/) - Laura Ingraham created a stir a couple of weeks ago by suggesting that NBA superstar LeBron James leave politics alone and just "shut up and dribble." James, other NBA players, and leftist talking heads in both the sports media and cable news pounced, calling her "racist" and demanding an apology. To her credit, Ingraham didn't
- [Podcast Episode 149: Ranking the Presidents](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-149-ranking-the-presidents/) - Presidents Day. The day dedicated to monarchy worship in America. It also provides an opportunity for every "presidential scholar" to dust off his or her "presidential rankings." 2018 is no different. Boise State produced a survey of "presidential scholars" that is not only laughable but exposes these people for the poor scholars they actually are,
- [Podcast Episode 148: The Tuckers of Virginia](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-148-the-tuckers-of-virginia/) - Very few people, even academics, know anything about the Tuckers of Virginia. This is unfortunate because they were a truly great American political family. I wrote about St. George Tucker in my How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America, but a few years back we dedicated a week to the Tuckers at the Abbeville Institute. St.
- [Podcast Episode 147: Religion and America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-147-religion-and-america/) - Was the United States founded as a "Christian nation?" David Barton will tell you so, and this has become a generally accepting talking point on the American right. But is it true? To be blunt, no, but not because Americans weren't predominantly Christian. They were, but America was never a "nation," and the Union was
- [Podcast Episode 146: Black Confederates?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-146-black-confederates/) - Perhaps no issue is more contentious in the "Civil War" field than that of black Confederates. Did they exist? More importantly, how do we measure "support" during any period of war and what constitutes a "soldier?" Do men who are forcibly drafted into the army "support" the cause? How about non-combat support. Are they soldiers?
- [Podcast Episode 145: Articles of Confederation](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-145-articles-of-confederation/) - I have received several emails from listeners asking about the Articles of Confederation. Was it that bad? Did the Constitution fundamentally change the Union? What are the similarities between the Constitution and the Articles? Did the States secede from the Articles. Good news. I answer several of these questions in this episode of The Brion
- [Podcast Episode 144: Trump's "Vulgarity."](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-144-trumps-vulgarity/) - The American Conservative published a piece last week by David Masciotra titled "The Darker Implications of Trump's Vulgarity." This piece is "never Trump" virtue signaling at its finest, but it is also a clear example of the historical ignorance of modern "political thinkers." Masciotra is a progressive and it shows. His piece is little more
- [Podcast Episode 143: Earmarks](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-143-earmarks/) - Donald Trump wants Congress to bring back so-called earmarks. This raised concern among some conservatives and libertarians. They believe earmarks lead to more spending and bloated budgets, earmarks are the best path to responsible, transparent government. Thomas Jefferson thought so, as did Madison and Monroe. So does Ron Paul. I give you the historical perspective
- [Podcast Episode 142: From Oligarchy to Republicanism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-142-from-oligarchy-to-republicanism/) - Was the antebellum South an "oligarchic" society? Many modern scholars seem to think so. One in particular, Forrest Nabors, argues that the South was only saved from itself by the noble Republican Party during Reconstruction. Before that point, the South was not "American" nor did it have "American" institutions. This is pure hogwash, and I
- [Podcast Episode 141: The Worst Presidents?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-141-the-worst-presidents/) - The neo-con historians strike again. Should we not expect this from the National Review? Of course, but a recent piece by "conservative" Jay Cost on "The Worst Presidents?" is particularly bad. Eric Foner could not have written it better. In fact, I wonder if Foner guest wrote the column. Cost considers Pierce, Buchanan, and Andrew
- [Podcast Episode 140: Finding Community Radio](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-140-finding-community-radio/) - Podcasting has become an important part of mass media. It has allowed everyone with a voice, a hobby, or an opinion to have an outlet for mass media consumption. It has not always been so. Traditional radio dominated this type of media for decades, and its staying power even in the age of podcasting is
- [Podcast Episode 139: Rural vs. Urban America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-139-rural-vs-urban-america/) - Urban America has never trusted rural America. That has been the case since the 18th century and it has not changed in 200 years. This dichotomy has created a political, economic, and social fissure in American life and is one of the more important trends in American history. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a
- [Podcast Episode 137: Occam's Razor and Simple History](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-137-occams-razor-and-simple-history/) - I hear many people--including "distinguished historians"--suggest that the War for Southern Independence can be explained by one word: slavery. Years ago I had someone tell me this was justified by "Occam's Razor," the idea that the simplest explanation was usually the correct one. That might work for science or theology, though that is debatable, but
- [Podcast Episode 138: Emotivism and American Politics](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-138-emotivism-and-american-politics/) - American politics has become a game of emotion. This is by design. We cannot have rational arguments because people "feel" their vote rather than "think" it. Such is the case with most cultural issues, from immigration to Confederate monuments. Paul Graham's book "Confederaphobia" outlines this nicely, but the problem is bigger than what he describes.
- [Podcast Episode 136: Roy Moore, Taxes, and Local Government](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-136-roy-moore-taxes-and-local-government/) - Depending on who you ask, now that the dust has settled in the Roy Moore election and Trump has signed a new tax bill, all is either well or awful in the American Empire. It doesn't matter either way. Sure, I want to save money in taxes, doesn't everybody, but the tax bill and the
- [Podcast Episode 135: The Long War, 1789-Present](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-135-the-long-war-1789-present/) - Historians like to keep things neat and tidy and thus often compartmentalize different periods in Western Civilization. The profession's infatuation with monographs has led to a climate where the "longue duree" is often overlooked. That is unfortunate because it misses the conjunction between political, military, economic, and social history. As we reflect on American involvement
- [Podcast Episode 134: John Dickinson and Originalism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-134-john-dickinson-and-originalism/) - A fan of the show emailed me asking what books, websites, etc. should he be reading to determine original intent. Of course my Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution was designed for that purpose, but there are several other good books and websites that discuss either originalism or provide the primary sources to understand the
- [Podcast Episode 133: Should We Be "Fearful?"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-133-should-we-be-fearful/) - The ContraKrugman Podcast hosted by Tom Woods and Bob Murphy should be on your podcast rotation. If not, you are missing out. That said, they covered the Thanksgiving column by Paul Krugman on a recent episode that piqued my interest. Krugman, it seems, is a highly fearful man, but not over things that rational people
- [Podcast Episode 132: Longmire and the Virginian](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-132-longmire-and-the-virginian/) - As I discussed in my podcast episode "Hollywierd," pop culture is in decline in America, but there are a few nuggets that offer redemption. One is the recently concluded television series Longmire. The show reminded me of the classic series the Virginian, so I wanted to dive into the similarities and what makes both shows
- [Podcast Episode 131: Does Original Intent Prove Seccesion is Illegal?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-131-does-original-intent-prove-seccesion-is-illegal/) - Over my vacation last week I received an email chain debating secession. One participant claimed that not only did the Constitution explicitly forbid secession, the founding generation thought it was illegal as well. For evidence, he cited a couple of lines from the Federalist and an incorrectly cited quote from George Washington's letter to the Congress
- [Podcast Episode 130: "Did Tariffs Cause the American Civil War?"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-130-did-tariffs-cause-the-american-civil-war/) - Several people emailed me a link to an article on Mises.org over the Thanksgiving week concerning tariffs and the "civil war" [sic]. The author of the article, Chris Carlton, does a nice job with his podcast and is a thoughtful fellow, but he gets several things wrong, most importantly the real reason the North and
- [Podcast Episode 129: Tradition and America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-129-tradition-and-america/) - Tom Fleming at the Fleming Foundation recently wrote several posts on social media about tradition. This was a Socratic exercise in defining tradition and other political terms with the goal of finding a deeper understanding of the "ism" of tradition. As Dr. Fleming illustrates, tradition and ideology are incompatible, but nevertheless are often lumped together.
