# Are there any good conservative commentators? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 27, 2026, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949 "2026-07-27T04:41:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colesy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colesy/32/19697_2.png) [@Colesy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colesy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/1 "2026-07-27T04:41:06Z")
It may sound like a strange and short sighted question, but just humour me. I am concretely situated on the left for a vast majority of issues, however i do hold the perspective that debate and the exchange of ideas is vital for politics. I am firmly of the belief that hearing and being receptive to an opposing perspective is a trait that is severely lacking these days. In my pursuit of this goal however, i am yet to find a conservative figure that i admire. All of the big conservative commentators of today seem utterly reprehensable to me. Does this reflect poorly on my character, or have I simply not looked thoroughly enough. Does anyone know of any conservative commentators who they admire? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/2 "2026-07-27T13:03:38Z")
> [@Colesy](#): > > Does this reflect poorly on my character, or have I simply not looked thoroughly enough. I don’t think it’s the first, and maybe not the second. In America today, it’s hard to find conservatives (i.e. those who are on the “side” that goes by that name) who haven’t gone MAGA and reflect Trump’s lunacy. In the past, the major news sources (network news, major newspapers) were consumed broadly by Americans across the political spectrum, so political commentators had to appeal to the general reasonable citizen and not just preach to the choir. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/3 "2026-07-27T13:11:26Z")
I’m not a consumer of any TV commentary, but I do read a lot of print. Seems to me the type and quality of the commentators have changed along with the times. Insofar as this affected the conservative side I’d say the big change began with Newt Gingrich. Before him, politicians of both sides could talk, hang out and even be friends. They could negotiate. Gingrich turned everything into scorched Earth scapegoating, and the typical commentary now reflects that. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/4 "2026-07-27T13:20:46Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > In America today, it’s hard to find conservatives (i.e. those who are on the “side” that goes by that name) who haven’t gone MAGA and reflect Trump’s lunacy. IMHO that statement could be shortened to “In America today, it’s hard to find conservatives.” Those who have gone MAGA don’t qualify as conservative. ETA: Or depending on how you look at it, you could say that the so called mainstream Democrats are now the true conservatives. People like Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/5 "2026-07-27T13:23:48Z")
David Frum of _The Atlantic_ is conservative, not a Trumper and is fairly even-handed in his writings. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/6 "2026-07-27T13:28:07Z")
Maybe David Brooks? He seems to be wrong about everything, in my view, but some people like him and he’s not MAGA. Ditto Bret Stephens. I’m sure Bill Kristol is still conservative, and also not MAGA, but I don’t know how good his commentary is. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/7 "2026-07-27T13:29:50Z")
Andrew McCarthy at National Review is generally rational. [https://www.nationalreview.com/author/andrew-c-mccarthy/?utm\_source=recirc-desktop&utm\_medium=homepage&utm\_campaign=right-rail&utm\_content=featured-writers&utm\_term=fourth](https://www.nationalreview.com/author/andrew-c-mccarthy/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=right-rail&utm_content=featured-writers&utm_term=fourth) ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/8 "2026-07-27T13:59:54Z")
I enjoy George Will’s column. I often agree with him, but not always. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/9 "2026-07-27T14:09:51Z")
You might be looking for someone who, as [P. J. O’Rourke said of Hillary Clinton](https://www.npr.org/2016/05/09/477339063/conservative-author-pj-orourke-reluctantly-backs-clinton) when he announced in 2016 that he would be reluctantly voting for her over Donald Trump, “She’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.” ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/10 "2026-07-27T14:19:48Z")
Unfortunately, he died. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/11 "2026-07-27T14:32:10Z")
I _wasn’t_ suggesting P. J. O’Rourke as an answer to the OP but that his quote about Hillary Clinton might well apply to the question asked. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/12 "2026-07-27T14:34:52Z")
His was the first name I thought of, as a good conservative commentator. He was always pretty funny, and seemed reasonable, at least back in the 90s when I read Parliament of Whores. The only thing holding him back is being dead. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/13 "2026-07-27T14:39:11Z")
