This T.R. Fehrenbach op-ed might be the most interesting analysis of what ails the Democrats I’ve ever read. “We have met the enemy, and he is us” doesn’t begin to cover it.
Read:
Pioneer conservative intellectuals had no interest in the next election, nor the next. Nor in the party establishment after the Goldwater fiasco of ’64. To the dismay of many elder politicians, they made their ideas mainstream over a course of years.
But this points up a difference between conservatives and Democrats beyond the issues. Conservatives don’t care who runs government so long as it carries out their visions. They worry about the direction of the country, not who’s holding which office. Many have no interest in office or power, preferring influence.
Conversely, Democrats long for office; government is their business. This makes every election a crisis. They must put together winning coalitions, not a generation from now, but today. This cuts long-range thinking off at the pass.
Now go read the whole thing.
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