- [Podcast Episode 128: Tariffs and the Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-128-tariffs-and-the-constitution/) - Tariffs are one of the more contentious issues in American history. The debate over their necessity and constitutionality begins in the period leading to the American War for Independence and has continued unabated since. They were a key ingredient in the "sectional conflict" and men both North and South questioned whether they were necessary or
- [Podcast Episode 127: Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-127-rich-mans-war-poor-mans-fight/) - One common critique of Southern secession centers on the argument that it was a rich man's effort without any support from the rest of the South, or that less wealthy Southerners were duped into supporting a war for "rich men." Both of these arguments are false, and I explain why in this episode of The
- [Podcast Episode 126: Human Scale](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-126-human-scale/) - Kirkpatrick Sale is the leading authority on the discussion and study of size and scale in government. His 1980 book "Human Scale" is, in many respects, the basis of the "Think locally, Act locally" message. I discuss his conclusions, a new edition of his book, and the importance of small is beautiful on this episode
- [Podcast Episode 125: The Trail of Tears](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-125-the-trail-of-tears/) - This show is a little different because I discuss a historical subject without any contemporary commentary. This is all history, but I do approach it from a decidedly different perspective. There are some misconceptions about the Indian Removal Act and the several "Trail of Tears" that followed along with a misunderstanding of John Marshall's motives
- [Podcast Episode 124: General Kelly vs. "Historians"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-124-general-kelly-vs-historians/) - Establishment historians have a new reason to throw a temper tantrum: General John Kelly. Kelly was the first guest on the new Laura Ingraham Angle on Fox News and according to these "actual historians," he stepped in it. Kelly had the audacity to call Robert E. Lee a great man and to opine that the
- [Podcast Episode 123: What is a "State?"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-123-what-is-a-state/) - The Radical Republicans were fond of a constitutional theory known as "state suicide." Essentially, they believed that when the Southern States seceded from the Union, the State committed suicide and thus reverted to territorial status. This leads to several interesting legal and philosophical questions, not the least of which is what is an American State?
- [Podcast Episode 122: Hollywood and Hollywierd](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-122-hollywood-and-hollywierd/) - With all of the attention Hollywood has been getting in recent weeks, I thought it would be good to do a show on the problems of Hollywierd and what they represent in modern America. It is not just about Harvey Weinstein or a "lack of creativity," it is part and parcel of the culture war
- [Podcast Episode 121: Race and Reunion](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-121-race-and-reunion/) - I was told by an "actual historian" who teaches at Princeton the other day to "get to reading." Why did he suggest I do this? Because I had the audacity to insist that he provide evidence that Confederate monuments were erected to "obscure bi-racial democracy." His "proof" was David Blight's book "Race and Reunion." This
- [Podcast Episode 120: Originalism is "Extreme"](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-120-originalism-is-extreme/) - United States Senate candidate Roy Moore has been called an "extremist" for supporting...gasp...the founding generation and the Constitution. This is a troubling development but one that has been years in the making. The latest character assassination comes at the hands of CNN who ran a hit piece on Moore and The Tenth Amendment Center last
- [Podcast Episode 119: The American Anti-War Tradition](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-119-the-american-anti-war-tradition/) - If you listen to the neo-cons (and their progressive forefathers), Americans have always supported foreign adventurism and have a moral obligation to do so. But is this true? How many wars in American history have been popular? I answer that question in Episode 119 of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-119-the-american-anti-war-tradition
- [Podcast Episode 118: Is Federal Disaster Relief Constitutional?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-118-is-federal-disaster-relief-constitutional/) - A listener asked me to address this question so here you go. Is federal disaster relief constitutional? Big question with three major hurricanes doing serious damage in the United States and Puerto Rico recently. Short answer: No. I give you some historical examples (Cleveland and Coolidge) and talk about the political problems with this question
- [Podcast Episode 117: Article V Convention](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-117-article-v-convention/) - A listener asked me if I support an Article V convention to amend the Constitution. Short answer, yes. There were many good amendments proposed by the States that did not make the final cut after the Constitution was ratified and there are also several good innovations in the Confederate Constitution of 1861. I proposed seven
- [Podcast Episode 116: The Winds of Change](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-116-the-winds-of-change/) - Catalonia independence was temporarily prevented by the heavy hand of the state. This was the news story throughout the day of October 1 and will be an important story moving forward. Much has changed since 1989 and 1990 when communist governments peacefully gave up power to secession and self-determination. How should Americans respond to these
- [Podcast Episode 115: Reconstruction](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-115-reconstruction/) - Reconstruction used to be described as a tragic period in American history. It is now labeled an "unfinished revolution." This lends to the current trend of American iconoclasm and the push for the eradication of Western Civilization. I discuss Reconstruction and its legacy and meaning in Episode 115 of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-115-reconstruction
- [Podcast Episode 114: Political Football](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-114-political-football/) - Donald Trump tells a crowd that NFL owners should fire players who take a knee. A few days later, 25% of NFL players took a knee and some refused to take the field during the "national anthem." One baseball players decided to take a knee as well and several NBA players took to social media
- [Podcast Episode 113: James K. Polk](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-113-james-k-polk/) - People often ask me about James K. Polk. Wasn't he one of the greatest presidents in American history? His reputation has certainly received a boost in the last decade, and if we use that as a yardstick, I was cutting edge. As an undergraduate twenty years ago, I thought Polk was a fantastic president and
- [Podcast Episode 112: State Constitutions](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-112-state-constitutions/) - The Constitution for the United States is not the only Constitution in the United States. There are fifty other constitutions that no one knows anything about. American constitutional history must involve not only a discussion about the "Constitution," but also the Articles of Confederation, the Confederate Constitution, and the several state constitutions. I cover the
- [Podcast Episode 111: Should the 17th Amendment Be Repealed?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-111-should-the-17th-amendment-be-repealed/) - This has become a trendy position recently. Mike Huckabee made news by suggesting so after the Senate blocked the repeal of Obamacare. I have been saying this for almost a decade, but whose counting? The 17th did much to undermine real federalism in America, but it was already on life support before that. Still, a
- [Podcast Episode 110: AHA Nonsense](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-110-aha-nonsense/) - The AHA has told all of us idiots in America how to think about Confederate monuments. The question is, who are the idiots? They released a statement on August 28 presuming to speak for the entire American historical profession. Well, I am part of that profession, and I don't agree. I take their statement apart
- [Podcast Episode 109: Who was the first President of the United States?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-109-who-was-the-first-president-of-the-united-states/) - Who was the first President of the United States? Seems like a simple question with a simple answer, but some people have made it more complicated than it needs to be. They insist that there were over a dozen presidents BEFORE George Washington was sworn into office in 1789 because these men presided over the
- [Podcast Episode 108: The (Implied) Power of Secession?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-108-the-implied-power-of-secession/) - You probably have heard this before. Secession is not legal because the Constitution does not expressly grant the states the power to leave the Union. I had some numbskull leave a "review" at Amazon of my 9 Presidents with this very critique. I couldn't resist the urge to take him down about one million notches.
