13. Yet he understands the need for "a right-of-center program that is detached from the conservative movement" -- and also the inherent disadvantages of trying to devise a public philosophy that doesn't depend upon ideology or modifications to existing GOP policy approaches
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14. We differ, of course, on the question of whether the GOP needs to "die in a fire"; I think it's possible to regenerate the party from the bottom up, as shown by surprising moderate victories over Tea Party conservatives in red states like KS and OKhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/moderate-republicans-arent-dead-theyre-hiding-in-plain-sight/2018/11/09/268c7b1c-e365-11e8-ab2c-b31dcd53ca6b_story.html?utm_term=.dee5df317c65 …
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15. Chait also shares the view that (in Charlie Sykes' paraphrase) "Trump is proof that conservatism was always and everywhere thoroughly racist, morally bankrupt, and populated with hypocrites and authoritarians"; I prefer the "recessive gene" theoryhttps://www.weeklystandard.com/charles-j-sykes/debating-the-once-and-future-conservatism …
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16. But Chait sees clearly that Niskanen is trying to envision "what a well-functioning right-of-center party ought to stand for" -- and even if he thinks the odds are against us, we are fortunate to have such an intelligent and perceptive critic
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17. The final article of note is Mark Lilla's NYRB analysis of the French right, which -- needless to say! -- is not a movement with which Niskanen has the slightest sympathyhttps://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/12/20/two-roads-for-the-new-french-right/ …
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18. Nonetheless, Lilla does an admirable job of pointing out that a right-wing Popular Front is taking shape in Europe & is dangerous precisely because it has a coherent worldview that both the establishment left and right lack. He also sees the need for a center-right counter...
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19. ...that is to say, "a moderate conservative movement [which] might serve as a bulwark against the alt-right furies by stressing tradition, solidarity, and care for the earth"
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20. The center-right may thus be better positioned than the left to successfully oppose the far right & thereby preserve the liberal-democratic values that undergird our political system; it's refreshing to see a liberal analyst acknowledge this reality
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Replying to @RuleandRuin
Lilla is a liberal only in the most attenuated meaning of the term. He's a Public Interest neo-conservative.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
I think we can agree that we live in a moment when the traditional political labels are becoming problematic
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