A Really Strange Grand New Party Moment
This will not last, but for a brief shining moment Grand New Party lies between Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope and Ron Paul’s The Revolution: A Manifesto on this Amazon subcategory. Thanks are due entirely to the person who, with the exception of my parents, has encouraged and inspired and challenged me the most. I can’t think of what to say right now, but I am inclined to take a deep breath as I am slightly verklempt.
Congrats on the book. I don’t care what Hannity sez ‘bout it.
— Joe Marier · Jun 27, 07:49 PM · #
Well, then, I just followed the link and it was up on top of both of those books at #1. Surely that calls for margaritas.
— Sanjay · Jun 27, 07:55 PM · #
No, I’m pretty sure it’s actually Reihan’s new clips on youtube that deserve credit.
— wph · Jun 27, 09:45 PM · #
Congratulations! Here’s hoping people are listening.
— Trevor · Jun 27, 10:31 PM · #
Larison is young?
The mind reels.
— Freddie · Jun 28, 01:46 AM · #
Freddie: he’s old at heart though.
— Peter Suderman · Jun 28, 03:37 PM · #
I tried to think of why he was older and realized that I had just internalized the idea from his writing. Hope he wouldn’t be insulted by that.
— Freddie · Jun 28, 06:32 PM · #
Congratulations on the Brooks cite. I’m not sure if I’ll buy the book (you and Douthat are already as rich as Croesus, so you don’t need any of my hard-earned dollars), but the reviews and summaries I’ve read make it sound interesting.
I have some questions, however. It sounds like your thesis is that the GOP should move in a more working-class direction, both in terms of policy preferences and identity. Here’s the thing. There are a lot of young Republicans who are affluent or aspiring-to-be affluent businesspeople, who do a lot of the volunteering, organizing and fundraising for the GOP. A lot are socially liberal, but even those who are not tend to be more focused on the GOP as the party of business and capitalism than as the party of anything else. Speaking personally, I drink with a lot of guys who can be described as such. My question is, what is the role in the Grand New Party for guys like that? And if they don’t have a role, what makes you think that your vision of the GOP has a real future? I guess the core of my question is, does your vision of the future GOP have a role for the ambitious yuppies who get together from time to time for drinks at the Petroleum Club of Houston, and if not, what makes you think you can have a viable GOP without them?
— Mark in Houston · Jun 28, 06:34 PM · #
Yes, definitely — we write about this a bit. You deserve a longer answer, and I hope to get to it soon. The basic idea, though, is that the GOP should be the party of aspirational, wealth-building individuals and families in all social classes.
— Reihan · Jun 30, 11:49 PM · #