- [Podcast Episode 107: John Taylor of Caroline](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-107-john-taylor-of-caroline/) - John Taylor of Caroline is truly one of the greatest Americans. I think so highly of Taylor that I included a chapter on him in my Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers and he is featured in my forthcoming How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America. I thought it would be a good time to
- [Podcast Episode 106: How the 1990s Transformed America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-106-how-the-1990s-transformed-america/) - People often point to the 1960s as the decade that "screwed things up," and in many ways they are correct, but it wasn't until the 1990s that Americans witnessed a full expression of the 1960s cultural mentality. Pat Buchanan's 1992 "Culture Wars" speech was prophetic. He was, in many ways, 25 years ahead of his
- [Podcast Episode 105: Political Parties](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-105-political-parties/) - Inquiring listeners want to know: has the United States always had a "two party system" and is that system codified in the Constitution? The answer is no to both, though there have always been factions in American government. Our "national" focus on American politics precludes us from looking to state and local solutions to problems
- [Podcast Episode 104: American Monuments](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-104-american-monuments/) - Why were monuments and memorials built in the South during the late 19th and early 20th centuries? A better question would be why so many monuments and memorials were built across the entire United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Confederate memorials need to be viewed within the context of American--not just
- [Podcast Episode 103: Remembering Who We Are](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-103-remembering-who-we-are/) - American politics has devolved into emotivism. "I feel" has replaced "I think," particularly for the ideologues on the Left, the fascists, communists, and socialists. They thrive on emotion, which is why they pick issues that will elicit an emotional response. But that is not who we are. The people I know who support monuments and
- [Podcast Episode 102: Robert E. Lee](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-102-robert-e-lee/) - Several people have asked me to respond to an Atlantic article about Robert E. Lee. I already did, over two years ago. Episode 102 republishes a talk I gave on Lee and the terrible book, Reading the Man by Elizabeth Brown Pryor, in January 2015, fully six months before the current pogrom on all things
- [Podcast Episode 101: Calhoun and the Disquisition](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-101-calhoun-and-the-disquisition/) - Neo-conservatives can't decide why they hate Calhoun or the Southern tradition. Is it unwanted decentralization (secession) or unwanted centralization? In reality, the Southern tradition is just unwanted. The latest neo-conservative stooge to make a stupid claim about Calhoun drips from the pen of John Daniel Davidson at TheFederalist.com. Davidson contends that Calhoun's political philosophy is
- [Podcast Episode 100: Popular History](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-100-popular-history/) - People are always asking me what they can do to help correct the biases of the mainstream academy and media. This podcast is for you, and it's two words: popular history. Most Americans get their history from documentaries, popular histories (meaning non-academic), and the Internet. You can do all three without working for a university.
- [Podcast Episode 99: The Confederate States Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-99-the-confederate-states-constitution/) - You've probably heard this before from a half-witted modern academic: "The only difference between the CSA Constitution and the USA Constitution was slavery." Right. No one thought about anything else, except they did. I discuss the Confederate Constitution and the difference between the two documents as part of the American constitutional tradition in this episode
- [Podcast Episode 98: Trump and Tyler](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-98-trump-and-tyler/) - Trump has his back against the wall. Leaks, obstruction, and disorder have been the norm for the last six months. This could have been predicted. When Trump decided to bring in several establishment Republicans to the White House, he opened the door to this type of abuse. They are not his friends and should be
- [Podcast Episode 97: The Richmond Junto](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-97-the-richmond-junto/) - I would be surprised if many of my listeners have heard of the Richmond Junto, but after hearing this podcast I hope you'll 1) agree that they are an important part of American constitutional thought, and 2) purchase How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America so you can read more about them. If you want slashing
- [Podcast Episode 96: American Populism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-96-american-populism/) - What is American populism? Donald Trump has been called a populist. Is he? Journalist Daniel Levy thinks almost anything in American history could be classified as "populist." This is wrong on so many levels I had to do a show on the topic. Perhaps if we had a better understanding of American populism we would
- [Podcast Episode 95: Jefferson and Louisiana](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-95-jefferson-and-louisiana/) - You've probably heard this before: "You Jefferson lovers conveniently forget that Jefferson disregarded the Constitution when it worked for him. Just look at the Louisiana Purchase!" I tackle this supposed inconsistency and how to give it back to these "gotcha" nincompoops in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-95-jefferson-and-louisiana
- [Podcast Episode 94: The Whigs](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-94-the-whigs/) - The Whig Party is perhaps the most misunderstood political party in American history. Most people simply equate it with Henry Clay and the American System--a repackaged version of Hamilton's economic proposals from the 1790s. But the earliest "Whigs" were in fact Southern state's rights advocates who bristled at the actions taken by "King Andrew" during
- [Podcast Episode 93: The Militia Act of 1792](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-93-the-militia-act-of-1792/) - Anytime someone mentions Abraham Lincoln unconstitutionally called up the militia in 1861, you are immediately bombarded with the Militia Act of 1792 and 1795. See, you hayseed, Lincoln DID follow the Constitution. Is that true? Not really. Get the scoop. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-93-the-militia-act-of-1792
- [Podcast Episode 92: Nullification and Consent](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-92-nullification-and-consent/) - How do we measure political consent and what does consent have to do with nullification? These are important questions and in order to find the answers we have to travel to the American colonial experience and the Era of Salutary Neglect and the twenty years before the American War for Independence. I give a history
- [Podcast Episode 91: The Founders' Key](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-91-the-founders-key/) - Hillsdale College President Larry Arn has done a nice job marketing the college and making "conservative" ideas relevant. The "Constitution Minute" is heard across conservative talk radio, and their free courses on the Constitution and American history attract tens of thousands of "students." Arn, however, is a Jaffaite and a Straussian who thinks "The Founders
- [Podcast Episode 90: The Constitutional Crisis of 1776](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-90-the-constitutional-crisis-of-1776/) - "No taxation without representation!" This is what most Americans will tell you started the American War for Independence. But is that true? The cause is, in fact, deeper than that. It was a constitutional crisis that had major implications for American government moving forward. I talk about the real conflict and what it means for
- [Podcast Episode 89: A Brave Vessel and American Culture](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-89-a-brave-vessel-and-american-culture/) - Most Americans take for granted the perilous conditions the first English settlers had to endure in the wilds of 17th century Virginia. A PC narrative would portray these people as little more than barbarians stealing land. But the story behind these people and their impact on what became American culture is so much more interesting--and
- [Podcast Episode 88: Turn, Washington's Spies](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-88-turn-washingtons-spies/) - Not many Americans know anything about the Culper Ring, the intrepid group of American patriots and spies who helped Washington during his difficult tenure in New York during the War. AMC brought the ring to life in the series Turn. While fun to watch, the show lacks historical accuracy. I discuss the show, the Ring,
- [Podcast Episode 87: The Flip](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-87-the-flip/) - A listener asked me to discuss the supposed "flip" of the major American political parties. The narrative is that the Republicans used to be the Democrats and the Democrats used to be the Republicans. This is simply untrue. I discuss both parties and the myth of the "flip" on Episode 87 of The Brion McClanahan Show.
- [Podcast Episode 86: Andrew Jackson](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-86-andrew-jackson/) - Now Take 'em Down NOLA wants to remove the statue of Andrew Jackson. This was predictable. Jackson seems to be an easy target. After all, he will be removed from the $20 Federal Reserve Note and millennials think he hunted American Indians for sport. That is simply not true. Jackson was a mixed bag. He
- [Podcast Episode 85: Josiah Bailey and The Conservative Manifesto](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-85/) - Most people have never heard of Josiah Bailey of North Carolina. He was one of the few voices railing against the excesses of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and helped author "The Conservative Manifesto" in 1937. Garland Tucker featured him in his Conservative Heroes, a nice little book that is a good companion to Forgotten Conservatives
- [Podcast Episode 84: The True Flag and American Imperialism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-84-the-true-flag-and-american-imperialism/) - Stephen Kinzer has written a number of marvelous books, and his latest The True Flag is no exception. Kinzer argues that the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the debates that swirled about the future of American policy at the time are the origins of our modern imperial impulse. There is some truth to this, but
- [Podcast Episode 83: John Randolph of Roanoke](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-83-john-randolph-of-roanoke/) - John Randolph of Roanoke is one of the more important political figures in American history. His thoughts on foreign policy, government, and society are worth studying, but it was his status as an aristocrat that should have everyone take notice. Randolph "loved liberty," and it was his independence achieved by being a planter that made
- [Podcast Episode 82: Trump, Hamilton, and Foreign Influence](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-82-trump-hamilton-and-foreign-influence/) - A listener asked if there were any historical examples of foreign influence in American government or any good examples, other than Nixon, of major corruption in the executive branch. Of course! I wrote an entire book on bad presidents, 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America, but my latest tome, How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America,
- [Podcast Episode 81: Confederate Origins of Memorial Day](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-81-confederate-origins-of-memorial-day/) - What are the Confederate origins of Memorial Day?
