Conservative Power

Great article in the WSJ Ed Page today: Cheer Up Conservatives!

One item that seemed especially applicable to ThreeSources:

But is this loss of steam really all that remarkable? All second-term presidents face restlessness in the ranks. And the noise is arguably a sign of strength. The Democrats would give a lot to have a big-tent party as capacious as the Republicans'. One of the reasons the GOP manages to contain Southern theocrats as well as Western libertarians is that it encourages arguments rather than suppressing them. Go to a meeting of young conservatives in Washington and the atmosphere crackles with ideas, much as it did in London in the heyday of the Thatcher revolution. The Democrats barely know what a debate is.

They are right on. The Democrats cannot add coalition members because they cannot branch out if it involves heterodoxy to the base.

The piece is pretty optimistic, though it does underscore the need (oft quoted 'round here) to keep the Evangelicals in the tent.

Another ppg I dug:

The biggest advantage of all for conservatives is that they have a lock on the American dream. America is famously an idea more than a geographical expression, and that idea seems to be the province of the right. A recent Pew Research Center Survey, "Beyond Red Versus Blue," shows that the Republicans are more optimistic, convinced that the future will be better than the past and that they can determine their own futures. Democrats, on the other hand, have a European belief that "fate," or, in modern parlance, social circumstances, determines people's lot in life. (And judging by some recent series in newspapers on the subject, the party appears to have staunch allies in American newsrooms at least.)

I feel better. You?

Politics Posted by jk at June 21, 2005 1:35 PM