David Brooks: Conservative Movement Has "No Leaders," "No Coherent Belief System," In A "World Of Pain"

Conservative columnist David Brooks envisions very tough times ahead for conservatives. On "Face the Nation" this morning, Brooks says the conservative movement has "no leaders," is in a "world of pain," and lacks a "coherent belief system." Watch a clip from the show (via ThinkProgress).

Comments

[hangdogit]

I have to laugh at how conservatives cling to their outmoded ideas. They say they lost because the GOP was not conservative enough -- that a return to Reaganism will come. This is despite the fact that the anxieties of the '80s -- welfare, taxes, too big government, weak armed forces, malaise -- were largely handled back then and that trickle-down economics, more tax cuts for the rich, more international bullying (eg Iraq), more short-term gratification, more decayed infrastructure, education and health care and much more debt is what got us where we are -- and will never get us out.

The coming GOP battle between the conservative idealogs (eg Palin) and the moderate pragmatists (eg Colin Powell) will be fun -- I've got the popcorn and soda ready!

[CanuckforObama]

Every American has an interest in the possible rise of a more moderate and pragmatic Republican party. The Dems will not hold on to power for ever. I think it's time to be magnanimous towards the opposition. The country desperately needs the culture war to end. By reaching out to Republican moderates, progressives can ensure that a bi-partisan consensus emerges on the key issues facing America (renewable energy, climate change, health care, national security, etc.), while further marginalizing the far right and their destructive discourse. This way, should the Republicans retake power, they will not move to scrap everything the democrats have built up.

[BurtR]

congrats on an intelligent discussion

[babytomata]

Canuck - you are dead right! How refreshing to hear someone from our side be so forward thinking. Time to stop the bush bashing - bush is gone thank god - and concentrate on healing, reaching out and changing minds and hearts!

[joanno]

The first thing that would be helpful to these folks is to stop conflating the word Republican with the word conservative...just had the dems had to distingush itself from the label liberal. It's been a generation since that strategy was born and while it brought them power, painting thelselves into an ideological corner quaranteed that at some point they would become irrelevant­...ideolog­ical bases simply do not have the flexibility to dance with reality. The dems have successfully moved to the center...if the republicans wish to regain some sembleance of power, they will have to do the same. The only question is whether they will allow themselves to.

[bbridges1962]

I realize that most Dem's are good people at heart, but the Repub's lost, and we do not owe them an explanation for their loss in the Presidency!! BE HAPPY!! Rejoice and be glad in it!! I am...and I am looking forward to Obama leading us out of this mess that GWBUSH-hole has created. I hope that I don't ever come face to face with Bush. I have no idea what I may say or do.

[Zofomofo]

Republicans have never had a viable platform. They are founded on the false premise of trickle down and they selfish belief that all those who have money deserve it and all those who don't, don't.
They are really just free market devotees, oh, except for corporations who live a socialist existence.
Thier beliefs are rotten from the core, as is thier religion. Time to evolve!

[sandrarita]

I would say lack of a coherent belief system tops the rest.

[ultrabop]

Unless it is the belief in evil as a good thing in the right hands. "Let them eat cake," would be another aspect of it. Give them "Jesus" as we embrace the devil.

[Icantbelieveher]

I guess it would be hard to give up an entire way of thinking. To have to come to the realization that the majority of the country does not agree that you have a way to lead the country has got to be a harsh reality. And the only thing they can do as a republican party is to disagree with the democrats, otherwise they would have to admit that their way didn't work!

That is why they are so angry! They just don't know what to do, but they know it has to be different than what the democrats want to do. They have to be the opposition, even if they have nothing better to offer!

[3fingerbrown]

If every HuffPo reader chipped in a quarter, we could afford to send Brooks on an around-the-world cruise on the world's slowest boat. And he can take Michael Beschloss with him, with Doris Kearns Goodwin as chaperone.

It seems I can't turn on the TV without seeing one of these three, no matter what channel I try. I expect to see Brooks on the Cartoon Network discussing the realignment of the GOP with Huckleberry Hound. Don't producers of political talk shows have any other names in their rolodex? It's so tedious to see the same people giving the same answers to the same questions day after day.

As long as everyone's so hot for change right now, can't we get a new assortment of talking heads to disagree with for the next four years?

[AkiraBergman]

GOP is anything but conservative. They are nothing but a bunch of cheap salesmen. They are not religious either. It is all a front to sell their brand in the name of their sponsors; corrupt corporations.

[Bendersky]

"and lacks a coherent belief system"

David, are you kidding? Why just the other day I heard one of the conservative faithful came up with the revolutionary idea that republicans have to get back to the basics: cutting taxes and smaller government. How can you say they lack vision when they can come up with such brilliant new ideas?

When things go wrong for the Right, they:

a) Blame the democrats. If that doesn't work, they resort to...

b) Blaming the press. If for some reason these two old stand-by's don't cut the mustard, they...

c) attack each other like wounded sharks.

The conservatives will do anything except consider the possibility that their philosophies and policies are abject failures. It reminds me of when communism fell in Russia. After years of decay and corruption, they finally admitted the system wasn't working.

So repubs, you may want to look at all your free market, anti-environment nonsense and try to something new. The country and the planet need a new vision. Cutting taxes and "drowning" the government is not the solution.

[MajorChode]

It's quite simple really.

Rule#1:
Blame all Republican screw ups on Democrats.

Rule#2:
Take credit for all Democrat successes.

[MajorChode]

The problem was they never succeeded in getting a significant portion of the population to ever buy in to their core ideology. The result was they have gradually brought in all the fringe nuts (neocons, social conservatives, gun-nuts, etc.), until their coherent belief system was completely incoherent. In the end all they were really able to accomplish was the neocon wet dream of invading a sovereign country for no good reason and the elitist wet dream of tax cuts for the rich justified by trickle-down pseudo economic theory. Since the public no longer has the stomach for either, the Republican party is swirling the drain. It's really that simple.

[hapiguy]

David, they have need had Leaders,,,only Greedy make believes,,,,just look around for the proof!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!

[KansasWrangler]

Much like the Democratic Party had to spend a decade trying to redefine itself, so, too, the Republican Party will be struggling for a while. During this chaotic time, the extremists are going to be jockeying for position and cause untold intestinal strife until a more moderate position exerts itself. It is clear that the next generation of Republicans are less culturally restricted as their parents and will emerge as a more pragmatic base of the party.

[MrFabu]

it looks like Obama will be shaping the Republicans, too

[darthdarcy]

I'm hoping to get funding as a 501C-3 for my "Conservatives Anonymous" 12 Step Program for all these lost souls such as our poor Mr. Brooks...!

Hi my name is David and I'm a, "Conservative..!"