Carlson and Cuomo: The Best Liberalism We Can Hope For

On March 11 Tucker Carlson released an interview with former CNN host Chris Cuomo. I admit, I listened to it, and I don’t usually listen to long-form interviews in the secular sphere; at least I haven’t in a while. Nonetheless, I had a bunch of menial computer tasks to do, so I took a listen after it was recommended by a friend. It was an entertaining interview and a bit refreshing. Of course I do not expect to be lauded at my particular judgment for the time I spent—I listened on 1.5 speed so it wasn’t all that long—listening to two former major network leads talk about politics and life’s burning questions.

That being said, it was an overall positive experience. Cuomo came off as remarkably sane, especially considering all his former antics and opinions while at CNN. Also, I do prefer Carlson over virtually every other so-called conservative commentator, although I hardly listen to his stuff, and I rarely listen to political shows in general. The reason I like Carlson is because he is a man that I believe lives by the scriptural maxim, “Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no.” 

Among conservative commentators, some of the Daily Wire guys have interesting opinions here and there, although I can’t stand Ben Shapiro. And, for a time, I did find Jordan Peterson to be enlightening; although I have soured on him, as I am getting a bit tired of his decade-long meandering through religious questions, always giving some cutesy answer about his belief in God. In any event, Carlson is my favorite, if I had to pick, as he never seems to moralize with theological answers—which is good because he is an Episcopalian—and he comes off as someone simply appealing to common sense.

Also, it is worth noting that virtually no so-called conservative commentators are actually conservative—whatever that means nowadays—and they are all some shade of Classic Liberal. As much as things like “freedom of speech” and “freedom of the press” are championed as conservative values, they are inherent values of the Enlightenment and Liberal revolution that sought to topple the Church in Europe—and by extension gave us the supposed Liberal Democracies of the West. 

Given the Liberal milieu that is the very firmament of our political arena, I hold out no hopes for the immediate future that we may be graced with a Franco, Salazar, or Duplessis; and I hold no illusions that Trump—or Poilievre in Canada —will enshrine Christ the King into our constitutions. However, we cannot change the game as it is played in any real way at present—and I don’t pretend to have a way to even attempt to do that—so, if we are going to have Liberalism, I would like those involved to be relatively sane. 

Of course, given that the definition of sanity—no it isn’t about doing things over and over again—is when someone recognizes truth and conforms himself to that truth, a Liberal society can’t be totally sane, but the players involved can demonstrate more or less conformity to the truth. Ultimately, without recognizing the Catholic Religion as the only official religion in society, true sanity is not possible because giving positive rights—not mere tolerance—to heretical sects and false religions is to give Luther and the devil the same rights as Christ. 

Nonetheless, people with fundamentally different opinions must live together in some harmonious way, and the continual struggle-session of contemporary electoral politics is untenable and maddening. And, it is also true that those on different sides of the political spectrum are usually more in accord with one another than their public personas or hive mentalities would suggest.

This is why the interview was so interesting. My impression of Cuomo was that he was basically a more refined version of a maniac Leftist. So I expected the interview to be tiresome and unnecessarily tense; but I was pleasantly surprised. Far from being a whacked-out lefty doing an AOC impression, he came off as a more or less old-school Democrat. 

When pressed on the January 6th event from 2021, he was quick to admit he did not believe it was an insurrection. And, as annoying as his views on Covid were, he was also quick to agree that mandates for vaccines were wrong. Furthermore, he did not break out in hives when Carlson spoke fondly of guns and expressed no opposition to owning firearms. In addition, he was highly critical of the two-party system and American intervention overseas, including the Middle East and Ukraine.

Now, none of this is to say that Cuomo is now a great voice for America or some sort of leader who should be listened to. However, it is to say that if a man like Cuomo—the former face of Trump Derangement Syndrome—can agree or concede ground on most issues with Tucker Carlson, then this is possible for most people.  If a man like Cuomo—the former face of Trump Derangement Syndrome—can agree or concede ground on most issues with Tucker Carlson, then this is possible for most people. Tweet This

It is an election year, and heaven knows that a storm of insanity is upon us; likely a storm filled with fiery but mostly peaceful protests. So, if there is any way to avoid descending into utter chaos in a Liberal society seemingly always teetering between Classic Liberalism and a worse Revolution, then we would do well to have more conversations between the Carlsons and Cuomos of the world. 

Sitting down for a cordial interview with an intellectual and political foe cannot fail to be better than sharing contrived talking points in the House of Commons or Congress. In addition, the non-confrontational nature of a long-form discussion among equals is also disarming, as the interlocutors are forced to reckon with the internal logic of their opinions rather than double down on what streams across the teleprompter.

Now, I personally don’t enjoy partaking in such conversations. Being a Traditionalist Catholic commentator and author, I am constantly going upstream and dealing with negative feedback, so the last thing I want to do is find a way to engage in further difficult conversations. But, if those involved in political sound-biting would follow the lead of Carlson and Cuomo, I imagine it would help bring down the temperature when Soros orchestrates some other race riot or the like.

I won’t be tuning in, but I bet millions will if these two men decide to engage in friendly fire throughout the election cycle in order to add some more sane perspective from both the Left and the Right. Who knows, maybe a saner Cuomo talking to Carlson and reaching millions can help push the needle a bit more to the center in the national discourse, and the Leftists will only want to take half of your guns.

However, it could all be a mere ruse orchestrated by Cuomo’s handlers to garner the former CNN host a larger viewership and maybe none of it was sincere. Time will tell!