Election further thoughts

I've been reading a certain amount of election follow up by other people. The reaction on the right has been all over the map. Most "analysis" is of the if-only-they-had-listened-to-me variety. There are a few truths I have culled elsewhere that I think are worth repeating.

I think Ramesh Ponnuru is correct in arguing that the problem was that the party dragged Romney down more than that Romney was such a weak candidate. And the reason the party dragged Romney down is because it shows no obvious concern nor does it have any message to the average voter.

I think Ralph Benko is correct in arguing that Bushite technocrats are a huge problem for the Republican party and that they have used and abused their control over fundraising to keep Reaganite candidates from rising to the top.

And I think that I am right that the culture war and the Catholic intellectuals pushing it has become an albatross around the Republican party's neck. I did not think this before the election and do not accept this without reluctance but accept it I must. There are some great further points on that line made by John Hindraker:

It seems obvious that the evolution of social issues from crime and welfare to abortion and gay marriage has hurt the Republican Party. Crime and welfare were serious public policy issues that could be, and were, debated from empirical premises. Abortion and gay marriage are moral, largely religious issues, and are less amenable to public policy debate. They are, for reasons that are entirely understandable, governed more by emotion than by empirical data. A great many people are heartily sick of these issues and wish they would go away, while others view them as matters of moral duty that are key to the ultimate survival of our civilization. Whether you agree with the latter perspective or not, it seems clear that contemporary conservatives have reached a dead end in their approach to the social issues. If we want to do better in future elections, we need, I think, to recalibrate our approach–by which I do not mean adopting liberal positions.

You want to read the whole thing. I'd add that while I agree that it would be a mistake to simply adopt liberal positions, it also seems to me that we Catholics need quietly go away until we can prove we are capable of arguing constructively on the matter.

In any case, I believe those are the three lessons to take home from this election.