Young, unpredictable and right-wing
Posted by Don Arthur on Friday, July 18, 2008
"Over the past five years, a group of young and unpredictable rightward-leaning writers has emerged on the scene", writes David Brooks in the New York Times. Instead of rising through the official channels of the movement, he says, "they found their voices while blogging. The new technology allowed them to create a new sort of career path and test out opinions without much adult supervision."
In passing Brooks mentions Will Wilkinson, Megan McArdle, Yuval Levin, Daniel Larison, Julian Sanchez, James Poulos, Matt Continetti and, Ramesh Ponnuru. He then goes on to plug a new book by Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam — ‘Grand New Party: How Republicans can Win the Working Class and Save The American Dream‘. According to Brooks, the book is "the best single roadmap of where the party should and is likely to head" (Douthat isn’t so sure the party will take his advice ).
I haven’t had a chance to read Grand New Party, but it sounds like it’s in the same genre as Ruy Teixeira and Joel Rogers’ America’s Forgotten Majority: Why the White Working Class Still Matters. — a 2000 book that argued that Democrats could win back the white working class by focusing on values (this book, in turn, was a successor to Scammon and Wattenberg’s The Real Majority).
These kinds of books are mostly spin. Instead of presenting a coherent philosophical and policy position, they try to craft a message that will appeal to the target group without alienating the party’s base. Policies are chosen for their value as symbols rather than because there’s evidence they’ll actually work. Maybe Douthat and Salam’s book is different. But I’m not surprised that Douthat feels an affinity for the early neoconservatives and Britain’s David Cameron.
Of all the writers in Brooks’ list, Will Wilkinson is my pick. It’s not because I always agree with him (or because he links to my posts), but because he takes political philosophy and social theory seriously. When Will wants to know how the economy works, he doesn’t consult an opinion poll to find the answer.
This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 10:50 AM and filed under Politics - international.
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But that’s how you win elections, Don. The political philosophy remains the same but the message is communicated with different words.
These have political philosophies redrafted in new language… well
not so much.
Posted on 18-Jul-08 at 11:30 am | PermalinkGrand New Party is paleo-conservatism with a polite face
http://www.vdare.com/sailer/080713_ideas.htm
For a libertarian critique see here
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/16/ross_is_right/#more
Posted on 18-Jul-08 at 11:50 am | PermalinkI have been a reader of the blogosphere since 2002. During all that time I have found just one new idea on social and economic organisation that seems like it might have some value and I don’t think I even got that from a blog.
Blogs are often fun to read but eventually you realise that the underlying ideas and arguments never really change.
Posted on 18-Jul-08 at 5:38 pm | Permalinkswio – Now you’ve made me curious. What was this new idea and are sure it wasn’t just an old idea you hadn’t come across before?
Posted on 18-Jul-08 at 6:01 pm | PermalinkI don’t see poor old (I mean young) Michelle Malkin in there, what is she, chopped liver?! Her wingnut credentials are impeccable. And what about Caitlin Flanagan? Just to name two off the top of my head.
Posted on 18-Jul-08 at 8:03 pm | PermalinkHelen: the writers Brooks mentions are the wonky types who are into ideas and social policy. Their ideas may not be very good. Some are dishonest. Brooks himself is the type of person who writes amateur social analysis for the New York Times, and (by utter coincidence) always comes to conclusions that coincide with the Republican agenda. In other words, he’s a hack. But none of them are Our Lady Of Perpetual Outrage – the woman who wants to tell you why Dunkin’ Donuts supports terrorism, and why Absolut Vodka advocates Reconquista. One of these things doesn’t belong with the others.
Posted on 19-Jul-08 at 12:25 am | Permalinkeveryone has opinions, but why is there a need to categorise, pidgeon-hole or otherwise put those opinions into boxes for simple dismissal?
Posted on 19-Jul-08 at 6:24 am | PermalinkIs Lloyd gay?
Posted on 19-Jul-08 at 7:43 am | PermalinkLet me be clearer this fine morn: “Their ideas may or may not be very good.” I blame the Tour de France for my ambiguity.
Posted on 19-Jul-08 at 8:17 am | PermalinkI’m a fan of Will Wilkinson too, but even in America nobody is going to win elections on a platform taken from the Cato policy handbook. JC’s right that thinking about how to win elections is important too.
Posted on 19-Jul-08 at 12:07 pm | Permalink[...] few days ago, Don Arthur drew my attention to the latest ‘rebuilt the busted GOP from the Ground Up’ tome, Ross [...]
Posted on 22-Jul-08 at 5:23 am | Permalink