- [Podcast Episode 80: Separation of Church and State?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-80-separation-of-church-and-state/) - This is a listener generated episode. Did Jefferson really believe that the general government had the authority to create a "wall between church and state?" Of course not, but this phrase has been used--and distorted--by the general government since the 1960s to knock down any semblance of religion in public life. I discuss the complete
- [Podcast Episode 79: Why Slavery?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-79-why-slavery/) - Why was slavery an important issue in antebellum America? A 2017 response would be because we have a moral aversion to the institution, but that was not the case in the period leading up to the War. Saying "slavery" in 2017 creates a false narrative about American history. I answer the question, "Why slavery?" https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-79-why-slavery
- [Podcast Episode 78: The Arlington Road Syndrome](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-78-the-arlington-road-syndrome/) - Donald Trump's recent foray into American history excited the vitriol of the academic Left in America. They believe there is a right wing/libertarian bogeyman hiding in every closet and these people have to be exposed and denounced in an Orwellian two-minutes of hate rant. I call this the Arlington Road Syndrome. What they don't realize
- [Podcast Episode 77: Trump vs. Lincoln](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-77-trump-vs-lincoln/) - Donald Trump stepped in it, again. But did he? He committed the ultimate heresy yesterday by suggesting that the Civil War [sic] could have been avoided. The Left went nuts and ran out their revisionists version of the War. I discuss Trump, Lincoln, and the War on this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-77-trump-vs-lincoln
- [Podcast Episode 76: The First Hundred Days?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-76-the-first-hundred-days/) - Donald Trump recently tweeted that the 100 days benchmark was a silly idea. He was right, but the question is, where does this come from? Why do Americans insist on measuring a presidency by this standard? It comes from the great Dictator in Chief Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Americans should run away from the first
- [Podcast Episode 75: 18th Century Fake News](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-75-18th-century-fake-news/) - Stop the press! The nationalists in the founding generation fabricated history! If you listen to this podcast, this shouldn't be news, but just this week, two scholars at Harvard University have provided conclusive proof that the nationalists had to make up a document to prove their position. That document they made up is none other
- [Podcast Episode 74: E.L. Godkin and the "Ideal" American](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-74-e-l-godkin-and-the-ideal-american/) - Most Americans have never heard of E.L. Godkin. This is a travesty, particularly for those who admire independent thinkers. Every libertarian should know Godkin, and I wrote about him in my Forgotten Conservatives in American History. He was one of the truly great minds of the late 19th century, a man who was able to
- [Podcast Episode 73: The Hard Hand of War](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-73-the-hard-hand-of-war/) - On April 16, 1865, "Lincoln's hordes" moved through Columbus, GA and destroyed the city. This was the culmination of another "march to the sea," but this time a "march to the river." More Americans should know about this arm of the Union's "hard hand of war" policy toward the South. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-73-the-hard-hand-of-war
- [Podcast Episode 72: Robert Bentley, Glenn Jacobs, and Your Power](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-72-robert-bentley-glenn-jacobs-and-your-power/) - One of the common arguments against my "think locally, act locally" theme is corruption. "Gee, that sounds good, but state and local government is so corrupt. It can't be fixed." Not so fast. This week provided two great examples of why we should all be thinking locally and acting locally. You have the power to
- [Podcast Episode 71: Executive War Powers](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-71-executive-war-powers/) - Donald Trump acted against Syria. Some "conservatives" would have you believe this was constitutional. Was it? I discuss what the founding generation said about this and more. This isn't going to make me a popular podcaster with a large percentage of the modern right. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-71-executive-war-powers
- [Podcast Episode 70: King and the Cabinet](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-70/) - Larry King called Donald Trump one of the most "ridiculous" presidents in American history. Why? Because he appointed people to cabinet positions that don't agree with the charge of that department. The horror! But King's stupid statement led to this podcast. We have had worse cabinet members than those appointed by Trump. I talk about
- [Episode 69: Music and Think Locally, Act Locally](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-69-music-and-think-locally-act-locally/) - Music is a think locally, act locally idea. People like music for many reasons. I like music that speaks to a people, a place, a time. One woman described music as "the soul of the world embedded in sound." To me, it is more than that, and I discuss why in this episode. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-69-music-and-think-locally-act-locally
- [Podcast Episode 68: War Before Civilization](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-68-war-before-civilization/) - Are humans naturally inclined to violence? Lawrence Keeley thinks so. In fact, he argues that before the blessings of Western Civilization, man was more violent and brutal than today. I discuss what this means for modern society and why we should pay attention to his findings in this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-68-war-before-civilization
- [Podcast Episode 67: The Bayards of Delaware](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-67-the-bayards-of-delaware/) - Get to know the Bayards of Delaware, America's great conservative family.
- [Podcast Episode 66: Modern Education](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-66-modern-education/) - Modern education stinks. Everyone knows it. But why? The mastermind behind all that ails us is the progressive philosopher John Dewey, but even so, the problems run deeper. We have abandoned many of the practices that helped develop young men and women into solid, moral, and well-rounded republican men and women. This is a think
- [Podcast Episode 64: Grover the Good](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcase-episode-64-grover-the-good/) - Donald Trump has outlined "his" legislative agenda. The public goes wild. All is right in the world. The legislator in chief has spoken. Of course, this was never supposed to happen, and there have been several presidents opposed to this type of pseudo-monarchy, Grover Cleveland foremost among them. I discuss Trump, Obama, Cleveland, the Gilded
- [Podcast Episode 65: Korea](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-65-korea/) - Why in the heck do Americans care about Korea? Kim Jong Un has recently rattled Americans by promising to nuke the United States, and the Trump administration has suggested that all options are on the table. I provide the background for this "crisis" and how it has impacted the powers of the presidency and American
- [Podcast Episode 63: The Anti-Federalists](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-63/) - Why are the Anti-Federalists important? William Watkins has written a marvelous book on the subject, "Crossroads for Liberty," that explores what the Anti-Federalists had to say about the Constitution and why they matter today. I discuss his book, the antis, the Constitution, and the issues in Episode 63 of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-63-the-anti-federalists
- [Podcast Episode 62: Fake News](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-62-fake-news/) - Fake news is the catchphrase of the day. Everyone is talking about it, but the issue is bigger than bogus news stories. It gets to the heart of the media. What kind of press do we need or want? A fair and objective press? No. We need a free and independent press, and modern media
- [Podcast Episode 61: The Ideal Commonwealth](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-61-the-ideal-commonwealth/) - Secession is constantly in the news. Many Californians want out of the Union and mainstream voices are chiming in on the issue. But what constitutes the ideal republic or commonwealth? David Hume had an answer. For now, this is an academic exercise, but as decentralization will be the issue of the 21st century, it might
- [Podcast Episode 60: Local Self Government](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-60-local-self-government/) - Americans have the gall to insist that they have the right to govern themselves. This is unique in Western Civilization. The Greeks and Romans had local self government, but after the Germanic and Viking invasions, much of that was lost outside of the Northern Italian republics. Not so in England. I discuss the English political
- [Podcast Episode 59: Ending Federal Judicial Supremacy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-59-ending-federal-judicial-supremacy/) - Most Americans believe that the federal judiciary is out of control, but they feel powerless to stop it. Even some of our most trusted elected officials have this unnatural awe and respect for the judicial branch, like the men and women in black robes have some supernatural authority and need to be revered. The dirty
- [Podcast Episode 58: Necessary and Proper](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-58-necessary-and-proper/) - Necessary and Proper does not mean "you can do anything you want to do." Listeners have asked for this type of show, so here you go. I cover the original intent of the "Necessary and Proper Clause," and some general language about the Constitution. Your "living Constitution" friends will hate the episode because I destroy
- [Podcast Episode 57: Barbarians](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-57-barbarians/) - We have barbarians at the gate. The Left has shown their true colors with constant riots and protests aimed at some imaginary bogeyman. My colleague Jack Kerwick has analyzed the problem at Townhall.com. You should read his essay, but I also get into a bit more history and explain that this has always been the
- [Podcast Episode 56: All of Mexico!..not really](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-56-all-of-mexico-not-really/) - Trump is going to send in the troops, at least that is what he told the current Mexican president. What is it about Mexico and the United States? Why is our relationship with our southern neighbor so strained?
