*This post first appeared in the American Populist Union (APU) blog
Addicted to Losing
The late, great writer Sam Francis coined the term “Beautiful Losers” in the early 1990s. Much of his work centered on criticizing the mainstream conservative movement in the 1990s from his paleoconservative perspective.
Even today, Francis’s term “Beautiful Losers” truly captures the current state of the modern conservative movement.
Now, what is a “Beautiful Loser”? That would be someone who believes that losing in politics is preferable to winning–if winning includes wielding power for the good. For example, a “Beautiful Loser” would be someone who thinks that banning Transgender surgeries for minors is bad because “using the government to legislate morality is bad” (perfect example: Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson made a similar comment on Tucker Carlson’s show in 2021).
Someone who rationalizes losing in politics as “standing by their principles” is a solid indicator that you are dealing with a “Beautiful Loser”. Thirty years ago, Sam Francis wrote about how the conservative movement does not understand how power functions in society. The same sentiment still applies. The Conservative Movement is still filled with “Beautiful Losers” to this day.
Simply put, the reality is that the Political Right likes to Lose. The Mainstream Right does not want to win in the “Battle for the Soul of America”—the phrase used in Pat Buchanan’s 1992 RNC Speech.
“Conservative” leaders caved when gay marriage was legalized in 2015 through judicial fiat. “Conservative” leaders caved on amnesty and decreasing legal immigration levels. “Conservative” leaders caved on vaccine mandates and mask mandates. “Conservative” leaders caved on repealing Obamacare. “Conservative” leaders caved on the border wall. The list goes on and on.
Authentically Conservative voters need to recognize this situation sooner rather than later if we want to restore our nation and the Conservative movement. The clock is ticking, so we can’t wait any longer.
An Example of a Beautiful Loser
The recent battle between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Walt Disney World opened my eyes to the fact that most “Conservatives” are “Beautiful Losers”.
In the last week, former Trump legal advisor and Newsmax Contributor Jenna Ellis criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for signing a bill that will end Walt Disney World’s special government status in Florida. This action from DeSantis came about after Disney repeatedly mischaracterized Florida House Bill 1557—which prevents teachers from teaching sexuality to young elementary students.
In response to DeSantis’s signed legislation, Ellis claimed that ending Disney’s self-governing status is actually an assault on free speech. What a joke. In fact, Ellis offered to provide legal support to Disney.
That example shows why we can’t have nice things on the Right.
This post is getting fairly long, but I wanted to include one more example of the “Beautiful Loser Complex” in recent years.
Let’s revisit John McCain and his failed 2008 Presidential Campaign. McCain was the perfect example of everything we’ve talked about in this post.
During a campaign event in 2008, McCain told his supporters that his opponent Barack Obama was “a decent person” and someone that “you don’t have to be scared of as president”. That quote just says it all.
McCain was not willing to criticize his opponent Barack Obama—one of the most liberal US presidential candidates in history—due to “principles”? Yet, McCain was sure willing to criticize and even spite more conservative/populist people like President Donald Trump. Give me a break.
Losing in politics is not a virtue. Instead, boldly speaking the truth and using political power to enact America First policies are epic.
So, what’s the lesson here? The lesson is that we have to play to win. The right can no longer sit idly by while the Left wields power and radically transforms America into a multicultural, third world dump. We the American people need strong Christian, nationalist people to get into positions of power and wield that political power for the good of the American people.
To end on a whitepill, I want to remind everyone that there are solid young America First conservatives out there who “get it”. As tough as times might be currently, I am excited to see what the future holds for the Gen Z Conservatives in the America First movement. Victory is inevitable!