I’m working on my PolySci readings essay, and I have finished the first half of it, the conservative half. I still have some reading to do to balance the paper, and as that will be a few days away, I thought I’d take the time to go ahead and post the first half of the essay before it’s completely polished.
The Right Nation written by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge examines the conservative movement?s power, which has veered America sharply to the right. Now we are a distinctly more conservative nation than compared with past administrations. They explore the factions that influence power in the Republican Party, and how the party has been able to expand conservative values into America?s new foreign policy.
The United States sides to the conservative on most of the controversies that divide global opinion. ?America tolerates lower levels of government spending than other advanced countries, and far higher levels of inequality, at least in terms of wealth. One in six American households earned less than 35 percent of the median income in 2002? (Micklethwait/Wooldridge, 7). And in terms of healthcare for its citizens, ?America is the only developed nation that does not have full government-supporeed health-care system, and the only Western democracy that does not provide child support to all families. America is one of only two countries in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development that does not provide paid maternity leave? (Micklethwait/Wooldridge, 7).
Just fifty years ago the power of the Right was considerably less of an influence than it is today. The Great Depression and the Second World War had put its two great ideas to rest. Moderate progressives controlled the head of the Republican Party and President Eisenhower appointed liberal Republican Earl Warren to the Supreme Court. The platforms of Richard Nixon and Jack Kennedy were almost identical in the 1960 presidential race.
Barry Goldwater?s failed presidential campaign in 1964 would go on to influence the Republican Party extraordinarily. ?The senator from Arizona shifted the balance of power in the party westward, to a region where the American dream was being refashioned by sunlight and open space? (Micklethwait/Wooldridge, 9).
Mickletwait and Wooldridge argue that conservatism explains why America is different. America, they say, has produced a far more potent conservative movement than anything else and America as a whole is a conservative place. ?Most Americans still do not realize how extraordinary their brand of conservatism is? (Mickletwait/Wooldridge, 11). While the left has their equivalents in other nations, there are few conservative talk-radio shows and only a handful of Christian radio stations in Europe.
The most recent return to conservative power in America would be George W. Bush?s administration. ?Bush certainly looked an Accidental President? (Mickletwait/Wooldridge, 127) as The Econimist had dubbed him. Bush was able to bring the conservative ideology in a much more tolerant package than America had seen. That coupled with Al Gore?s drifting from the Eisenhower Republicanism of Bill Clinton saw voters willing to take a bet on Bush.
Bush?s strategy of cutting taxes while increasing spending was first attempted in Texas, and resulted in a $10 billion hole in the Texas budget. Bush also kept many of the closest advisors around him Texans. Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, and Alberto Gonzales are all Texans with ties to previous Bush campaigns. However, the influence of Texas is less about people and more to do with his state of mind. Early in his first term he spent as much time as he could at his ranch in Crawford. Texas is conservative America?s America. The ?characteristics, good and bad, that make America distinctive ? its size and diversity, its optimism and self-confidence, its materialism and braggadocio, its incredible ability to make something out of nothing, its violence and religiosity ? and you see them in their purest form in Texas? (Mickletwait/Wooldridge, 135).
Texas also provides the best introduction to Bush?s conservatism. Two particular things that have always loomed large in Bush?s makeup are business and religion. Bush was the first president with an MBA, and he appointed more CEOs to his cabinet than any previous president. ?Bush was the businessman?s choice? (Mickletwait/Wooldridge, 143). ?Pandering to businesspeople is hardly new in American politics, but it is noticeable how many of the shakier periods of the Bush presidency have been produced by either pandering or the appearance of it? (Mickletwait/Wooldridge, 144).
Religion also influences Bush?s decisions, and ?Bush frequently speaks in religious terms, sometimes movingly so, sometimes disastrously so?. ?The influence of religion also pervades the White House? (Mickletwait/Wooldridge, 145). Religious ties can be found in many of Bush?s closest advisors. Bush is careful to choose when he pushes religious beliefs into policy; he has been much bolder in promoting Christian ideas in areas that are less likely to cost him votes.
Conservatives complained for decades that it was impossible to get their message on television. Under Bush, Fox News replaced CNN as the most popular news channel in 2002 giving the conservatives a way to spread their ideas. Fox used cheap talking heads rather than expensive foreign reporting and used the talking heads to wrestle each other intellectually. ?One point that should not be underestimated about Fox is that, for all its partisanship, much of its political reporting is first-rate? (Mickletwait/Wooldridge, 164).
The authors point out that one of the reasons the Right won is that they were clear in getting their message out. ?The conservative foundations know exactly what they want?to change the world in a conservative direction. And they know exactly how they want to achieve their aim?by bringing their ideas to bear on policy making? (Mickletwait/Wooldridge, 166).
