What's needed is a full-fledged effort to cultivate "Whole Foods Republicans"—independent-minded voters who embrace a progressive lifestyle but not progressive politics. These highly-educated individuals appreciate diversity and would never tell racist or homophobic jokes; they like living in walkable urban environments; they believe in environmental stewardship, community service and a spirit of inclusion. And yes, many shop at Whole Foods, which has become a symbol of progressive affluence but is also a good example of the free enterprise system at work. (Not to mention that its founder is a well-known libertarian who took to these pages to excoriate ObamaCare as inimical to market principles.)
What makes these voters potential Republicans is that, lifestyle choices aside, they view big government with great suspicion. There's no law that someone who enjoys organic food, rides his bike to work, or wants a diverse school for his kids must also believe that the federal government should take over the health-care system or waste money on thousands of social programs with no evidence of effectiveness. Nor do highly educated people have to agree that a strong national defense is harmful to the cause of peace and international cooperation.
While Rod Dreher's correctly states, "Man, somebody ought to write a book about these crazy people! Oh wait." , it has been awhile since this segememnt of the GOP got some national atttention. It would be nice if it starts a trend.
3 comments:
Interesting post. I may just fall into this category. Except i can't stand the "republican" moniker because it reminds me too much of the ignorant intolerant religious freak-nut aspect of contemporary republicanism that I find abhorrent. How about: “Whole Foods Conservative.”
That works for me
I've been talking at my own blog the last few days of those social conservatives like Maggie Gallagher who write about studies saying the married are better emotionally adjusted than the never-married and this ties in with your theme here. My point is that some of the points the social-cons make are too personal and divisive and may alienate many conservatives who don't fall into their preferred categories. The larger goal of conservatism should be to throw libs out of office and what does it matter if half of conservatives aren't married or what have you? I think the social-cons lose sight of the bigger picture imo.
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