Reflecting on the brouhaha over the future of American conservatism of late, I am reminded that while it seems evident to me and others on this site that a sizable chunk of conservatives’ problem is that the movement as a whole seems to be doubling down on ideas that have been dealt irreparable blows, there remains a sturdy and increasingly pervasive perception problem as well.
The now infamous Gallup poll that demonstrates GOP losses along pretty much every demographic also happens to show that some of the steepest drop offs have occurred amongst younger voters. And while I think I’ve made it pretty clear that what I happen to think conservatives need to do to rectify these problems is focused on the generation of new ideas, I don’t conversely want to completely ignore the problem of perception, particularly as it pertains to younger voters.
The fact of the matter is that for most people, it just ain’t cool to be conservative anymore.
Now, I know I know, you’re going to tell me that conservatism isn’t about being cool and neither is politics, nor should they be. And I would generally agree with you that the application of ideas to the public sphere and the generation of particular movements towards the support of particular subsets of ideas ought not to be based on the acquisition of flashy, yet ultimately vapid and pretentious monikers.
Of course, as any hip young person knows, coolness, like happiness, is not a fish you can catch. The harder one tries to be cool, the less cool one actually is. And so the insight we pick up from all our adolescent prostrations is that being cool is really a matter of being who you are and being alright with it.
So ironically, I keep thinking that this is where in many ways conservatism has a real edge to use in the coolympics. Which is to say that setting aside the notions of stodgy, old curmudgeons who want you to keep off their lawn, there is vein of conservatism that I personally find utterly captivating and believe has that effortless coolness that could do the movement a world of good right now.
The libertarian leaning-highly critical-mistrusting of government or any authority that might seek to exert control over your life-let me be as I let you be-in fact that element of lazy complacency you take for freedom is a poor substitute for the authentic joy of realized living captured in these tomes of the past that seems to mark so many dissident conservatives with whom I have had the privilege of rubbing virtual elbows captures that coolness of assuming an authentic posture with integrity of doing so for no other reasons than it’s what moves you more intriguingly than any of the liberal tropes in which I’ve traded in the past.
Not surprisingly, a good many (if not most) of the conservatives who are standard bearers for this resurgent Jeffersonian vein tend to, themselves, be younger conservatives who have managed to master the art of negotiating the core principles of worldview to their own contemporary sensibilities.
Perhaps it’s simply a matter of with which conservatives I’ve chosen to hob-knob, but these are some cool folks. Not the least of which because they have also taken on the exemplary task of reconciling their conservative outlook to some of the more land-mine-ish social issues of the time and come out with razor sharp and nuanced takes that not only trollop their predecessor’s gruel, but gives many liberal articulations a run for their money.
Watching them, one quickly comes to the conclusion that these conservatives are highly skilled social navigators who simultaneously affect a believable and intelligent counter-culture stance. The end game being that not only does this brand of hyper-agile and intellectual conservatism bridge the perception gap, it also presents the requisite ideas while maintaining a cultural anchoring against an unmoored sense of identity.
So I keep wondering, when are movement conservatives going to wake up to the fact that their own brand of coolness — the thing they arguably feel most insecure about towards Commander in Cool Obama — is perfectly encapsulated in the very wing of their movement with which they refuse to engage? As effortless cool goes, movement conservatives are like the Charlie Brown of American politics.
Aaugh!
PS – this is not what I had in mind (h/t: Sully)
Will Truman 
Kim 
DensityDuck 
Mark Thompson 
Randy Harris 
Plinko 
Teacher 
Borat: “I do a picture, only small, of the Tishnik Masacre. Where many Uzbeks…crushed!”
Kindly Gray Hippie: “How did you feel when you drew this?”
Borat: “Very proud!”.
KGH: “I’m just listening with sadness…a little sadness for your people…?”
Borat: “Yes…no, it is not sad. It is us who do the kill!”
When in doubt,
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Wait, what? Conservatism isn’t cool?
What the hell am I going to do with all those t-shirts I had silk-screened with the image of Jeane Kirkpatrick?
Place them in a box and store them in your attic, or comparable storage space, until such a time as they become kitsch.
