Originally posted by Eversor:
I think the person to follow is Reihan Salam. He wrote a book with Ross Douthat back in 2008 which was very policy heavy which argued that the GOP needed to fundamentally change it's direction and reconcile some of its philosophical tenets to a more overtly activist approach. Salam identifies as a "Reformicon", which is a tiny, tiny movement within American conservatism, but Salam is also the intellectual muscle behind whatever Marco Rubio is doing behind the scenes as he considers waging a primary challenge against Trump in 2020. So I'd encourage you to take a peek at his book, or check out this video from 2008, with Douthat and Salam talking about their book:
It's one of the more promising, innovative and thoughtful intellectual schools within conservatism right now, but whether -- even in extraordinary circumstances -- it could become the dominant ideology of the GOP... I'm doubtful. In that vein, I'd add also that the book was written at a time before people really anticipated a radical realignment to the two parties, and I'd say that many of axes upon which that realignment will occur probably weren't those that Salam and Douthat imagined as being the most relevant in 2008.
It's one of the more promising, innovative and thoughtful intellectual schools within conservatism right now, but whether -- even in extraordinary circumstances -- it could become the dominant ideology of the GOP... I'm doubtful. In that vein, I'd add also that the book was written at a time before people really anticipated a radical realignment to the two parties, and I'd say that many of axes upon which that realignment will occur probably weren't those that Salam and Douthat imagined as being the most relevant in 2008.
The video doesn't talk about their stance so much, so I'll have to check out the book. Thanks for the reference, I'll try to read it here sometime in the next few months.