Moderation in the Face of Extremism is No Virtue
I’ve got a post up at Democracy in America about last night’s primary results, responding to the various pieces talking about how the Tea Party has finally invaded the Northeast and woe is us for the lost age of moderate Republicans.
My point, basically, is that if you don’t want to wind up with a candidate like Paladino in New York, you don’t try to win in a year like this with a candidate like Rick Lazio, someone nobody could possibly get excited about. If you want to ride the wave, and not get swamped, you have to put up people who actually know how to surf, who can speak to the concerns of the moment and who are actually capable people.
I have no love for the Tea Party, or for populism generally. I think populism is actually impossible. Elites make the decisions, and politics is a game of capture-the-electorate. But the Tea Party is a fact, and ignoring or decrying facts doesn’t help anybody. There are moments when the electorate loses confidence in the elites, and too many times recently the GOP has responded to this fact by either trying to order their base around (saying: vote for this guy because he’s electable, and we don’t want to blow this chance) or pandering to the basest instincts of the base (by fawning over radio talk show hosts, elevating symbolic culture-war issues to litmus test status, and so forth, all to try to prove that they’re really “one” with the people). Or, often enough, both simultaneously. And I don’t see how either of these strategies can possibly win back the people’s confidence. Confidence can only be regained by showing actual leadership – saying to people: this is what’s really important, and this is what we’re going to do that the other guys can’t or won’t. There are Republicans who are doing that – Mitch Daniels and Chris Christie are two examples I cite – but not enough and precious few on the national level.
My prediction is that you will see more. What we’re seeing now is petulance for the faux-elite because they aren’t getting their way — this will force them to grow up and give mature responses or get out of the way. You are correct — we need more intellectual content and debate of important, influential ideas and an end to platitudes, slogans, and trite formulas.
— Mike Farmer · Sep 15, 05:18 PM · #
“from”, not “for” the faux-elite
— Mike Farmer · Sep 15, 05:20 PM · #
“Confidence can only be regained by showing actual leadership – saying to people: this is what’s really important, and this is what we’re going to do that the other guys can’t or won’t.”
I’m going to go Matoko-chan here and point out that conservaitives made a bargain with a certain souther white devil and that southern white devil and it’s far flung offspring doesn’t really respond to boring speeches about the reality of our nation and what needs to done about it. They like simple scary stories about good and evil and us and them. That is what the teaparty is all about. Something ain’t right in america and, by God, they are going to do something about it. What it is that ain’t right is unexamined and what they are going to do about it is still to be thought out, but the fear and the anger are where the Rush is anyway. Too much thinking will kill it.
Anyway, what the actual republican party is going to DO in these next couple years with their hyperactive retarded frankestine (Nixon’s Golum) is going to be pretty interesting and guarenteed painful.
— cw · Sep 16, 03:21 AM · #
(Nixon’s Golum)
Are you saying that birth control, divorce, delayed child-bearing, etc. killed the Southern Strategy? That would be kind of awesome, no?
— Tony Comstock · Sep 16, 05:49 PM · #
I’m saying the southern strategy is alive and well and has turned on it’s masters and broken from it’s chains and is thrashing through the countryside wreaking havok.
— cw · Sep 16, 11:03 PM · #
thanks for sharing!
— Replica Swiss Watch · Sep 17, 09:14 AM · #