The libertarian leaning-highly critical-mistrusting of government or any authority that might seek to exert control over your life-let me be as I let you be-in fact that element of lazy complacency you take for freedom is a poor substitute for the authentic joy of realized living captured in these tomes of the past that seems to mark so many dissident conservatives with whom I have had the privilege of rubbing virtual elbows captures that coolness of assuming an authentic posture with integrity of doing so for no other reasons than it’s what moves you more intriguingly than any of the liberal tropes in which I’ve traded in the past.
I had to re-read that paragraph like three times. Arggghhh!
A friend of mine recently remarked that being a young conservative these days is kind of like on-line dating; you know a lot of people are doing it but no one admits to it. Then when you meet someone else who is you feel an immense connection and gratitude for the shared admission almost immediately.
At least it wasn’t a 2,500 word post containing nothing but paragraphs like that. Cherish the little things, Mike.
You know, one additional thing I would note about the conservatives I had in mind while writing this is that they don’t wear their ideology on their sleeves. They are who they are, believe what they believe, have down the yeoman’s work in terms of backing up those beliefs, and if you want to engage with them on those beliefs they’re happy to oblige.
Unlike our friends to whom I linked, Serious C and Stiltz, the conservatives I was thinking of feel no need to bling their cred, as it were.
Cherish the little things, Mike.
I’ll also point out that it wasn’t just one paragraph but one sentence….
In my mind the conservatives doing the best work right now are the ones who are honest enough to say they are still trying to figure things out. I continue to maintain a strong belief that the strength of conservatism is an willingness to be introspective.
I agree, Mike. I also think one of the other strengths is a realism about how society and life actually are, as opposed to how we wish they were, or tell ourselves they can be. (God help me) I actually liked the way that John Derbyshire put it in the link from Mr. Kain’s piece about him: “some problems [are] insoluble, some Children Left Behind.” It’s probably not great PR for a pediatrician to concede this, but no amount of social programming will create uniform success for everyone , and a certain degree of resigned honesty about that is missing from our current cultural dialogue. It’s probably a stretch to call that viewpoint “cool,” but it’s necessary.
E.D. – guilty as charged. In my defense, it was one of those hyphenated non-sentences.
Mike and Dan – agreed, that critical mindedness and unflinching focus on reconciling ideology to empirically is, perhaps, one of conservatism’s greatest strengths — when it happens. I think in a lot of ways, Mike, your articulation is what keeps me a fan of Andrew Sullivan despite his foibles. Sully remains a master of think on yr feet blogging from a conservative angle.
Rebelling is always cool.
Johnny Ramone was a brilliant punk artist who knew the best way to freak the normals (for his definition of “the normals”, of course).
Once everyody else’s “the normals” are similar, there will be those who find that the most effective way to freak them will be to go retro.
Rebelling is always cool.
Does that make my unwillingness to sign on with a particular ideological camp a sustained act of coolness?
PS – God piece over the weekend, I swear.
There must be a League of Ordinary Gentlemen style book. Rule 1. Avoid simple declarative sentences.
“Does that make my unwillingness to sign on with a particular ideological camp a sustained act of coolness?”
It’s worth a terrorist fist bump, at the very least.
Actually, Rule 1 is “Don’t Talk about the League of Ordinary Gentlemen Style Book.”
In all seriousness, do you really think that link by Sullivan will attract cool kids to the conservatives? If that crap works, attracts the young, I am willing to join the old uncool conservatives and declare the end of Western Civilization.
Negative Ghostrider, that is why I said, “PS – this is not what I had in mind” (bolding new).
Scott – I read Sullivan too and I admire his willingness to be critical of conservatism. I just have trouble sometimes figuring out just what conservatism means to him.
Don’t get me wrong, some of Andrew’s proclivities can be crazy-making, but his is still an extremely sharp mind in my estimation. Andrew recently described his current orbit as a “libertarian independent”, he’s all about the kind of empirically-based, stick to the facts, conservative of doubt, realpolitik vein of conservatism.
I’d recommend reading his The Conservative Soul, I thought it was both a good and extremely accessible read. This video from a Cato book lecture is also an excellent overview of where Andrew stood in 2006 when he wrote TCS and, I think, roughly where he stands today. You can also download an mp3 of the lecture directly from Cato.