And the fact there’s nearly no market left for traditional conservatives. The Reactionary Fascist Wackos have cornered the entire right-leaning market and have pushed the traditional conservatives into a silent corner of irrelevance. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/14 "2026-07-27T15:15:34Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I _wasn’t_ suggesting P. J. O’Rourke as an answer to the OP but that his quote about Hillary Clinton might well apply to the question asked. And that just re-states the problem. Who would you suggest is “wrong within acceptable parameters” amongst the current generation of right-wing commentators? I can’t say I’ve seen any lately. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/15 "2026-07-27T15:25:54Z")
Someone suggested George Will, so he might be one to consider. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/16 "2026-07-27T16:47:34Z")
Good old 85-year-old George Will. Many decades ago he used to write for Newsweek, a conservative column that in my head I titled “Reliably Wrong.” Conservatism has changed so incredibly much since those days when we hated Reagan with fiery outrage that the same opinions now appear to be closer to those of a centrist Democrat. If you look at Will’s last few columns in the _Washington Post_ you’ll see an anti-Trumper who also rails at progressives. Is that what the OP wants? A principled conservative today is an outlier. Perhaps conservatives who are merely totally wrong but not actively malignant would be better. [The Spectator](https://spectator.com/?edition=us&set_edition=us) and [Minding the Campus](https://mindingthecampus.org/) are filled with articles by conservatives who can couch their beliefs in some grounding of fact. Skewed fact, IMO, but not Nick Fuentes or Tim Pool “facts”. They are part of the same ecosystem. The Trump administration created a loathsome attack on the Smithsonian titled _Saving America’s Story_. Here’s how Minding the Campus covered it. > Voices raised in anger against _Saving America’s Story_ have plenty of access to the channels of public communication. Those raised in support of _Saving America’s Story_ are fewer. **So few in fact that Google AI asserts, “There are no writers defending the White House’s claims.”** Ha. Google, you may not like Roger Kimball, but he is indubitably a writer and plainly a defender of the White House’s claims. I suggest you Google _The Spectator_, where he succinctly explains that “[The Smithsonian Hates America](https://spectator.com/article/smithsonian-hates-america-report/?edition=us).” The bolded section is a flat-out lie: Google AI lists names attempting to defend it. You can try reading Kimball. Have some Pepto-Bismol handy just in case your gorge rises too fast. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/17 "2026-07-27T16:53:42Z")
As others have said, what communications platform would hire the type of commentator the OP is seeking? Without a proper sized communications platform the best you’ll get are bloggers. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/18 "2026-07-27T17:13:11Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And the fact there’s nearly no market left for traditional conservatives. The Reactionary Fascist Wackos have cornered the entire right-leaning market and have pushed the traditional conservatives into a silent corner of irrelevance. This is a big part of it, IMO. Just like commentary on sports, what is popular now, and gets exposure on the major TV shows, websites, social media platforms, etc., are “hot takes” and strident statements. To the extent that there are still any “reasoned” conservative commentators out there, they’re not on today’s mass platforms. Some of the names which have come up in the thread so far: - George Will used to be on ABC, and later on Fox News; he’s now on NewsNation (which is like the minor-league version of CNN), and still writing a syndicated newspaper column for the Washington Post (which is paywalled). - David Frum, as noted, is primarily writing for The Atlantic, which is also a paywalled site. - Andrew McCarthy, also as noted, writes for National Review (William F. Buckley’s old magazine). ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/19 "2026-07-27T19:45:50Z")
Some of my favorites are never-Trumpers who have jumped ship, such as MSNOW’s Nicolle Wallace. She was the White House Communications Director during W’s second term. I also like Rick Wilson, who is an independent now. Interviews with Anthony Scaramucci are always fun. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949/20 "2026-07-27T19:57:17Z")
My nominee is Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief _The Dispatch_ (DC?), whose columns appear in many daily newspapers. He’s well-reasoned, balanced, doesn’t worship at Trump’s feet since he doesn’t consider him a true conservative. and uses a moderate tone in his writings. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-conservative-commentators/1031949.md?page=2)