Pete Spiliakos is a columnist for First Things.

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The Pro-Life Coordination Problem

From First Thoughts

 How many Americans have heard about Wendy Davis?   How many Americans have heard of Davis based on the fawning descriptions of liberal-leaning journalists?   How many Americans have never seen, on their television, a sonogram of a late-term fetus combined with a description of . . . . Continue Reading »

The Immigration Fraud

From First Thoughts

The employer interests are investing heavily in trying to convince conservatives that the Gang of Eight plan is something other than an amnesty-now, enforcement-maybe never plan that will sharply increase low-skill immigration.  Maybe the most insulting thing in the whole debate is Mark . . . . Continue Reading »

Random Thoughts on Bad Advice

From First Thoughts

1. If your bitterest ideological opponents in the other coalition are saying that you have to follow their advice and support their policy preferences in order to avoid your doom, then you know you are getting bad advice. So don’t do what they want. Figure out what works for you. 2. Imagine if a . . . . Continue Reading »

The Consultant Culture Problem

From First Thoughts

Jeffrey H. Anderson and Jay Cost have a lengthy and interesting National Affairs article on reforming the Republican nominating process. I think their institutional analysis is worthwhile (though I am not entirely convinced), but some of the problems of the Republican nominating process are only . . . . Continue Reading »

The Missing Voters And The Missing Agenda

From Web Exclusives

“The most salient demographic change from 2008 to 2012 was the drop in white voters” argues election observer Sean Trende. To get an idea of what happened to these voters”working-class, rural, and living in the northern part of the country”it is helpful to look to Pennsylvania’s twelfth congressional district… . Continue Reading »