The Weekly Standard, the conservative publication co-founded by Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes in 1995, will cease publication after its final issue is released on Monday.
The cause of death was its criticism of President Trump which displeased its parent company, MediaDC. Instead of selling off The Weekly Standard, MediaDC decided to kill it.
Even as Trump's presidency unravels as Robert Mueller closes in the shuttering of The Weekly Standard is a message to conservative writers who refuse to worship at the altar of Trump Tower - your point of view unwelcome and will be silenced.
It's a tough spot. There is much to criticize about The Left - #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, political correctness, anti-Israel sentiment, etc. But what does it say that conservatism could be so easily taken over by a con man? As long as Trump supporters insist that politics is binary a lot of conservatives who don't buy into Trump will be driven into the arms of Democrats.
I don't know where that leaves me. I've been on both The Left and The Right and have departed both. I retain certain conservative views where it concerns human nature, but I also retain certain socialist views where it concerns the equality of humanity. Surely there is a place other than this blog where such views can be expressed in a meaningful way. But narrower views means such space is eroding.
Alas I never got the chance to write for The Weekly Standard though not for lack of trying. But it doesn't matter now. Nothing matters now.
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