It’s interesting how many principled conservatives are flirting with libertarianism these days. My personal opinion is that libertarians should be seizing this opportunity. They could very well be the salvation of the GOP. The problem is that their very ‘independent’ nature seems to prevent them from being as vocal as they could/should be.
Libertarians don’t know how to seize an opportunity. They’ve spent decades doing little (nothing?) more than sitting around and arguing theory like a bunch of rabbis. When new folk show up, the libertarians invite them into the circle and say “we’re discussing this particular passage” and other libertarians scream “we’re discussing this other one!” and everybody starts yelling.
It’s not exactly the best way to get people to come back a second time.
I wish I could disagree with you on that point Jaybird.
In their defense, the people who do come back tend to stay.
For my part, if I’m going to be screwed over no matter which party is in power, I’d prefer my weekends to be spent with a bunch of rabbis arguing over passages.
You are a Canadian. For anything you say to have relevance, the premise must hold that somehow conservatism in America and your view as a Canadian are in sympatico more than a little bit, and in fact substantially. But how does that premise hold? In all seriousness, why should an American care about what you think of American conservatism? Have you ever lived in America?
Personally, I hate it when the Welsh start commenting. They always open with “I’m from Wales.” Sometimes, that’s the entirety of the post.
Everytime someone from Italy comments, I roll my eyes and say — “Here we go again.”
I think the only cool position now is independent. It’s so damn mysterious. When someone asks you for an opinion, you just look disinterested and say “I’m waiting for Godot.”
Is there anyone who isn’t also a reader of AS?
Matthew Dallman – Protip for you, sweetheart. In the internet era nationalism is not cool. Belief in national borders as some vital, transcendent force is something for the old fogeys, basically. Every English speaking nation spouts the same memes.
“Have you ever lived in America?”
Hillarious in so many ways. Are you sure you have the right America?
James – “Belief in national borders as some vital, transcendent force is something for the old fogeys, basically.”
1. This is the best new since I won Power Ball.
2. I don’t think ageism is necessary, Matthew didn’t ask to be born the 19th century.
Am I allowed to have opinions on other countries or not?
I just want to make sure I don’t break protocol.
2. I don’t think ageism is necessary,
I thought we were talking about cool?
Keep the first rate one-liners coming, gentlemen. I’m indisposed for the day but following via email.
James, it was your “old fogeys” remark, @# 26, that I commenting on.
Scott, hope your back soon. Also, I’m sorry I missed the “not” in your original post, “PS – this is not what I had in mind (h/t: Sully)” Very sloppy reading.
“James, it was your “old fogeys” remark, @# 26, that I commenting on.”
Yah, I know. But if you’re doing what old people do it’s unlikely that you’re cool, as very few old people are cool. Rare exceptions, such as Johnny Cash, notwithstanding, of course. TBH, though, elderly cool is much easier to pull off than middle aged cool, possibly the hardest kind to obtain.
Ageist it could well be, but that’s a consequence of us living in an ageist culture, & until we do not cool will not shift.
At 55 and I can state with certainty that cool is for the young, and for this I’m grateful. My previous obsession with cool almost did me in– although I’m sure I was cool from 1968 to 1982, I just can’t remember any of it.
B.S. young folk are usually too self conscious to be cool. The ultimate is to make into old age (no dying young allowed) and still kick ass.
Some of the coolest people I’ve ever known were not kids. Teachers.
As long as you have Anger Whiggas like the Young Cons as standard-bearers and Rush and Beck as the public face of the conservative ethos, you are FAIL.
The Young Cons alone will drive college students away from the GOP like scalded cats.
Like I said to my frenemy AllahP, the conservative express doesn’t go to cooltown.
You simply can’t get there from here.
Reihan Salam is cool.
Conor and Lieutenant Poulos are cool.
Jim Manzi (i call him Dr. Riddick, acuz of his resemblence to Vin Diesel) is simply ice cold.
But how do you make them represent?
“the conservative express doesn’t go to cooltown”
Tom McCall, ultra cool, got a park named after him in downtown cooltown.
Who??
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