Almost all public political dialogue is rooted in culture war issues because that’s what sells. It’s the only thing that people will pay attention to, it’s the main thing that will get them out to vote. One suspects it could not be otherwise…
George Hawley insightfully analyzes several different strands of conservativism—some more fringe than others—demolishing the view of conservatism as a unified movement. He first describes how “mainstream” conservative orthodoxy has at times been enforced, and then digs into a number of right-wing groups who have been out of the mainstream:
Originally published 10/31/2018 on Arc Digital
There has been great interest among the chattering classes concerning the degradation of our democracy. The topics by now are familiar: political polarization, media fragmentation, the culture of outrage and demonization, conspiracy theories, election meddling, tribalism, populism, fake news, echo chambers, incivility, and so on. In many respects, these are overlapping and intersecting maladies. But by far the most significant effect of our polarized moment is the diminishing ability of Congress to address national challenges.
Some of the commentary on this issue is alarmist; some is purely analytical. Only occasionally are solutions actually suggested, such as legislative proposals, partisan crusades, or attitude adjustments. Let us evaluate a few of the solutions—though, fair warning: skepticism is merited.