- [Podcast Episode 55: A Nation of Immigrants?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-55-a-nation-of-immigrants/) - The United States is not a "nation of immigrants."
- [Podcast Episode 54: State's Rights Isn't a Dirty Word](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-54-states-rights-isnt-a-dirty-word/) - State's Rights isn't a dirty word. It is the key to restoring liberty in America.
- [Podcast Episode 53: Incorporation? What Incorporation?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-53-incorporation-what-incorporation/) - Incorporation of the Bill of Rights is a false position foisted on the American public by the Supreme Court.
- [Podcast Episode 52: Is it 2016 or 1976? Wrapping up the 2016 Election](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-52-is-it-2016-or-1976-wrapping-up-the-2016-election/) - Donald Trump has been called the next Andrew Jackson and many people, including yours truly, have compared his run at the presidency with previous election cycles. But I dare say no one has compared 2016 with 1976. I do, and I give you my thoughts on a future Trump presidency and other nuggets in this
- [Podcast Episode 51: 2016 Election Primer](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-51-2016-election-primer/) - Who should you vote for on November 8? Trump? Clinton? Johnson? Castle? Stein? Does it matter? I discuss all of this and how I would vote in different parts of the country. Listen to this before you cast your ballot. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-51-2016-election-primer
- [Podcast Episode 50: American Exceptionalism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-50/) - Is America exceptional? If you listen to Barack Obama, no. If you listen to Rush Limbaugh, yes. This is an important concept that needs attention, particularly in an age when American imperialism dominates our foreign policy. My short answer: yes. I explain why in Episode 50. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-50-american-exceptionalism
- [Podcast Episode 49: We are Rome](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-49-we-are-rome/) - Larry Reed at FEE asked a couple of years ago, are we Rome? He pointed to a number of troubling similarities between the Roman Empire and the modern United States. I answer yes for several reasons, not the least of which is political corruption. Americans should study not only U.S. and British history, but also
- [Podcast Episode 48: The Debate and Political Discourse](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-48-the-debate-and-political-discourse/) - Who won the October 9, 2016 debate? A better question would be what questions were appropriate for a presidential debate? Not many, but that was to be expected. And does a "town hall" style format work for the executive branch? I discuss the winner, the loser, the topics, and more importantly political discourse. Don't miss
- [Podcast Episode 47: Liberty, Independence, and Pandering](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-47-liberty-independence-and-pandering/) - American politicians love to pander. We will give you free stuff! Vote for us! The real message is that you can't do it yourself. This has helped produce an American culture that refuses to capitalize on its natural talents. How do we turn this around? How do we sell liberty and independence to people who
- [Podcast Episode 46: The Stupid Empire](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-46-the-stupid-empire/) - I discuss three military themed television shows: Taking Fire, Generation Kill, and Surviving the Cut, along with our current idiotic foreign policy and the effect that has on the American military, as evidenced by the men who take part in these programs. Our longest war is our most inhumane. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-46-the-stupid-empire
- [Thanks Matthew Drake!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/thanks-matthew-drake/) - Matthew Drake is an illustrator who makes videos based on "contemporary speakers and philosophers." He wanted to base one on my podcast comparing the 1896 and 2016 elections. I had never seen his work, but I said "please do," not knowing how great it would turn out. It's better than great. Below is the video.
- [Podcast Episode 45: If I Were President....](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-45/) - Parade Magazine ran a piece two weeks ago asking "celebrities" and everyday people to finish this sentence: "If I were president...." The results are typical and frightening, at least if you don't want an elected king. I think, however, that people do want an elected king, at least judging from the answers and what people
- [Episode 44: Terry Moe and an Elected King?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-44-terry-moe-and-an-elected-king/) - Dr. Terry Moe from Stanford University thinks the president has too little power! The Constitution, he argues, is an outdated relic that needs to be changed to reflect and respond to "national social problems." Is he correct? Of course not. I explain what he gets wrong--hint most of it--and why we don't need an elected
- [Episode 42: The Real Daniel Webster](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-42-the-real-daniel-webster/) - Who is the real Daniel Webster, the "National Conservative" as Richard Current called him or the ardent proponent of nullification and State's Rights circa 1808-1815? The latter is the Webster that no one knows, the Webster that your history teacher or professor won't discuss. Why? Because it blows apart the entire nationalist argument of America
- [Episode 41: I Grant You The Power](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-41-i-grant-you-the-power/) - You've probably heard this argument before: "Only the original 13 States and maybe Texas or Hawaii can secede. The other States were created by the federal government." This is wrong on so many levels. I talk about granted or delegated powers and the creation of American States in this episode. It's too meaty to miss.
- [Episode 40: How to Restart Civilization](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-40-how-to-restart-civilization/) - What happened to Western Civilization? It seems that "trash culture" has replaced the solid underpinnings of the Western world. Men are lost, ethics and morality are fast disappearing, our interactions are becoming robotic and sterile, we have no leadership, and the sludge has risen to the top while the cream is buried at the bottom.
- [The Vanishing Republic of Our Fathers](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-vanishing-republic-of-our-fathers/) - The New South is one of the more misunderstood periods in American history. The contemporary narrative generally describes the period and its leaders as dense political hacks riding the coattails of Northern business elites. They were “wannabe” statesmen whose political ideology was singularly tied to race. This perspective is clouded by present conditions and our own short-sighted
- [Episode 39: John C. Calhoun](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-39-john-c-calhoun/) - John C. Calhoun is one of the most important and unique men in American history, primarily because of his contributions to American political thought. His views on banking and finance, federalism, and executive power are still current. Don't be fooled by your 7th grade understanding of the man. I discuss Calhoun and his greatness in
- [Episode 38: Never Judge a Book by Its Cover](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-38-never-judge-a-book-by-its-cover/) - "Hey idiot, you are obviously a Nazi because Bush is not on the cover of your book. This is horse manure." So says anyone who doesn't actually read my "9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America." If they did, they would find both Bushes. I give you these gem "reviews" and a discussion of the Bush
- [Episode 37: Hillary Clinton the Corrupt](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-37-hillary-clinton-the-corrupt/) - This is not your typical bash Hillary Clinton podcast. I am often asked to compare the 2016 election to another in history. 1912 comes to mind, as does 1860 or 1896, but the one that is closest at least in relation to the moral compass of the nominees is 1884. The corrupt James Blaine was
- [Episode 36: Read These Books on the Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-36-read-these-books-on-the-constitution/) - I am often asked what are the best books on the Constitution, so I decided to do a podcast on the top three. Hint: None are among the acceptable books on the subject according to law schools or the political class. This is why you should read them. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-36-read-these-books-on-the-constitution St. George Tucker, View of the
- [Podcast Episode 35: Heroes](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-35-heroes/) - What makes a hero and why do we need them? This is a "think locally, act locally" issue and is presented on a personal note. We may not be able to change the world, but we can change our world. Books mentioned: The Politically Incorrect Guide to Real American Heroes, Real Men: Ten Courageous Americans
- [Podcast Episode 34: Know Your Enemy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-34-know-your-enemy/) - Who is the real enemy in the current political, social, and economic problems facing America today? Are the police to blame, or are they a symptom of a larger disease? And more importantly, what are the solutions to this disease? I discuss these issues, the history behind them, and more in Episode 34 of The Brion
- [Lincolnites Are Crazed Warmongers](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/lincolnites-are-crazed-warmongers/) - This piece was originally published at LewRockwell.com. Keith Olbermann is an idiot, but you knew that. He is also a warmonger. That was not evident until earlier this month, and Olbermann doubled down yesterday. Full disclosure. Olbermann once labeled me one of the worst men in America. Since then, and of course not because of
- [Podcast Episode 8: Donald Trump: Aaron Burr or Andrew Jackson?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-8-donald-trump-aaron-burr-or-andrew-jackson/) - Is Donald Trump Aaron Burr or Andrew Jackson and have we had an election like this before? Short answer, yes, and worse. Find out why. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-8-donald-trump-aaron-burr-or-andrew-jackson
