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What the GOP Needs Is a John Wayne

Community, not freedom, is the true Western virtue: Brooks

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted May 5, 2009 9:28 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Republicans have admired Westerns for decades, continually flocking to leaders—Goldwater, Reagan, Bush, Palin—who embody the John Wayne ideal of individualism and bravery. But as David Brooks writes, Westerns aren't really about lone heroes, but "civic order": how newcomers build communities in inhospitable regions. For the New York Times columnist, a true John Wayne figure would be devoted to "community and order, and the bonds that built the nation."

The GOP has become so individualistic that it has no tools to speak to the young, who are "exceptionally community-oriented," or to the lower middle class, "who fear that capitalism has gone haywire." The Republicans can continue to obsess over freedom from government, and isolate themselves from the cities and suburbs. Or they can be true Westerners, and stake their claim on "the health of the communal order."

George W. Bush addresses the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25, 2008. Sarah Palin is second from left.
George W. Bush addresses the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25, 2008. Sarah Palin is second from left.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
John Wayne and Joanne Dru as Captain Nathan Brittles and Olivia Dandridge respectively in a scene from 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,' directed by John Ford.
John Wayne and Joanne Dru as Captain Nathan Brittles and Olivia Dandridge respectively in a scene from 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,' directed by John Ford.   (Getty Images)
John Wayne stars as Robert Marmaduke Hightower in 'Three Godfathers,' from 1948.
John Wayne stars as Robert Marmaduke Hightower in 'Three Godfathers,' from 1948.   (Getty Images)
July 1964: A Goldwater girl campaigning for Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate for the Presidential election, in Sherman Oaks, California. Aged between 18 and 25, the Goldwater Girls will be continuing their support for Goldwater at the Republican Convention in San Francisco.
July 1964: A Goldwater girl campaigning for Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate for the Presidential election, in Sherman Oaks, California. Aged between 18 and 25, the Goldwater Girls will be...   (Getty Images)
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The Republicans talk more about the market than about society, more about income than quality of life. They celebrate capitalism, which is a means, and are inarticulate about the good life, which is the end. - David Brooks

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 10 comments
prowlerzee
Jun 8, 2009 2:15 AM CDT
What the Republicans have is a Jane Wayne. Gun-toting. Western. Family oriented...wayyyyy moreso than Reagan who dumped his first wife and their own kids didn't talk to Ron and Nancy for years.
prowlerzee
Jun 8, 2009 2:13 AM CDT
A socialist? Only in your fevered dupedom. He's a Trojan Ass. Appointing more pro-lifers than Palin ever would, to the utter silence of the left, who would've been screaming about it had a Republican done it. Open your damned eyes. He's expanding Bush's war on terror, torture program, and faith-based crap.
Vostok
May 6, 2009 2:54 AM CDT
I again agree with Fondue. The notion that our corrupt government (which ever generation seems to recognize as being corrupt) is some how not the byproduct of an institutional flaw is absurd. The problem is just the politics, its representative democracy, its capitalism, its the whole sahbang.

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GOP • Barry Goldwater • Ronald Reagan • Republican Party • David Brooks • conservatism • George W. Bush • Sarah Palin • community

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