First of all, happy new year to all you good folks who enjoy reading what I write.

Now, for the obvious: not every kind of email will float everyone’s boat. Maybe today’s won’t do anything for you. But doggone it, I like it.

John Podhoretz is editor of Commentary magazine, which was founded by his father, Norman, the well-known neoconservative.

John hasn’t had quite the career or following his father did, and he’s not nearly as bright, as you’ll see from his third-grade Tweet about Tucker Carlson hating America. (It boggles the mind that people don’t feel stupid talking like that, doesn’t it?)

Well, an interesting thread ensued on what I persist in calling Twitter (I’m not opposed to name changes, but “X” is just awful) between John and my good friend Dave Smith, the popular podcaster and comedian whom nearly all my subscribers know.

It began with this bit of neocon ridiculousness:

I know both @benshapiro and @TuckerCarlson well. I gave Tucker his start in the majors. Here’s what I know. Ben loves America. Tucker hates America. Didn’t use to. But now he does. Ben always has and will never stop. That is all. Nothing more to be said.

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) December 30, 2023

Whatever someone may want to say about Tucker Carlson, there is no evidence he “hates America”—a stupendously juvenile thing to say. He most certainly hates the American regime, but it’s precisely because he seems to love America that the rottenness of that regime outrages him so much.

The neoconservative mind is incapable of making this distinction. “America” is the regime. It’s not her traditions or cuisine or culture or literature, and it’s certainly not the lived experience of people in a vast and diverse array of little towns from coast to coast, none of which interest the city-dwelling neocons at all. “America” to them means power, military bases, and presidents with ambitious programs—not for them is the modest executive humbly executing the laws.

Now Dave and John interact:

C’mon John, why do neocons always go to “you hate America!” with no argument at all. Do you at least notice that this tactic hasn’t worked on anyone for 20 years? https://t.co/sBk4XNxi4C

— Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith) December 30, 2023

I’m uninterested in whether it works on you or not. It’s what I believe and know to be true. https://t.co/PcT5qN1Crq

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) December 30, 2023

Are you interested in the fact that it works on no one? Why do you think the term neoconservative has become a pejorative? Honestly, reflect on that. Or just say it’s because everyone else hates America. https://t.co/TJwMo1aiE7

— Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith) December 30, 2023

I couldn’t help interjecting here:

But a good argument does work on at least some people, so maybe this is a sign that it's bad? I've never really bothered to engage with a neoconservative before so I didn't realize it would be this bizarre

— Tom Woods (@ThomasEWoods) December 31, 2023

I then finished with this:

Neocon foreign policy explained: https://t.co/OfuhRg4fGj

— Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith) December 31, 2023

Neocon heir John Podhoretz, who had everything handed to him and yet no one would so much as cross the street to hear him speak, makes fun of Dave, who is massively successful and has a much larger audience — that he earned on his own merits https://t.co/12p6fswGZY

— Tom Woods (@ThomasEWoods) January 1, 2024

As we begin a new year, let us rejoice in the drastic decline in the public fortunes of the neocons, who were impostors from the get-go and never really wanted to pare back the regime.

Podhoretz is a name hardly familiar to anyone, while Dave has appeared on the biggest show in America over a dozen times and his star continues to rise. That’s what the kids call a “white pill,” a reason for optimism and hope even in an otherwise bleak political situation.

This was originally sent as a Tom Woods newsletter and is republished with permission.