It is said with much confidence lately that the so-called “Right” is bereft of ideas, especially compared to the twenty year period from, say 1962-1982. There is something to the relative part of the argument – but that is because the earlier period was so rich with proposals and ideas to lay out a new course following the (sorta) decline of the New Deal consensus. However, that does not mean that there aren’t a lot of interesting and thoughtful ideas bubbling up on the Right. In other words, in absolute terms, ideas aren’t dead amongst conservatives and libertarians.
Case in point - the first 10 minutes of my day. I started by seeing and reading (in establishment sources) an innovative proposal by Randy Barnett and William Howell (the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates) to invigorate federalism and increase democracy by enacting a constitutional amendment to give the states the right to repeal federal laws or regulations. Then I saw a new policy paper that explains the problem with mandating derivatives and proposes the use of an auction mechanism instead. And I hope I can find some time this weekend to look at Rep. Paul Ryan’s “A Roadmap for America’s Future.” I’m sure another ten minutes would produce other examples since my morning today wasn’t all that atypical from other days perusing the landscape of ideas on the Right.
[...] Ideas and the Right, September [...]