[NYer]

Joe Hargrave writes from Phoenix. He blogs at A New Catholic Paradigm, Vox Nova

[NYer]

Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[pissant]

“The prospects for conservatism as a political force in the United States are arguably grim”

I have a novel idea. Let’s try it first before we give up on it.

[x]

The idea has caught on in other Western nations. Conservatives in Canada and the United Kingdom are coming around to "Red Toryism," a refreshing mixture of tested conservative values with bold new economic proposals. One of its leading spokesmen, Phillip Blond, explains why conservatives ought to find it appealing in his article "The Rise of the Red Tories" (bear in mind that, in the British context, "liberal" means what "classical liberal" means in America):

Conservatives who believe in value, culture and truth should therefore think twice before calling themselves liberal. Liberalism can only be a virtue when linked to a politics of the common good, a problem which the best liberals -- Mill, Adam Smith and Gladstone -- recognised but could never resolve. A vision of the good life cannot come from liberal principles. Unlimited liberalism produces atomised relativism and state absolutism . . .

[I]f Conservatives are to take power . . . and give it to the people, they must develop a full-blooded "new localism" which works to empower communities and builds new, vibrant local economies that can uphold the party's civic vision.

I wouldn't dismiss his view entirely, but too often "red toryism" (or the American equivalent) is "me-tooism": it's simply offering just what the left offers only less of it.

There are times when voters like that sort of thing (the 1950s are a classic example), but sometimes it's also necessary to straighten things up and clean house, since too much me-tooism results in economic stagnation.

[Mogollon]

Reagan conservatism works everytime it’s tried. Problem is, we haven’t tried it since Reagan left office.

[Steamburg]

Is Hargrave part of the Californication of AZ. He needs a frank visit with Sheriff Joe. AZ doesn’t need a fence with Mexico, they need one with California.

[Altura Ct.]

The prospects for conservatism as a political force in the United States are arguably grim. The GOP's electoral prospects may be on the verge of drying up due to demographic shifts, particularly the growth of the Hispanic vote -- the kind of shifts that, in the past, have driven major political parties into extinction.

There are serious problems with the youth vote as well. Some commentators insist that the GOP must begin distancing itself from moral issues such as abortion and gay marriage, that it must put on a more "socially progressive" face if it is to win this demographic. But President Obama didn't win the Christian vote because he was pro-choice, or tolerant of gay marriage, or because he favors gun restrictions. If anything, he won it in spite of those positions, because Christian voters in the 21st century, for better or worse, place other issues (like the economy) higher on their priority lists.

Communism is dead! Yeah right.

God save us from those hellbent on destroying our country, culture, heritage and race.

Molon Labe - I defy them!

[familyop]

"...they must develop a full-blooded "new localism" which works to empower communities and builds new, vibrant local economies that can uphold the party's civic vision."

The local leaders are as bad as the federal leaders. Further "empowering" the local leftist government/corporate mafia witches won't help.

"The state-managed economy...can be countered with a communitarian, cooperative vision in which the state plays a supporting role."

...communism by another name. The local elites are nasty. They shut down attempts by families to start new businesses, because they don't allow competition. They steal children from working class families to sell them to their friends by way of local governments.

We need new leadership at all levels of government, business and academia. We should encourage the spendthrifts to spend more, and welcome the ensuing defaults. They are pushing for their own demise.

[parsifal]

This is probably the best article I have read on FR in the last 11 years.

“The final piece of the puzzle is for Conservatives to break with big business. We must end a model in which competition is reduced to a cartel of vast corporations maximising profits by discouraging competitors and minimising wages by joining with the liberal left to encourage mass immigration. A covert alliance between the liberal left and liberal right has destroyed incomes and identity at the bottom of the scale.”

parsy, who has been preaching this for years on FR and in fact, became a democrat after Bush signed the bankruptcy reform bill.

[parsifal]

I actually saved the article to my word processor. I love this gem:

The state-managed economy envisioned by some Democrats cannot be successfully countered with the standard laissez-faire rhetoric — but it can be countered with a communitarian, cooperative vision in which the state plays a supporting role.

parsy, who thinks the country is ripe for intelligent conservatism

[SuziQ]

I think Mr. Hargrave is confusing what has happened in the financial markets recently with Republican principles. What we've had for the last several years is NOT a 'free market'. If the economy were run under the principles that conservatives have proposed for many years, we'd have prosperity, and the economy would provide opportunities for lower income folks to bring themselves up in their economic status. For those who truly cannot help themselves, Republicans have always advocated providing help, we just don't like subsidizing freeloaders.

Some Catholics mistakenly believe that the Democrats are much better on 'Social Justice' issues, because they give money to the 'poor'. What they don't understand is that just giving folks money doesn't necessarily help them in the long run; they just become dependent on the assistance. This has what has happened as a result of the War on Poverty, which we seem to be losing.