For shear diabolical cleverness, you have to admire the liberal media for appointing their own mainstream Republican spokespersons. The Davids (Frum and Brooks), Kathleen Parker, George Will, etal...people so out of touch with the conservative mainstream that they don't "get" Sarah Palin and much else that happens between the coasts.
There is a clear agenda, driven from the White House, to make the media disenfranchisement of the conservative heartland complete, by working hard to excise actual effective voices of mainstream American conservativism--namely Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter.
The Vichy Republicans are only too happy to be of service in helping Democrats in their search and destroy mission, although I'm not sure how influential trust-find baby Meghan McCain is in her peer group.
To make matters worse, certain individuals continue to perpetuate negative stereotypes about Republicans. Especially Republican women. Who do I feel is the biggest culprit? Ann Coulter. I straight up don’t understand this woman or her popularity. I find her offensive, radical, insulting, and confusing all at the same time. But no matter how much you or I disagree with her, the cult that follows Coulter cannot be denied. She is a New York Times best-selling author and one of the most notable female members of the Republican Party. She was one of the headliners at the recent CPAC conference (but when your competition is a teenager who has a dream about the Republican Party and Stephen Baldwin, it’s not really saying that much).Coulter could be the poster woman for the most extreme side of the Republican Party. And in some ways I could be the poster woman for the opposite. I consider myself a progressive Republican, but here is what I don’t get about Coulter: Is she for real or not? Are some of her statements just gimmicks to gain publicity for her books or does she actually believe the things she says? Does she really believe all Jewish people should be “perfected” and become Christians?
I absolutely believe that Meghan McCain doesn't "get" Ann Coulter. Meghan doesn't share the fury of conservatives, doesn't realize that this is war and that the courtesy of her liberal friends will end with her usefulness to them. Ann Coulter knows exactly who the liberals are and what they want from us--everything.
Nevertheless--conservatives have a problem here.
Democrats have realized that they are never going to win over the Reagan generation, so they've decided to wall them off and let them die a natural death. All their efforts are focused on the under-forty crowd, and all the best conservative spokespersons are in their forties and fifties.
Who are the authentic conservative voices among the younger generation? Where is Rush Jr.? I think this is an aspect of conservative/Republican strategy that has been completely ignored because culturally we find it difficult to think in 'command economy' terms. Liberals on the other hand, have no trouble at all. A perfect example of this is Ross Douthat, a twenty-something Hahvad graduate from Connecticut who now lives in Baltimore. Notably, David Brooks thinks he's great--a Vichy Republican from the cradle. Douthat's writing is passable, but hardly brillant, and yet he's gone from grace to grace, current enjoying a senior editor post at The Atlantic.
To be fair, this is not that dissimilar to Ann Coulter's background, so Douthat may yet transcend his suspect origins. Of course, Ann doesn't get promoted--she get's fired. Twice from MSNBC, once from USAToday. A best selling author of seven books, one can only read her column in six conservative newsmagazines. Douthat is clearly a much tamer conservative, and like all domesticated animals, so much more useful to his liberal ranchers.
We ignore the dynamic at our peril. We can let the liberals nominate the new generation of conservative voices, or we can do it for ourselves. We should be combing the conservative heartland for brilliant, courageous and authentic young voices to capture the imaginations of their peers.
Let them be from Kansas rather than Connecticut though...
Comments (2)
It's striking how brave conservative women are. Thatcher - in a class of her own, Palin, Coulter and others. They'll go into the lion's den and speak truth to sour; they'll tut-tut at men afraid for their own careers; they'll flutter their lashes at suave baldies like Mitterand. Right now Coulter's in the ascendant. Imagine Kos in a threatening environment. He'd squeak and leave. Coulter tosses her head and laughs in the face of danger. The Frums and Brookses are stuck on stupid, while the truly intellectual women tap into the life forces of experience, courage and laughter. We'll win yet.
Posted by mark | March 10, 2009 1:49 PM
Posted on March 10, 2009 13:49
There was a time when Ann Coulter got on my nerves, but I've grown to like her by reading her columns. There's nothing wishy washy about her. She's consistent, and I truly believe that she's honest. Meghan McCain's father has been used by the Liberals for years. What you write scares me but I think you're right on the money. We better get our act together.
Posted by Ac Chickadee | March 10, 2009 1:54 PM
Posted on March 10, 2009 13:54