This piece from W. James Antle III in The American Conservative is another attempt to find a new way forward between what he sees as the two current poles within the Republican party: “There is a flavor of conservatism that has not been discredited by the events of the past eight years. If anything, its criticisms of loose monetary policies, overconsumption, reckless private and public borrowing, uncontrolled immigration, and foreign adventurism now seem prescient. It is a conservatism unburdened by the Iraq War, the ‘heckuva job’ response to Hurricane Katrina, and the financial meltdown, which are really the biggest contributors to the GOP’s decline. Most of all, it is a conservatism that does not need to rehabilitate the Bush legacy since its leading exponents were never full-time Bush apologists.”
With all the talk about how the GOP has to find its way again after the last two election cycles, it’s disheartening that fewer people are actually engaging in the thoughtful work of actually articulating what the right way should be for Republicans. I think this piece by Scott Payne is a good starting place to identify some core areas that conservatives should embrace or re-embrace, in some cases.