- [Episode 33: Murray Rothbard and Nonintervention](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-33-murray-rothbard-and-nonintervention/) - A listener generated episode. How could Murray Rothbard support Che Guevara? I discuss Rothbard, J. William Fulbright, the founding tradition of American nonintervention and federalism, and the stupid empire. Lots of material in less than 30 minutes. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-33-murray-rothbard-and-nonintervention
- [Episode 32: The Mythmaking of Gary Ross](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-32-the-mythmaking-of-gary-ross/) - The question is settled. Director Gary Ross has spoken and we are to all fall in line. Ross, director of the upcoming film The Free State of Jones, has released a video "debunking" four "myths" of the Civil War. There is one problem; Ross creates several myths in the process. learntruehistory.com www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/4-civil…black-voices& amzn.to/2929SCn amzn.to/294BxEv amzn.to/292jxgR
- [Episode 31: Brexit and Secession](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-31-brexit-and-secession/) - Great Britain secedes! What does this mean for Western Civilization and other secession movements, and how does Brexit compare to secession in the United States? Secession and self-determination are the political movements of the early 21st century. I discuss all of these issues in Episode 31 of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-31-brexit-and-secession
- [Episode 30: The Legacy of FDR](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-30-the-legacy-of-fdr/) - Who is the worst president in American history? That is a complicated question. It depends on how "worst" is measured. FDR is the most transformational president in American history, particularly in the 20th century, and that is no badge of honor. I discuss Roosevelt, the New Deal, and American political history on this episode of
- [Episode 29: Amendment II](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-29-amendment-ii/) - What is the original meaning and intent of the Second Amendment? What is the "militia"? I discuss both issues along with the faulty doctrine of "incorporation" on Episode 29 of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-29-amendment-ii
- [Episode 28: Lincoln and the Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-28-lincoln-and-the-constitution/) - How did Abraham Lincoln "screw up America" as I proposed in my newest book, 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America? Simple. He continually and willfully violated his oath of office dozens of times as President, setting a dangerous precedent for those that followed. I discuss specific violations in detail. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-28-lincoln-and-the-constitution
- [Episode 27: Read, Read, Read](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-27-read-read-read/) - What are the best books on the "War"? I am often asked this question, so I provide the answer along with some other nuggets. Hint: You won't find these books on any modern graduate level seminar reading list. They aren't PC or "fashionable." That means they are good. Avery Craven, The Coming of the Civil
- [Episode 26: We Don't Need You](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-26-we-dont-need-you/) - Young people are an interesting bunch. Some have decided to support a crusty old socialist because he promises to "change" the economic system in America; others need safe spaces; still others have decided that they "don't need" the government. Which group is correct? Find out in Episode 26. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-26-we-dont-need-you
- [Episode 25: The Destructive Political Left](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-25-the-destructive-political-left/) - There has been no greater destructive force in human history than the political left. I discuss why on Episode 25 of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-25-the-destructive-political-left
- [Episode 24: The Electoral College](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-24-the-electoral-college/) - The National Popular Vote Initiative has been gaining steam and is close to being implemented. What would it do? Eliminate the Electoral College. I explain why this is a very bad idea and why the Electoral College was created in the first place. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-24-the-electoral-college
- [Episode 23: Think Locally, Act Locally](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-23-think-locally-act-locally/) - Many Americans feel helpless about the current state of American society. Politicians are corrupt, the leviathan in Washington D.C. is out of control, and they don’t know how to combat what appears to be a social, political, and economic death spiral. The solution? Think locally, act locally. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-23-think-locally-act-locally
- [Episode 22: Article V and the States](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-22-article-v-and-the-states/) - The States have the ultimate power in the American political system. The Constitution makes that clear. I discuss how the States could control the general government and what needs to be done to kneecap the federal monster in Washington D.C. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-22-article-v-and-the-states
- [Episode 21: The 1896 Election](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-21-the-1896-election/) - A listener requested episode. I discuss the relevancy of the 1896 election to current politics and why we should pay attention to the late nineteenth century. It’s all current events. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episdoe-21-the-1896-election
- [Episode 20: Progressivism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-20-progressivism/) - What is progressivism and why is it dangerous? Anti-progressivism has become chic in the last eight years, and for good reason. It has been exposed–at least to anyone who pays attention–as an impractical and unworkable labyrinth of legislation aimed at leveling society in the name of (E)quality while concurrently wrecking anything that is traditional. But
- [Episode 19: Liberal Intolerance](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-19-liberal-intolerance/) - Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times penned an interesting piece last week on academic “liberal intolerance.” This is something that has been going on for years, but has become more pronounced in the last decade. The academy is an echo chamber for the Left without any room for dissent. I offer my thoughts on
- [Podcast Episode 18: The Gilded Age](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-18-the-gilded-age/) - Historians often call the late 19th century the wasteland of American politics. But it is so important to understand this period in relation to our current political mess in Washington D.C. and elsewhere. I explain why. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-18-the-gilded-age
- [Episode 17: Donald Trump and Federalism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-17-donald-trump-and-federalism/) - The world has been torn asunder. Donald Trump is going to be the nominee! Conservatives are upset. They need not worry. This is a good time for a conversation about traditional America, meaning federalism. I explain why on Episode 17 of The Brion McClanahan Show. Relax and listen to my voice. And if you want
- [Episode 16: Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-16-donald-trumps-foreign-policy/) - Donald Trump’s foreign policy speech was one of the most important of the last half-century. I explain why in Episode 16 of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-16-trumps-foreign-policy
- [Keep Jackson on the $20](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/keep-jackson-on-the-20/) - This article was originally printed at LewRockwell.com Changes are coming to our fiat currency. Andrew Jackson will be replaced on the $20 and both the $5 and $10 will also be reworked, ostensibly in the name of “inclusion” and “diversity,” but also to prevent against “counterfeiting.” Funny because the United States has been running the
- [Episode 15: Small is Beautiful](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/episode-15-small-is-beautiful/) - What will happen to Western Civilization? How will it be maintained? Why is the world on fire, and what is the solution to our current mess? The answer: Small is Beautiful https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-15-small-is-beautiful
- [The Greatest President in American History?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-greatest-president-in-american-history/) - Who is the greatest president in American history? It isn’t Lincoln or Roosevelt. It’s a man who is consistently ranked at the bottom of all “historical” lists. Find out who in Episode 14. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-14-the-greatest-president-in-american-history
- [Why Secession?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-secession/) - Why are Americans discussing secession in 2016? The Texas Republican Party will be forced to vote on the issue during the Party Convention, and while it will certainly fail, more Americans are interested in the topic that at any time since the 1860s. Secession has not always been such a forbidden subject. I discuss why
- [Will the Supreme Court Uphold Obama’s Illegal Amnesty?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/will-the-supreme-court-uphold-obamas-illegal-amnesty/) - Yesterday (4/18), the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that stemmed from Barack Obama’s executive action in regard to immigration. In 2014, the Obama administration’s Department of Homeland Security issued a memo (not an executive order) that essentially rewrote immigration law in the United States. Obama has since then directed DHS to cease enforcement
- [Podcast Episode 12: Why Americans are Angry](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-12-why-americans-are-angry/) - Why are Americans angry? This is a major theme of the 2016 election, so much so that articles are being published almost weekly on the topic in some fashion. I discuss why this is the case and how it can be fixed. It won’t be from a superhero riding in on a white horse. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-12-why-are-americans-angry
- [We Are All Jeffersonians](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/we-are-all-jeffersonians/) - Thomas Jefferson is perhaps the greatest enigma of the American age. He wrote and spoke on so many topics that he has become the symbol of virtually every strain of uniquely American political thought. Jefferson is the democrat, the agrarian, the federalist, the republican, the radical, the conservative, the statesman, the planter, the intellectual, the
