The 'Conservatarian' Collapse, Obama's 'Narrative' Dishonesty, and the Real Estate Anguish of Ta-Nehisi Coates

The Fifth Column welcomes Charles C.W. Cooke to talk #NeverTrump, idiotic writings, and more.

In a more innocent age, a.k.a. last year, there was still enough of a libertarian waft lingering in Republican political air to glean optimism (albeit with some skepticism) from such books as National Review staffer Charles C.W. Cooke's The Conservatarian Manifesto: Libertarians, Conservatives, and the Fight for the Right's Future. While Cooke explicitly argued against judging his thesis through the narrow lens of whatever presidential politics was making headlines—a familiar enough argument!—it is nevertheless understandable in these authoritarian times to wonder What the hell happened to that whole constitutional conservative thing?

Cooke is the special guest on this week's episode of The Fifth Column podcast (which features Kmele Foster, Michael C. Moynihan, and myself), talking about this and all things #NeverTrump, plus the intentionally false narratives of White House foreign policy spinner Ben Rhodes, and the post-success real estate anguish of Ta-Nehisi Coates. There might even be some discussion of our old friend John McCain. You can listen right here:

Head over to the podcast website for info on how to subscribe, and also listen using iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play. And enjoy this Reason TV interview with Cooke below: