'The truth will set you free'! Principled Conservative™ Bill Kristol 'finally said what we all knew out loud'

Doug P. | 1:54 PM on July 16, 2022

Bulwark editor-at-large Bill Kristol had an enlightening Twitter thread today that began this way:

1. A short thread prompted by this amusing paragraph:
"We’re sitting in AEI’s elegantly furnished library. Down the hall, there’s a boisterous event celebrating the conservative intellectual Harvey Mansfield…https://t.co/kD2vLeoERs

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 16, 2022

2. "…William Kristol, clad in a suit, has just left the room. Teixeira’s untucked shirt and sneakers aren’t the only thing that seems out of place. 'I’m just a social democrat, man. Trying to make the world a better place.'"

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 16, 2022

3. Comments:

a) I don't know that the event for Harvey Mansfield was exactly "boisterous" (?!) but I do think the panel discussions of some of the themes of his work were interesting. You can take a look here:https://t.co/fySgzjKnJb

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 16, 2022

b) Some personal news: I was "clad in a suit," as is appropriate for an event honoring Prof. Mansfield. But in this post-pandemic Washington summer, I myself am mostly, as my colleagues at Defending Democracy Together would testify, an "untucked shirt and sneakers" kind of guy.

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 16, 2022

Oh, and one more:

c) I like Ruy's line that he's "just a social democrat, trying to make the world a better place." I'm more of a liberal democrat than a social democrat. But I admire many social democrats past and present. Social democrats who respect liberty are key to defending democracy.

END

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 16, 2022

“More of a liberal Democrat than a social Democrat”?