- [Podcast Episode 11: We Are All Jeffersonians](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-11-we-are-all-jeffersonians/) - Who is Thomas Jefferson? Is he a conservative? A radical? Why is Jefferson still important for Americans today? I tackle this issue on Jefferson’s birthday, April 13. (Editor’s note: I state this is Episode 12 during the podcast, but it is running as Episode 11). https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-11-we-are-all-jeffersonians
- [Podcast Episode 10: What is Originalism?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-10-what-is-originalism/) - What is “originalism” and why is it important? I talk about this in relation to the 2016 election and the future of our political system. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-10-what-is-originalism
- [Podcast Episode 9: The Lindberghs of Minnesota](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-9-the-lindberghs-of-minnesota/) - Who were the Lindberghs of Minnesota and why should we care? I discuss the Jeffersonian political tradition, America First, and the relevance of both C.A. Lindbergh and Charles Lindbergh, Jr. to modern American politics. Books discussed: James P. Duffy, Lindbergh vs. Roosevelt (Regnery 2010). Brion McClanahan and Clyde Wilson, Forgotten Conservatives in American History (Pelican,
- [Understanding Originalism](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/understanding-originalism/) - I recently received a one star “review” at Amazon for my newest release, 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America and Four Who Tried to Save Her. While I don’t normally respond to critical reviews, I thought this one offered an opportunity to expose some of the myths surrounding the founding generation and the Constitution that
- [Is Donald Trump the Andrew Jackson or Aaron Burr of Our Time?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/is-donald-trump-the-andrew-jackson-or-aaron-burr-of-our-time/) - Is Donald Trump Andrew Jackson or Aaron Burr? It seems establishment Republicans can’t make up their mind. Those who believe that the 2016 Republican primary season has been the dirtiest campaign in American history need to think again. The pro-Cruz people recently took a shot at Trump that mirrored the 1828 campaign between Andrew Jackson
- [Podcast Episode 7](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-7/) - Keith Olbermann is an idiot. You knew that, but find out why I think so on Episode 7 of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-7-keith-olbermann-is-an-idiot
- [Podcast Episode 6](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-6/) - What is it about Cuba? I discuss Cuba and the reason political culture matters in foreign policy. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-6-cuba
- [What Is It About Cuba?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/what-is-it-about-cuba/) - What is it about Cuba? Obama’s awkward moment with Raul Castro was the capstone to an awkward visit. Our entire relationship with the island has been awkward. Most Americans don’t realize that our history with Cuba dates to the mid-nineteenth century. It isn’t a pleasant one. Cuba was one of the last remaining Spanish colonies,
- [Trump’s Heretical Message](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/trumps-heretical-message/) - Donald Trump has revealed his foreign policy team. It isn’t your Bush dream team and we aren’t in the 1950s anymore. McCain, Romney, and anyone at National Review will hate it. For those that understand the split between the neo and paleo conservatives in the 1950s and 1960s, Trump’s speech on foreign policy today will
- [Podcast Episode 5: Following Lincoln](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-5-following-lincoln/) - Andrew Johnson is the worst president in American history, right? Wrong. Find out why he should be considered one of the best. This show isn’t for the faint of heart. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-5-following-lincoln
- [State Power vs. The Federal Monster](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/state-power-vs-the-federal-monster/) - Both Democrat and Republican exit polls during this primary season have been clear on one issue: people are angry. They are angry because they don’t think Washington represents them. They are angry because they think their vote doesn’t count. They are angry because they don’t believe the establishment will change course. And they are angry
- [Podcast Episode 4: Brown, Perdue, and Is America Too Big?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-4-brown-perdue-and-is-america-too-big/) - Americans are angry about American politics and rightfully so, but their anger is being misdirected and misapplied. Find out why in Episode 4 of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-4-brown-perdue-and-is-america-too-big
- [Podcast Episode 3: The Walking Dead](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-3-the-walking-dead/) - Today I talk about the hit television show “The Walking Dead” and why everyone should watch it. Hint: It’s not because of the zombies. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-3-the-walking-dead
- [Podcast Episode 2: Ted Cruz](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-2-ted-cruz/) - Who is Ted Cruz and should American conservatives support him for president? https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-2-ted-cruz
- [Podcast Episode 1: Donald Trump](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-episode-1-donald-trump/) - I'm excited to announce the launch of my podcast, The Brion McClanahan Show. For the inaugural episode, I discuss Donald Trump and the 2016 election. https://soundcloud.com/brionmcclanahan/episode-1
- [Fascist Fraud](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/fascist-fraud/) - I called Franklin D. Roosevelt a “Fascist Fraud” in my The Politically Incorrect Guide to Real American Heroes. Why? Because the New Deal program and its implementation contained the essential elements of national socialism. This was pointed out in the 1930s, but World War II erased any lingering trace of this kind of thinking. To
- [Rhode Island and Independence](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/rhode-island-and-independence/) - There is a prevailing myth perpetuated by nationalists since the late 18th century–Hamilton, Marshall, Story, Webster, Lincoln–that the Union predated the States and therefore is indissoluble. This has become the accepted narrative of early American history. The Pledge of Allegiance has codified that narrative. But it is simply not true, and the historic record proves
- [All Hail Abe!](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/all-hail-abe/) - Originally published at the Abbeville Institute. Today we celebrate the birthday of the log cabin born, rough-hewn, rail-splitting, bare-knuckled, “pock-faced, stoop-shouldered, slab-sided assistant storekeeper,” lewd, vulgar, uninspiring, “ordinary Western man” from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s life and image is a series of irreconcilable dichotomies: He had no military experience worth noting—he waged war on wild
- [Unconstitutional, Oppressive, and Unjust](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/unconstitutional-oppressive-and-unjust/) - The historian Andrew C. McLaughlin in 1932 wrote that the British imperial system was characterized “by diversification and not by centralization….The empire of the mid-eighteenth century was a diversified empire” with power “actually distributed [among] and exercised by various governments.” British colonies, including Ireland, “had long existed” as “bodies, corporate, constituent members of the Empire,”
- [The First Americans](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-first-americans/) - Who were the first Americans? Forty years ago, historians, archeologists, and anthropologists would have answered conclusively that the first Americans arrived from Eastern Asia via a land bridge across the Bering Strait around twelve thousand years ago. These were the Clovis peoples, an early American people essentially discovered by former slave George McJunkin in 1908
- [The Beauty and Waste of Versailles](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-beauty-and-waste-of-versailles/) - The palace of Versailles is one of the most recognized landmarks in Western Civilization. Built by Louis XIV, it is a striking artistic and architectural achievement, rivaled only by the marvels of antiquity. Yet, the palace is also a prime example of government waste and corruption and the problems of political and economic centralization. The
- [The Wisdom of Raoul Berger](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-wisdom-of-raoul-berger/) - Both Kevin Gutzman and I have offered a substantial reading list for our constitutional history course at Liberty Classroom, but for those who have not had the time to delve into some of the volumes, I thought I would offer a few quotations from two of the books I recommended for the course, both by
- [Myopic Milbank](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/myopic-milbank/) - Dana Milbank’s recent op-ed in the Washington Post titled The Weakest Generation? is a telling, though misguided, view of Generation X. As a good nationalist and proponent of state action, Milbank thinks that sacrifice to a state led cause—war or social justice through unconstitutional expansion of central power—defines the mettle of a people. “When we
- [Searchin’ For a Rainbow](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/searchin-for-a-rainbow/) - Perhaps anyone that follows Tom Woods knows that he is a fan of Jethro Tull, probably the biggest fan I have ever encountered (I only know two, so that probably isn’t saying much). Regardless, I thought it might be fun for some of the other faculty to let the LC public know what we like,
- [The Enduring Question](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-enduring-question/) - I posted this on the Liberty Classroom Blog, but though it deserved a spot here, too. I was doing a bit of research today and ran across a great series of articles that ran in three consecutive weeks from Niles Weekly Register published shortly after the McCulloch v. Maryland decision in 1819. Niles Register was
- [Real American Heroes and the Brian Thomas Show](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/real-american-heroes-and-the-brian-thomas-show/) - My interview with the Brian Thomas show last week on my new book. These can be fun.
