Contrarianism Isn’t Conservatism

At the root of any contrarian idea is to take a specific view or action because the wrong kind of people say to do the opposite.

Writing for The Atlantic, David French argues that a small but loud wing of the GOP has been overrun by contrarianism. Contrarianism is why only 57% percent of Republicans, compared to 76% of Democrats, believe we should be on the side of Ukraine after the Russian invasion. It’s why only 56% of Republicans are vaccinated, compared to 92% of Democrats.

The problem, however, with the contrarianism of those on the right like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Candace Owens, and Tucker Carlson is that, aside from being unhelpful, it goes too far in some areas and not far enough in others. French points out that those who follow a contrarian argument against Covid will shout down the vaccine because Covid is “just a cold.” However, when these folks are shouting about Covid being a cold, they are also trying out fad drugs like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin.

Even if contrarian logic seems appealing now, and French argues that so far a minority of the party finds it attractive, you cannot sustain it for long. Contrarianism works, to the extent that it does, when you are not in power, because contrarians rely on those with power to set the narrative. But the purpose of political parties is to win elections and, in doing so, to gain control of the legislative and executive branches of the American government. In short, political parties exist to gain power. At some point, the Republican Party will be in control again. If their best, or loudest arguments, are purely contrarian, who will take them seriously?

2 More Things

1) Andrew McCarthy has an illuminating piece in the National Review about Senator Josh Hawley’s smear campaign against Biden’s SCOTUS Nominee Ketanji Jackson Brown. In short, according to McCarthy, Hawley’s claim that Judge Brown was soft on child pornography offenders is one part misdirection and one part hoping people will not investigate his claims. Judge Brown has handed out lighter sentences to those who consumed child pornography, but she has had a tough stance on those who created or distributed child pornographic material. McCarthy argues that this is always how the law works. So either Hawley is not as bright as he wants to seem, or he does not believe the American public is. Neither is a good look.

2) The Washington Post reports on new research that shows Christian nationalists are becoming more radical and are targeting voting. If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you are likely not surprised by this information. Christian Nationalism has been on the rise since 2016 and certainly since 2020. What is new is, as WaPo reports, that members of Congress are now getting involved. Members of the Freethought Caucus, a small group including Democratic House members Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Zoe Lofgren of California, and Steve Cohen of Tennessee, hosted a briefing called, “God Is On Our Side: White Christian Nationalism and the Capitol Insurrection.” The goal of the virtual briefing was to bring awareness to Americans about what the caucus sees as the threats of Christian nationalism.