of an addition to his suite of excellent posts on the state of American Conservatism.
Here is a little taste:
The Four Types of Conservatives
Most conservative political figures break down into one of four broad groups. They are Reckless Addicts, Proud Zealots, Stealthy Extremists and Sober Adults. Needless to say, they do not exist in equal numbers. The first three categories can overlap, but in individual conservatives, one flavor tends to dominate.
I'll be primarily discussing congressional conservatives (mostly Republicans, plus some Democratic Blue Dogs) and the professional political class, not average Americans (who tend to be more sensible). The full range of American conservatism is better described in a 2009 post, "Diagrams of Conservatism,"which remains depressingly relevant. (There was also a companion piece looking at American politics as a whole.)
You should go read the rest of it right now.
Seriously, what are you still doing here?
Go-go-go.
4 comments:
Might a Venn diagram be more appropriate than discrete squares?
It could have used some breakdowns by age, gender, region, religion, and occupation just to aid in identification purposes, but otherwise this is the most spot on analysis of the current state of American politics I've seen ever on a blog and not in book form.
Thanks for showing it to us, driftglass.
Well, I'm here to read another epic takedown of David Brooks, see another plunger put to Andrew Sullivan's memory-hole (damn, that sounds dirty), and listen to the podcast! Jeez!
@Wayne: You must go read the linked post - and then related other "Diagram" posts. He does Venn Diagrams in droves.
@Batocchio: Remember, on the "in between" days for DFB posts you can usually rely upon, as often linked here, Mr. Charles P Pierce for material on that topic, or similarly entertaining writing on others. (You're welcome.) :-)
DG: Thx for the link'age to Vagabond Scholar - another great blog - but holy crap those posts are Lawrence of Arabia in length. There goes the *rest* of my free time. "Thanks" for that... :-)
But seriously, thanks & keep up the great work !
(And sorry if I'm overdoing it a bit on the smileys..)
-Mike from CA
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