Charles Cw Cooke
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20150504_postal:cover61404-postal.qxd 4/14/2015 8:38 PM Page 1 May 4, 2015 $4.99 LOYOLA on DAVID FRENCH: WISCONSIN’S SHAME Iran PONNURU on KEVIN D. WILLIAMSON: HILLARY’S IMAGE CAMPAIGN RFRAs THE SHERIFF AS REBEL David Clarke does it his way CHARLES C. W. COOKE www.nationalreview.com base:milliken-mar 22.qxd 4/14/2015 4:11 PM Page 1 BEHIND THE RED TAPE Regulatory red tape is restricting our countrys ability to create jobs and grow the economy. Americans deserve a regulatory system that balances the need for protection without impeding innovation and productivity. A series of reports produced by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce illustrates why we must improve our nation’s rulemaking process to build a strong, safe and vibrant economy. We must create a more transparent system that values public input and holds agencies accountable for the nature and quality of their data. HARTING EDERAL TRUTH IN REGULATING: C F Restoring Transparency to EPA Rulemaking COSTS AND BENEFITS No. 6 in a Series of Regulatory Reports Environment, Technology & Regulatory Affairs Division Environment, Technology & Regulatory Affairs Division Visit www.uschamber.com/etra to learn more. www.uschamber.com/etra TOC--FINAL:QXP-1127940144.qxp 4/15/2015 2:10 PM Page 1 Contents MAY 4, 2015 | VOLUME LXVII, NO. 8 | www.nationalreview.com ON THE COVER Page 26 The Rebel Sheriff Kevin D. Williamson on It’s not just the cowboy hat and the Hillary Rodham Clinton p. 16 leather waistcoat that set him apart. On the questions of gun control, race, the nature of BOOKS, ARTS policing, the record of his & MANNERS city’s government, and even 41 BOLD FUSION his own Democratic party, John Hood reviews David A. Clarke Jr. is dramati- The Conservatarian Manifesto: Libertarians, Conservatives, and cally out of step with what the Fight for the Right’s Future, is expected. Charles C. W. Cooke by Charles C. W. Cooke. GENRES WITHOUT BORDERS COVER: THOMAS REIS 43 Otto Penzler discusses the decline of literary snobbery. ARTICLES 45 IN THE CRUCIBLE HILLARY, HERSELF 16 by Kevin D. Williamson Michael F. Bishop reviews Sometimes, appearances are everything. Washington’s Revolution: The Making of America’s First THE RFRA FUROR by Ramesh Ponnuru 18 Leader, by Robert Middlekauff. Public commitment to religious freedom is not as strong as it should be. 50 WHERE THE BUCK STOPPED OBAMA’S IRAN CAPITULATION by Mario Loyola 21 Craig Shirley reviews Ronald Never mind victory; the administration isn’t even seeking containment. Reagan: Decisions of Greatness, 24 THE EVEN-STEVEN TEMPTATION by Jay Nordlinger by Martin and Annelise Anderson. adventures in moral equivalence. 51 WAY TO LIVE Kathryn Jean Lopez reviews And the Good News Is . : FEATURES Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side, by Dana Perino. 26 THE REBEL SHERIFF by Charles C. W. Cooke How David a. Clarke Jr. became a political celebrity. 29 JOHN DOE’S TYRANNY by David French SECTIONS wisconsin conservatives have been subjected to secretive, baseless investigations. 2 Letters to the Editor 34 FEAR NOT THE ROBOT by Danny Crichton 4 The Week automation will continue to raise our quality of life. 39 Athwart . James Lileks 40 The Long View . Rob Long 36 DRYDOCK TIME by Jerry Hendrix 45 Poetry . Jennifer Reeser aircraft carriers belong to the fleet of yesteryear. 52 Happy Warrior . Daniel Foster NatioNal Review (iSSN: 0028-0038) is published bi-weekly, except for the first issue in January, by N atioNal Review, inc., at 215 lexington avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. © National Review, inc., 2015. address all editorial mail, manuscripts, letters to the editor, etc., to editorial Dept., N atioNal Review, 215 lexington avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016. address all subscription mail orders, changes of address, undeliverable copies, etc., to NatioNalReview, Circulation Dept., P. o. Box 433015, Palm Coast, Fla. 32143-3015; phone, 386-246-0118, Monday–Friday, 8:00a.M . to 10:30 P.M. eastern time. adjustment requests should be accompanied by a current mailing label or facsimile. Direct classified advertising inquiries to: Classifieds Dept., NatioNalReview, 215 lexington avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016 or call 212-679- 7330. PoStMaSteR: Send address changes to N atioNal Review, Circulation Dept., P. o. Box 433015, Palm Coast, Fla. 32143-3015. Printed in the U.S.a. RateS: $59.00 a year (24 issues). add $21.50 for Canada and other foreign subscriptions, per year. (all payments in U.S. currency.) the editors cannot be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork unless return postage or, better, a stamped, self-addressed envelope is enclosed. opinions expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editors. letters--FINAL:QXP-1127940387.qxp 4/15/2015 1:12 PM Page 2 Letters MAY 4 ISSUE; PRINTED APRIL 16 EDITOR Richard Lowry Senior Editors Learning from Dorothy Richard Brookhiser / Jonah Goldberg / Jay Nordlinger Ramesh Ponnuru / David Pryce-Jones Managing Editor Jason Lee Steorts Jay Nordlinger’s piece on Dorothy L. Sayers (“Sing It, Dorothy”) in the April 6 Literary Editor Michael Potemra issue of NAtIoNAL RevIew spoke to my heart. More than a decade ago I read her Vice President, Editorial Operations Christopher McEvoy Washington Editor Eliana Johnson 1947 essay “the Lost tools of Learning,” and was inspired and emboldened to Executive Editor Reihan Salam Roving Correspondent Kevin D. Williamson home-educate my children using the classical method that she advocated. they are National Correspondent John J. Miller Art Director Luba Kolomytseva now in a public high school pursuing the modern-day quadrivium, but they are Deputy Managing Editors benefitting from the solid foundation they received. the classical paradigm that we Nicholas Frankovich / Fred Schwarz Production Editor Katie Hosmer followed has taught them to be independent and thoughtful learners who easily see Assistant to the Editor Carol Anne Kemp Research Associate Alessandra Haynes connections as well as fallacies. Dorothy L. Sayers is one of my heroines and I Contributing Editors thank NAtIoNAL RevIew and Jay Nordlinger for aiming the spotlight on her. Shannen Coffin / Ross Douthat / Roman Genn Jim Geraghty / Florence King / Lawrence Kudlow Mark R. Levin / Yuval Levin / Rob Long Susan Gibbs de San Martin Mario Loyola / Jim Manzi / Andrew C. McCarthy Kate O’Beirne / Andre w Stuttaford / Robert VerBruggen Ossining, New York NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE Editor-at-Large Kathryn Jean Lopez Managing Editor Katherine Connell / Edward John Craig Opinion Editor Patrick Brennan National-Affairs Columnist John Fund Taxation without Ratiocination Staff Writer Charles C. W. Cooke Political Reporter Joel Gehrke Reporters In “the taxman endureth” (April 20), Patrick Brennan criticized Senator ted Andrew Johnson / Katherine Timpf Associate Editors Cruz for promising to abolish the IRS. Mr. Brennan’s criticism is correct as long Nick Tell / Molly Powell / Nat Brown as we have any form of income tax, flat or not. Editorial Associates Brendan Bordelon / Christine Sisto Fortunately, Senator Cruz is a co-sponsor of the Fair tax (H.R. 25, S. 155), Technical Services Russell Jenkins Web Developer Wendy Weihs which actually abolishes federal income, payroll, business, gift, and estate Web Producer Scott McKim taxes and the IRS. the states will collect a national retail sales tax and the EDITORS- AT- L A RG E Social Security Administration will issue a monthly rebate to all legal resi- Linda Bridges / John O’Sullivan NATIONAL REVIEW INSTITUTE dents ($226 per adult, $79 per child, indexed to inflation) in order to un-tax BUCKLEYFELLOWSINPOLITICALJOURNALISM spending up to the federal poverty level. the rebate also makes this consump- Ryan Lovelace / Ian Tuttle Contributors tion tax “progressive.” Hadley Arkes / Baloo / James Bowman the Fair tax will expire in seven years if the 16th Amendment is not repealed. Eliot A. Cohen / Dinesh D’Souza Chester E. Finn Jr. / Neal B. Freeman this is to avoid having a national sales tax in addition to the taxes it replaces. James Gardner / David Gelernter George Gilder / Jeffrey Hart Mr. Cruz, et al., tear down this tax code. Kevin A. Hassett / Charles R. Kesler David Klinghoffer / Anthony Lejeune D. Keith Mano / Michael Novak Jim Stehr Alan Reynolds / Tracy Lee Simmons Terry Teachout / Vin Weber Atlantic Beach, Fla. Chief Financial Officer James X. Kilbridge Accounting Manager Galina Veygman Accountant Lyudmila Bolotinskaya Business Services Alex Batey / Alan Chiu PAtRICk BReNNAN ReSPoNDS: As I noted in my piece, Cruz has indeed at times Circulation Manager Jason Ng supported a state-administered sales tax, known as the Fair tax, that would WORLD WIDE WEB www.nationalreview.com MAIN NUMBER 212-679-7330 replace the federal income tax. Such a system would allow massively reducing SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES 386-246-0118 WASHINGTON OFFICE 202-543-9226 the involvement of the federal government in tax collection, in a way that a flat ADVERTISING SALES 212-679-7330 Executive Publisher Scott F. Budd income tax would not. But Senator Cruz’s campaign says he isn’t running on Advertising Director Jim Fowler the idea right now. Moving toward a consumption tax is appealing, but as I Advertising Manager Kevin Longstreet Assistant to the Publisher Emily Gray wrote, the Fair tax has huge problems of its own. For one, systems work best Director of Philanthropy and Campaigns Scott Lange when incentives are aligned, as they rarely are in government. the Fair tax, in Associate Publisher Paul Olivett Director of Development Heyward Smith order to get rid of the federal tax-collection bureaucracy, ignores this, and relies Director of Revenue Erik Netcher on states’ doing a decent job of collecting tax revenue for the federal govern- Vice President, Communications Amy K. M itchell PUBLISHER ment, under a system that impinges on what’s traditionally a source of state Jack Fowler revenue (sales taxes).