#689
As the dust settles on Argentina's midterm elections, it's hard not to feel a thrill in the air—a seismic shift that's rippling far beyond the pampas. Javier Milei, the chainsaw-wielding libertarian firebrand, just delivered a masterclass in defying the odds, sweeping to victory in a contest that the chattering classes swore would bury him. And across the Atlantic, American conservatives are channeling that same defiant energy, from sold-out arenas to surging Bible sales. This isn't coincidence; it's a global backlash against elite overreach, media mythmaking, and a left-wing establishment that's more interested in tantrums than governance. Buckle up— the old guard is trembling.
Let's start with Buenos Aires, where the air was thick with predictions of doom. Outlets like The Economist—ever the oracle of anti-populist piety—forecast a humiliating rout for Milei and a triumphant resurgence for the Peronists, those perennial architects of Argentina's economic misery. They painted a picture of a nation too weary, too protest-riddled, to stomach more reform. Hyperinflation had just crested at post-WWII highs (peaking at 289% annually in late 2023 before Milei's austerity bites took hold), the peso was trading like confetti, and street demos had become a national pastime. Even a stinging setback in the capital's local elections a few weeks prior—where Buenos Aires' coastal elites, ever allergic to chainsaws and fiscal sanity, handed Milei a bloody nose—seemed to seal the narrative. "Game over," the pundits crowed.
Then Sunday night hit like a tango with a twist. Milei's Liberty Advances coalition didn't just win; they dominated, clinching around 41% of the national vote share and securing enough seats in the Chamber of Deputies to fortify his veto power against legislative sabotage. (For context, that's a leap from their 30% in the 2023 generals, per official tallies from Argentina's electoral body.) No more tiptoeing around Peronist roadblocks—Milei can now steamroll bills that clash with his deregulation gospel, though he'll still need to schmooze minor parties for the heavy lifting. Markets loved it: the peso jumped 5% overnight, bonds rallied, and foreign investment whispers turned to roars.
What sparked this? Partly, the $20 billion U.S. currency swap lifeline, greenlit by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent under President Trump's nod just weeks ago. Out of a potential $40 billion IMF-style basket, that initial tranche was a shot in the arm for peso stability—explicitly tied to Milei's reform track record. Trump, ever the dealmaker, saw a kindred spirit: a disruptor draining the swamp of socialism. Bessent himself touted it as "mission-critical" to avert a full-blown meltdown, vowing no taxpayer losses. Critics howled "bailout," but let's call it what it is: smart realpolitik rewarding a leader who's slashed subsidies, fired 70,000 bureaucrats, and tamed inflation to single digits by mid-2025. Argentina's GDP is rebounding at 5% annualized, poverty's dipping, and for the first time in decades, the middle class smells hope.
This rout exposes the mainstream media's Achilles' heel yet again. Ninety percent left-leaning (as Pew Research clocked in their 2024 bias audit), they don't report—they prophesy, cocooned in their echo chambers where "facts" bend to appease the progressive blob. Reputed rags like The Economist peddle Peronist sympathy as analysis, ignoring how decades of their "compassionate" policies turned a G20 powerhouse into a beggar state. It's the same script they ran on Trump in 2016, 2020, and now 2024: doom-say until the ballot box slaps them silent. And oh, how they've amped up the hysteria this time around.
Enter Edward Luce's blistering takedown in the Financial Times last week, "The Trump Supremacy"—a rare media mea culpa wrapped in reluctant awe. Luce, FT's U.S. national editor, lays bare how Trump's second-term "overload" strategy—blitzing Congress with executive orders, tariffs, and deportations—isn't chaos; it's calculated dominance. Opponents are "in disarray," allies "in line," and the press? Unhinged. Luce chronicles the freakout: CNN panels melting down over "authoritarianism," The New York Times op-eds likening border walls to the Berlin variety, and late-night hosts recycling Russiagate fever dreams. It's TDS on steroids, he argues, a deranged syndrome where every Trump tweet (or X post, these days) triggers institutional Armageddon alerts. Yet, as I can't help but note, where was this forensic frenzy for Clinton's perjury pardons, Obama's drone strikes and IRS scandals, or Biden's border free-for-all and classified docs debacle? Half the scrutiny—nay, a tenth—might have spared us years of selective amnesia. Luce nails it: the establishment's not just biased; it's broken, more loyal to narrative than truth. If only they'd turn that mirror inward.
That media madness is exactly what Megyn Kelly's barnstorming across America is torching. Her "Megyn Kelly Live" tour—hitting 10 cities this fall—has been a conservative Woodstock, with Sugarland and San Antonio already in the rearview as sellouts. (San Antonio's Majestic Theatre with Glenn Greenwald and Emily Jashinsky? Standing ovations. Dallas' Dickies Arena with Glenn Beck? Chants that shook the rafters.) Crowds aren't just showing up; they're unloading in Q&As—eye-openers on everything from Big Tech censorship to the left's governance-by-obstruction playbook. Guests like Donald Trump Jr. are dropping truth bombs on the Democrats' latest low: stonewalling must-pass bills to fund soldiers, air traffic controllers, and TSA agents, all to ram through $1.5 trillion for Obamacare's bloated corpse. Remember, that white elephant passed in 2010 with zero Republican votes, saddling Americans with skyrocketing premiums while sneaking in Medicare expansions for illegal immigrants on the taxpayer dime. It's not policy; it's petulance—a bid to tank the economy and blame the orange man. Her trip ends with a show with Erika Kirk. (Charlie was to attend that event). I wish I could have attended one of her event, I land in San Francisco, 48 Hrs after her last event. May be next time perhaps. !! (She in my female admirer list after Frida-ABBA, Karen Carpenter)
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But here's the beautiful irony: amid the left's Trump Derangement circus, everyday Americans are rediscovering what conservatism has always championed—family, faith, and the Judeo-Christian spine that built this nation. Bible sales? Up 36% in September alone, hitting 2.4 million units as folks seek solace post-Trump's '24 win and the cultural whiplash (Nielsen BookScan data). Trans identification among youth? Plummeted nearly 50% since 2022, down to 3.6% in the latest Gallup poll—proof that the gender fad was always more contagion than conviction. And women? For the first time since WWII, female labor force participation has ticked down, with moms ditching desks for diapers at record clips. BLS figures show a 3-point drop for mothers of kids under 6 in H1 2025, from 69.7% to 66.9%—not burnout, but a triumphant pivot to hearth and home. Birth rates are edging up 2.1% YoY, fertility clinics report conservative-leaning inquiries surging, and church attendance? Clocking 15% gains in red states (Barna Group). Democrats, bereft of vision—no leader post-Harris meltdown, no agenda beyond "not Trump"—are left clutching their pearls, their bluff called by a public that's done with division.
Look, I'll confess: I wasn't always Team Milei. The Falklands scar still stings (1982's needless bloodbath), and who forgets Maradona's "Hand of God" cheat in '86? But life's too short for grudges. As psychologist Susan David puts it in her book Emotional Agility, it's about labeling the feels, then letting 'em go to chase what's next. Argentina's turning that page—why can't we all? Milei's surge isn't isolated; it's the conservative phoenix rising, from the Río de la Plata to the Rio Grande. Protests yield to productivity, echo chambers crack, and values reclaim the center. America? She's back—stronger, saner, and singing "Don't Tread on Me" in harmony with gaucho grit. The left's welcome to keep raging. We'll be over here, building.
What say you, readers? Spot any other surges on the horizon? Drop 'em in the comments—let's keep the conversation chainsaw-sharp.
Karthik
28/10/25. 930am.
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