When former Bush speechwriter (and former columnist for TheWeek.com) David Frum announced he was ending his popular blog on The Daily Beast, he left a checklist for conservative reformers to ponder and follow. Frum, who has been critical of conservative icons such as Rush Limbaugh and “the conservative entertainment complex,” has fueled a debate over the tone, content, and direction of conservatism — a debate particularly important given a recent report by the College Republican National Committee detailing the Republican Party’s big trouble with younger voters.
The College Republicans report said young voters surveyed found the GOP “closed-minded, racist, rigid, [and] old-fashioned,” dismissive of Latinos and other groups, and that it’s losing young voters due to “outrageous statements made by errant Republican voices.”
Here’s Frum’s advice and critique: “1) There remain too many taboos and shibboleths even among the conservative reformers…. 2) Conservative reformers are understandably allergic to arguments about income inequality…. 3) Conservative reformers must not absent themselves from the environmental debate… 4) Conservative reformers should make their peace with universal health coverage. It’s the law, and it won’t be repealed.” And here’s number five:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.