David Brooks is the only political columnist I follow regularly. Unlike most of the others I’ve encountered, he does a good job of leaving the shrillness behind for more nuanced argument, usually balanced with a good measure of praise where praise is due. So when he writes a column like the one published yesterday, it…
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What’s Actually Wrong with the Republican Party
This piece by Jonathan Bernstein alerted me to this Washington Post op-ed by Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein. Mann and Ornstein suggest that the problem with the Republicans is that they’ve gone too far to the right and are subsequently unwilling/unable to compromise in beneficial ways. The result is more detrimental government gridlock. I think Bernstein…
A Speech for Obama
Recently, David Brooks called on Obama to take up the mantle of reformer, leading a charge to make government “simple, elegant and user-friendly.” Though his column was directed at liberals, Brooks suggested a program designed to appeal across ideological lines. Since my purpose here is to articulate a moderate politics dedicated to a better practice…
Republicans, Massachusetts, and “Authenticity”
An oft-repeated truism of the current Republican primary campaign is that Mitt Romney struggles with demonstrating “authenticity.” It is easy to pin this on his past ‘flip-flops’ played up during the 2008 campaign. Some of it surely has to do with his Mormonism, making him easy to characterize as ‘different.’ But I think there’s an…
Recommendations: Blogs
A brief intermission from the weightier matters for a some overdue credit where credit is due. As regular readers know, I’m pretty picky about my political reading fare, especially when it comes to pundits. But there are a few political blogs that are must-reads for me. I thought I’d pass along my recommendations and let…
How to Compromise
I appreciate the Gail Collins/David Brooks exchanges, and this week’s was especially good. They played at a sort of reverse one-upmanship, exchanging concessions of liberal or conservative sacred cows as an example of bipartisanship. Beyond their ideas (which I think are good), the exchange is worth considering for why it is possible. I see at…
What If Government Can’t Fix This Economy?
David Brooks has suggested as much in two columns this month. It used to be an article of faith among conservatives that the economy was self correcting and the government should simply stay out of the way. While moderates usually favor some federal government intervention in preserving rights and enforcing regulations, they have often been…
Pundits, Part II
In contrast to George F. Will, I continue to enjoy David Brooks. I appreciate his Hamiltonian conservatism and his commitment to moderation in our politics. His latest column is no exception. In contrast to Will’s goal of a political victory, Brooks’s goals is a governance victory. The question he poses to Republicans is not “How…