Idea in Progress #6: On the Other Hand
Then again, maybe self-affirming as a "conservative" isn't the answer
So, I impulsively wrote this back in February. I still stand by the main thrust of the piece, but I’ve been doing some rethinking of its resulting suggestion, that of accepting or even embracing the label of being conservative or center-right.
First off, in this year’s midterm elections in the United States, I think we’re almost guaranteed to see a “red wave.” That is, the Republicans will certainly retake the House of Representatives and are in jumping distance to recapturing the Senate as well. I think this needs to happen, for a number of reasons:
Democrats, by and large, were the strongest supporters of Covid-19 lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, business shutdowns, and school closures. As the counter-example of Sweden shows time and again, this maximalist approach was a disaster. Additionally, it created the economic distortions that led to supply-chain disruptions, inflation, and several other issues. They deserve to be punished for it.
Democrats, even moderate ones, are still too timid in standing up to the ideological fringe driving the culture wars, and which has gained control over the entertainment industry, the media, academia, activist orgs and NGOs, and many corporate administrative functions (especially HR). They deserve to be punished for it. A massive Republican victory gives them rhetorical cover to own the pushback against it, much like the the 94’ wave and Nixon’s landslide victory in 72’ did in previous eras of cultural upheaval.
Democrats put this country through the ringer with the spectacle of Russiagate during the Trump years. They deserve belated punishment for this.
Many Democrats currently in congress have not been sufficiently reprimanded for their various pre-Covid or pre-Trump sins. The Obama years (and their aquiesence to some of the worst of the Bush years) provide plenty of examples.
In other words, we need a strategic resetting of the political landscape in the United States. Trump was not the resetting moment a lot of people thought he’d be. He was too much of a narcissist and relished the fight and the drama too much. His cult of personality could never give us what we really need: boring politics.
A red wave this November could do that, especially with some Republicans leaning into economic populism (some of Mitt Romney’s recently proposed legislation for families beinge a good example).
However.
I’m starting to re-think the idea that those of us thrown off the train should embrace membership in “the other team.” After all, left-wing idealism is not the only type of idealism. The left has terms like “progress,” “emancipation,” and “liberation” in its lexicon, due to its origin points in Jacobinism and its progeny in the 19th century. These ideas can sound great in the right context and aligned to practical, tangible goals. But they can also be used to justify outright madness.
But the right is not free from this tendency either. It has its own silly notions of a long-lost and forgotten past, back before decadent things like penicilin and women learning to read ruined man’s ability to shape the world in accordance with God’s divine mandate. I’m being silly, but this sort of talk is not uncommon in certain online spaces on the right. Some of this is straight-up personal branding and commerce (“ACT NOW AND GET OUR TRVE MALE VITALITY PILLS FOR $17.76”), while some is the result of being engaged too long in the pig-sty of cultural warfare.
I can hear you, you know:
“Oh come on, it’s just some weirdos on the internet, who cares? It’s not like they weild real influence or have any meaningful power. It’s just goofy stuff, no one actually takes that seriously!”
Where have I heard that before?
You know. A lot of people said stuff like that about crazy online leftists in 2013 and laughed it off. No one is laughing now.
Here’s a good warning signal to set in your mind. If something seems corny, cheesy and like an overdone schtick, look out. Any ideology or political project predicated on floating signifiers will attract crazy people like light to flies.
If people like us — who don’t fit in easily in any sort of club — decide to throw our lot in with the right to the point of swearing oaths and putting on the uniform, are we really acting as the superlative force that will calm the waters of American politics and culture?
Or are we just defanging ourselves? By accepting the conservative label and jumping into bed with evangelicals, “based” influencers and all other sorts of characters, will we be able to wield them against America’s tormentors? Or will we just BE WEILDED ourselves by another set of them?
My initial thought was that we could dilute the right of its own crazies. But if we take our alliance beyond that of pure, ruthless political strategy, perhaps we ourselves will be diluted. The center can’t hold if it allows itself to evaporate.
I’m still actively thinking through a lot of this. And I can see from other recent articles out in the discourse, others are struggling with this question as well. But I’ve become steadily less sure of wanting to go beyond strategic voting in 2022 (and 2024, depending on what happens) and identifying as center-right or conservative.
Perhaps one day the train can be repaired, its course changed, and some good conductors and engineers can hold it steady for awhile.