- [My Response to Mr. Woodard Part II](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/my-response-to-mr-woodard-part-ii/) - Mr. Woodard, I have several comments about your general Constitutional theory, but I will first address each of your statements individually. Your points are in bold and quotation marks. “The Preamble to the BOR is just that, a preamble and as such has no basis other than a guideline. And we both know, for decades,
- [My Response to Chris Woodard at FreeLibertyWriters.com](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/my-response-to-chris-woodard-at-freelibertywriters-com/) - The following is a response to Chris Woodard’s post on www.FreeLibertyWriters.com. Woodard’s post is in bold quotes below, and the post in its entirety can be found here. Mr. Woodard, Thank you for taking the time to respond. Your post is as I expected it would be, condescending, patronizing, and quite simply full the same
- [The Calamity of Appomattox by H.L. Mencken](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-calamity-of-appomattox-by-h-l-mencken/) - I am posting the entire text of the article here, but I took this from the H.L. Mencken Society’s page. This piece appeared in The American Mercury, September 1930. The Calamity of Appomattox by H.L. Mencken [From the American Mercury, Sept., 1930, pp. 29-31] No American historian, so far as I know, has ever tried
- [Obama And The Prize](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/obama-and-the-prize/) - Obama and the Nobel Peace PrizeThe selection of Barack Obama for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize should not be a shock, nor should it concern conservative Americans. Since the news hit yesterday, there have been countless references to a Ronald Reagan snub and outright dismay and indignation that someone who helped “end the Cold War”
- [Now What About the Other Czars? Kill The Root](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/now-what-about-the-other-czars-kill-the-root/) - Van Jones resigned his position, the era of big government is over, and we can party like it’s 1789! Or not. Jones deserved to go, and should have been nowhere near the executive office in the first place, but rejoicing over his ouster is like stuffing bubble gum in a twenty foot hole in the
- [Judicial Power: The Founders’ Design](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/judicial-power-the-founders-design/) - With the confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court has again taken center stage in American politics. We have heard about her “wise Latina” comment and her positions on abortion and gay marriage, and it seems that these are the central issues in the debate; however, the question the Senate Judiciary Committee should be
- [Podcast of My Appearance on the Jan Mickelson Show](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/podcast-of-my-appearance-on-the-jan-mickelson-show/) - My interview with Iowa’s Jan Mickelson on 2 July 2009.
- [Would the Founders Remake America?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/would-the-founders-remake-america/) - I wrote the following article for Human Events. “At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents…. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up,
- [Mt. Rushmore Myth](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/mt-rushmore-myth/) - The following is an article I wrote for www.LewRockwell.com. Two million people travel annually to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore. The imposing sculptures of Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln have become a symbol of the American spirit. The artist in charge of the project, Gutzon Borglum, intended his work to be a
- [Why the 10th Amendment?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/why-the-10th-amendment/) - The following is an article I wrote for www.LewRockwell.com. The recent rejuvenation of interest in State’s rights, nullification, and secession has been a welcome result of the explosion of federal power since the housing and credit bubbles burst last fall. The 10th Amendment movements and “tea parties” are, at least on one level, a pure
- [The Stupid Empire](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/the-stupid-empire/) - As the first leg of the American invasion force rolled through Iraq in 2003, Sergeant Brad Colbert of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps leaned out the window of his Humvee and urged the Iraqi people to “vote Republican.” This moment was captured by the embedded reporter, Evan Wright, and made
- [National Democratic Party NDP](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/national-democratic-party-ndp/) - The following is an article I wrote for www.LewRockwell.com. 9 July 1896. William Jennings Bryan, the young, free-silver proponent from Nebraska had just finished his vitriolic assault on the gold standard at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, Illinois by raising the applause to a fever pitch with the following iconic line: "Having behind us the
- [Socialized Medicine is Here Already](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/socialized-medicine-is-here-already/) - CBS Evening News ran a story on 4 March 2009 about the problems American vets face with the inherent bureaucratic nightmares of big government. According to the story, which can be found here, many vets and their families face problems with benefits claims, and one Iraq vet stated he can’t wait to finish his MBA
- [Progressive Taxes the American Tradition?](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/blog/progressive-taxes-the-american-tradition/) - I found a curious article on the bottom front fold of the newspaper this morning. The headline read “Spreading the Wealth Tradition in U.S.” Charles Babington of the A.P. wrote the piece in an apparent attempt to justify Barack Obama’s recent comment that “spreading the wealth” was a cornerstone of his economic theory. Babington, a

## Pages

- [Home](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/) - The latest podcasts, blog posts, books and more from author and historian Brion McClanahan.
- [Support](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/support/) - Thank you for your interest in supporting The Brion McClanahan Show. Any contribution is appreciated. You can donate via PayPal or you can send a check or money order to: Brion McClanahan PO Box 3761 Auburn, AL 36831
- [About](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/about/) - Dr. Brion McClanahan is the author or co-author of six books, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers, (Regnery, 2009), The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution (Regnery History, 2012), Forgotten Conservatives in American History (Pelican, 2012), The Politically Incorrect Guide to Real American Heroes, (Regnery, 2012), 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America and Four
- [Contact](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/contact/) - Please contact Brion below.

## Books

- [The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/books/the-politically-incorrect-guide-to-the-founding-fathers/) - The Truth Revealed — And PC Myths Shattered — About The Founding Fathers Tom Brokaw labeled the World War II generation the “Greatest Generation,” but he was wrong. That honor belongs to the Founders–the men who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for the cause of liberty and independence, and who established the United
- [The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/books/the-founding-fathers-guide-to-the-constitution/) - What Does the Constitution Really Mean? Are liberals right when they cite the “elastic” clauses of the Constitution to justify big government? Or are conservatives right when they cite the Constitution’s explicit limits on federal power? The answer lies in a more basic question: How did the founding generation intend for us to interpret and
- [Forgotten Conservatives in American History](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/books/forgotten-conservatives-in-american-history/) - What Is Conservatism? How did previous generations define it? This series of essays defines the American idea of conservatism as adapted from European society. In tracing its evolution from the country’s beginnings, conservatism is defined as sound money, light taxes, low debt, states’ rights, and decentralization. Chapters examine men like Grover Cleveland, the last conservative
- [The Politically Incorrect Guide to Real American Heroes](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/books/the-politically-incorrect-guide-to-real-american-heroes/) - Publication Date: November 13, 2012 As politicians sling dirt at each other, America desperately needs a few real heroes. Tragically, liberal historians and educators have virtually erased traditional American heroes from history. According to the Left, the Founding Fathers were not noble architects of America, but selfish demagogues. And self–made entrepreneurs like Rockefeller were robber–barons
- [9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America: And Four Who Tried to Save Her](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/books/9-presidents-who-screwed-up-america/) - Of the forty-four presidents who have led the United States, nine made mistakes that permanently scarred the nation. Which nine? Brion McClanahan, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers and The Founding Fathers’ Guide to the Constitution, will surprise readers with his list, which he supports with exhaustive and entertaining evidence. 9
- [How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America](https://www.brionmcclanahan.com/books/blamehamilton/) - Hamilton Lied and the Constitution Died He's the subject of a hit Broadway musical, the face on the ten-dollar bill, and one of the most popular founding fathers. But what do you really know about Alexander Hamilton? Hamilton was no American hero, says author Brion McClanahan. In fact, he spent his life working to make

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