The Slip, Issue 73
Happy Friday, friends! Here’s your rundown for today:
One Thing
Gut check: The moral case for Israel
Gut Check: Election 2023 (le sigh)
Free Time
1 Thing to do today (if nothing else)
Ya’ll. It’s November. Which means I’m finally in my happy place: Sweater-weather season. Holidays. Soup. Thanksgiving….
Turkey Day is going to be here before we know it (literally) so if there’s one thing you need to do today, it’s to allow Ina Garten to make you feel better about taking shortcuts in the kitchen this year. Go ahead; do yourself a favor. Get cozy and press play! Don’t stress. Enjoy the holiday!
Gut Check: The moral case for defending Israel
Israel is life. Hamas is death. Support life.
Sometimes, friends, the world really is that simple. I’ve been thinking a lot about my own support for Israel since the Hamas attacks on October 7. Why do I support this country on the other side of the world? Aside from being, you know, generally against the slaughtering of innocent civilians, why should I be passionate about standing with the Jewish community? Or defending Israel’s right to exist? Why? Why do I care? Am I just going along with my pro-Israel conservative co-horts as a victim of groupthink?
I don’t think so.
I can certainly understand the argument that we can, as a country, support Israel and NOT intervene militarily. But that’s not what I want to talk about today. Right now, I want to just take a moment to pause and explain the moral case for supporting the existence of Israel itself. Because, honestly? A lot of what I’m seeing take place on college campuses and in cities around the country right now is not only depressing AF, it’s also making me think we need to revisit Philosophy 101. I’m talking good-vs-evil-basic-level stuff.
Put aside your feelings about American intervention and the “complicated” history of Palestine and Israel. What are we really arguing about here? Let’s go back to the basics.
My personal worldview holds that we are each responsible for our own happiness and success. These things are not owed to us, they are achieved by living a moral life that upholds virtues like reason, integrity and hard work. At a macro level, this means respecting the rights of others and not laying claim to non-existent rights on society’s whim (like the “right” to free health care or the “right” for trans women to use female locker rooms, etc). What’s more, the only way to live by these standards, is to exist in a free society. And there’s the rub. The only way to achieve success and happiness is to live in a free society. Free societies are important for individuals to flourish. That’s why I’m anti-communism, anti-socialism, anti-marxism, anti-theocracies, etc. And it’s why I’m so pro-America. In a world of dictatorships and quasi-socialist landmines, America is a shining beacon of freedom. It always has been and, Lord willing, always will be. Sure, America ain’t perfect, but it continues to be the best the world has ever seen.
“Good for you, Amanda, what does this have to do with Israel?” Good question. If I truly believe in the philosophy I just laid out above (I do), then the logical conclusion is that I would support anyone or anything that also embraces that philosophy. I know Israel has its problems. But I also know that in a region dominated by dictators, radical Islamists and terrorist groups (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg), Israel is the one country fighting for freedom and opportunity. It’s fighting for life, literally. It’s a country surrounded by nations and groups that embrace murderers as martyrs and suicide bombers as saviors. Call me crazy, but I don’t believe that sort of belief system should exist in a civilized world. It is fundamentally immoral and antithetical to life itself. I support life, and therefore I support Israel’s right to take action, militarily or otherwise, to defend itself. Full stop.
I realize that, to some of you, this might seem overly-reductive and simple. I get it, but I also think there’s value in putting aside the noise for a moment to really drill down into your “why” - on this issue or anything else. It’s why, for example, Sarah and I spent so much of our time in the early days of The Slip and our podcast, Not Your Average Feminist, hashing out what it really means to be a conservative or a feminist. It wasn’t because we just LOVE going through exercises to define words in the English language; it’s because we wanted our products to have a solid foundation, belief system, and moral code. So we spent a lot of time going back to the basics. We wanted to be clear about our WHY for starting a newsletter and a podcast in the first place: As conservatives, we believe in freedom. As feminists, we believe in equal rights for women. You can believe both things despite what the left says, and yes it really is that simple.
There will ample opportunity to rail about the pro-Hamas whack jobs on college campuses or the asshats ripping down hostage posters, or the members of Congress who think we really don’t know what “from the rive to the sea” means. But for now, I think it’s important we revisted the basics. I appreciate you coming with me.
Gut Check 2: Election 2023. What Happened?
On Tuesday, voters went to the polls in states all over the country. And also on Tuesday, the Republican Party had a disappointing night at the ballot box. Just another day, huh? Here are the, uh, highlights: In Virginia, Republicans lost control of the House of Delegates AND failed to flip the Senate in a huge blow to Gov. Glenn Yougnkin. In Ohio, voters approved a ballot measure that will enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution - abortion even for minors without parental consent. In Kentucky, the GOP gubernatorial candidate - a rising star in the party - lost to the Democrat by 5 points. Other examples of Republican losses abound; those are just the most high-profile ones. What lessons can we take from yet another disappointing election night?
The general consensus is, yet again, that Democrats prevailed by reusing the same playbook they deployed in 2022: tying Republican candidates to Donald Trump, and lying about Republicans’ positions on abortion. From where I stand, that’s pretty accurate.
In the Kentucky gubernatorial race, for example, Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear ran a brutal ad featuring a young woman who was raped by her stepfather. (Watch it here). That one ad is likely why Beshear won. Republicans had no good response. In Virginia, Democrat candidates running for the state legislature ran ad after ad after ad lying about Republicans’ positions on abortion - even though virtually every GOP candidate campaigned on a very reasonable 15-week ban with exceptions for rape and incest. The facts didn’t matter. Democrats successfully painted the Virginia GOP as an extremist group looking to take away all reproductive freedom. In Kentucky, I’m not sure if Republicans had an effective response at all to Beshear’s ad. In Virginia? They sure did. (Full disclosure: I was involved in 4 of the state legislature races). In Virginia, Republicans leaned into the abortion issue and ran ads that pointed out the lies coming from the other side. The problem? Republicans were drastically outspent. And at the end of the day, you can’t win the messaging war if you can’t match the other side dollar for dollar. It’s really that simple (are you noticing a theme with this week’s newsletter??).
What’s more, you can’t match the other side dollar-for-dollar if you can’t match them in the online fundraising game. And for those who don’t live and breathe professional politics, Republicans up and down the ballot are uniquely challenged in that department. And while it’s not 100% HIS fault, part of that blame I do lay at the feet of one Donald J. Trump. The grassroots activist base isn’t giving $5 a month to Daniel Cameron in Kentucky, they’re giving it to Trump (who in turn is using it to pay his legal bills). I could go on, but for your sake, I won’t. I just hope our side figures out how to right the ship before 2024. We need to get our sh** together when it comes to the abortion issue, and we need to figure out our money problem. Full stop. Until that happens…we’re in for a long, disappointed road ahead.
Free Time
To listen: Megyn Kelly’s post-election night rant is everything.
To listen: Agent of Betrayal - a podcast by veteran journalist Major Garrett about the FBI-agent-turned-Soviet-spy Robert Hanssen. I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s really good.
To buy: The RoC eye balm. I recently started using it and wow, 10 out of 10 stars. Give it a try. My under eyes have never been the same.
To make: Half-baked Harvest’s creamy gnocchi soup with rosemary bacon. This is, in a word, LEGIT. Seriously one of the best things I’ve made lately.
Free Time Part 2 - Thanksgiving Edition
If you are heading to a Thanksgiving celebration and are expected to contribute something to the menu but HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO DO….I’m here to help. Below are some tried and true recipes that I highly recommend and would make a great addition to any Thanksgiving table. ::clears throat and cracks knuckles::
For an appetizer:
Pork and Sage sausage balls. There are many versions of these on the internet, but this is the recipe I use. They’re delicious and gluten free!
Spicy shrimp dip. I’ve made this soooo many times and every time it’s a hit.
For a side:
Joanna Gaines’ potatoes au gratin. If you volunteer to bring potatoes, you’ve got guts. There’s a lot riding on this particular side dish…but this recipe I’ve made again and again and it is delicious! Can’t go wrong.
Sautéed green peas. They may look boring, but they’re not. Trust me.
Cheddar chive biscuits. No commentary. These are amazing.
Winter kale and wild rice salad. If I’m going the salad route, this is always the one I use. 5 stars.
Cranberry sauce. ‘nuff said.
For a dessert:
I’m going to start by saying: BUY THAT STORE-BOUGHT CRUST. NO ONE WILL KNOW. Ok, moving on.
Chocolate peanut butter pie. Yes, I’ve made it. Yes, sometimes I even dream about it.
Key lime pie. My favorite pie. You can totally do this at Thanksgiving.
Apple cranberry pie. This is a good one. Trust me.
Good luck, and let me know how it goes!
Thank you as always for your support! I want to hear from you in the comments! See you in two weeks! - Amanda