A Grand New Party: Progressive Conservatism

Real Clear Politics’ editorial writer Heather Wilhem reviewed a most fascinating new book by Ross Douthat and Riehan Salam-“A Grand New Party”.

Given the on going turmoil over the future of Iowa Republicans Wilhelm's review is propitously timed. Although we don’t agree with every change in dogma and tactics that Douthat and Salam recommend, Wilhelm’s review makes it apparent that the book provides a very good starting point.

Douthat, Salam, Wilhelm and TRS all agree that the first era of modern conservatism is over. Implicit within such a historical reality is the increasing irrelevance of such shallow tags as “paleo con” (e.g. Pat Buchanan and Thomas Dewey) or “neo con” (e.g. Ronald Reagan and Dick Cheney).

In no way does the end of an era denigrate the titanic figures that created and defined the passing era. President Reagan, of course, dwarfs every other politician of the past fifty years or more. The philosophy of Reagan, limited government that maximizes opportunity, national security that provides freedom and optimism that triumphs over the politics of despair, is an essential part of our Republican precedent, from which most modern solutions will arise. However, the exact policies of Reagan are largely incapable of replication in the 21st Century because the times and issues have changed.

Wilhelm argues, quite aptly, that the middle has returned to a state of political neutrality, more up for grabs than it has been at any time since President Reagan crushed the bitter, incompetent Jimmy Carter in a forty five state landslide in 1980.

Reagan’s election was in many ways the nation’s first rejection of liberal stateism. While governing in the last thirty years two things happened: the times changed and we stopped arguing. We foolishly thought George W. Bush’s reelection marked the complete triumph of conservatism. Instead, it was the end of the beginning, not the end, of our ideological and cultural war to save the nation from the despair, poverty, defeat and slavery that marks the end of history for liberals.

Much as the intellectual and political insurgents of the 70s, before they became the governing elite of the 80s and beyond, we Republicans of the 21st Century can only capture that vast undecided middle by demonstrating that conservative principles bring security and prosperity in the current landscape. We can no longer assume that our increasingly apathetic and mis and mal educated population understand how these United States became so rich and so free before the liberal nihilism overtakes us.

Republicans have to demonstrate how applications of historically successful principles (i.e. “conservatism”) can solve the contemporary problems and provide future security and prosperity (i.e.“progressive”) for the majority and not just the few. Indeed, it is difficult for the average voter to understand why the cost of higher education races ahead of inflation of four or five hundred percent, or why the top level executives of struggling industries (e.g. automotive and financial) obtain bonuses measured in hundreds of millions where the companies they manage hemorrhage loss and the average, non union, employee gets a two and a half percent raise. Four dollar gas will kill working and middle class family economies in allowed to continue for more than a couple of years. Similarly, the social decay that has accompanied the triumph of liberal (or libertine) social policy prevents economic solutions by undermining the social predicates of economic success. We need to provide solutions to such difficult and real problems that do not require the Democrats’ socialist alternatives.

Even if we occasionally win elections, if will make little difference if our victories are won by accepting Democrat ideology. After all, Democrat Bill Clinton,was content to sign the Contract with America into law and leave nothing of lasting significance as President because his governance, particularly post 94, was largely within a conservative paradigm.

So we need to decide the future we want, and then make it. The past is over.