The aimlessly-wandering GOP

As implied by my previous post, the discussion on the future direction of conservatism continues over on Slate. The best, most direct point so far that sums up the GOP’s current predicament (from Doug Kmiec):
One needs a philosophy of governance in addition to honoring the constitutional structure. Barack Obama’s philosophy of government provides service for [...]

Lessons from George W Bush: #438

Tucker Carlson on what the GOP needs to do to regain the majority:
Finally, after the party has settled on what it believes, it ought to go shopping for a leader. I recommend someone who speaks fluent English. This matters, it turns out, and not just for aesthetic reasons. In a democracy, eloquence is a basic [...]

What’s next for American conservatism?

Slate magazine is hosting an online discussion (in the form of back-and-forth posts, not a live chat) on the future of conservatism in the new Obama era.  Tucker Carlson, Ross Douthat, Douglas Kmiec, Jim Manzi, Kathleen Parker, and Christine Todd Whitman contribute. Definitely worth checking out.

Electoral politics as a competitive market: What happened?

Slate magazine’s final electoral map projection puts 273 electoral votes in the “safe Dem” column.  There’s a very good chance this election will be the sort that my generation has never seen: one that is decided early.
As an economist, I believe that competition drives the parties to adapt and market themselves to evenly divide the [...]

The problem with the Right: No longer interesting

Chris Buckley–son of the father of the modern Conservative movement–loses his National Review column after endorsing Obama.  An interesting footnote in the transformation of the Right from entirely intellectual to anti-intellectual.  What would his father have done if he still ran the magazine?
Were his pup still alive, Buckley said, “what my dear old dad probably [...]