Recently at Reason.tv: Sam Tanenhaus on The Death of Conservatism

September 21, 2009

Sam Tanenhaus is the editor of The New York Times Book Review and the author, most recently, of The Death of Conservatism, a controversial new book which argues that the contemporary right has forsaken the intellectual rigor and seriousness of William F. Buckley and Whittaker Chambers in favor of shallow partisan politics.

On September 8, Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie sat down with Tanenhaus before he delivered a talk at Washington's American Enterprise Institute. "What conservatism has lost," says Tanenhaus, "is the capacity to elevate the argument. The genius of Buckley was that he made liberals think and write better."

Approximately 8.30 minutes. Shot by Meredith Bragg and Dan Hayes; edited by Dan Hayes.

Go here for more videos, embed code, and downloadable versions.

Subscribe now to Reason.tv's YouTube channel.

Related: Reason.tv interviews political direct-mail king Richard Viguerie on "The Future of Conservatism."

Comments

|9.21.09 @ 4:03PM|#

Just my 2 cents and some common sense:P

People like Tannenhouse are only interested in mental masturbation. Same with Frum and other RINOs. They are upset because their prior audience of genteel conservative media consumers have moved on to greener pastures (Beck, Hannity, Hit 'n Run). So it makes them feel better about their declining "market share" to blame the consumer and say conservatism is dying. Well I'm no Spring Chicken, and from my perch (excuse the pun) I would say the Right is as right as ever and is doing pretty good. 2010 is going to be a blow out - my prediction is that the GOP retakes both houses and at least 8 governorships. People are sick of Obamacare, coddling terrorists, reverse racism, sky high taxes, Obama's crappy economy, deficits, banks, schools, cars etc etc etc. The rage on the Right is palpable.

These "intellectuals" (aka RINO's) are also upset because they have not mastered the new vernacular, ie the langueage of the Net and of the Street. Michael Steele may have drawn giggles when he talked about injecting Hip Hop into the GOP, but he was right. What may look like a "dumber down" discourse to many old school, MSM, dead tree media denizens is actually just a new mode of communicating at work. And just like the Tea Party movement's rhetoric wins the battles day after day after day the war will eventually be decided in our favor, not becasue we are "dumb" but becasue we have mastered the "New Idiom."

"When the going gets tough, Conservatives whup ass."
Ann Coulter

24AheadDotCom|9.21.09 @ 4:08PM|#

The problem with all partisan hacks is that they have problems with the truth. Let me give a couple examples to illustrate that.

If BHO supporters had any "intellectual rigor and seriousness", this false story - and all the others - wouldn't have 1600+ Diggs. (If you sort the comments by earliest first, you'll see a comment from me pointing out that it's bogus. That comment has about -90 Diggs).

Yet, despite being obviously bogus, you won't find hacks like those at this site pointing that out. They think "other things" are more important than "intellectual rigor and seriousness".

And, here's another one.

CNN's president Jon Klein and their "political researchers" got the basic facts of an issue wrong and haven't (AFAIK) issued a correction. Don't expect "liberals" or "libertarians" to push for a correction, because what he got wrong breaks their way. And, don't expect GOP/conservative leaders to do that either. Most don't have the intellectual capacity to understand that they got it wrong, despite it being something most kindergarteners could understand. And, even if they did, they wouldn't want to point it out because they're afraid of being called crazy. According to those GOP/conservative leaders, facts are for crazy people.

P.S. In case anyone replies to this, their responses will almost assuredly be ad homs, thereby conceding my points and showing the childish, anti-intellectual nature of libertarians.

Meta4|9.21.09 @ 4:10PM|#

If Reason becomes a dialogue between Parents Rights / Marine Patriot and Lonewacko, I'm taking hostages.

dennis|9.21.09 @ 4:12PM|#

ad hominem attacks don't concede the point of the one being attacked. While it is possible that one resorts to them to mask an inability to counter an argument, they could also reveal an attitude of contempt for the one toward whom they are addressed.

|9.21.09 @ 4:19PM|#

conservative media consumers have moved on to greener pastures (Beck, Hannity, Hit 'n Run)

EGADS!

|9.21.09 @ 4:25PM|#

"""If Reason becomes a dialogue between Parents Rights / Marine Patriot and Lonewacko, I'm taking hostages."""

And they think they are arguing for their team. I think they help prove the point.

"""The problem with all partisan hacks is that they have problems with the truth. Let me give a couple examples to illustrate that."""

A better example would be the run up to the Iraq war.

One could argue government is at it's worst when it uses your point to wage war and send it's citizens to battle.

"""Don't expect "liberals" or "libertarians" to push for a correction,""'

Like claiming Senator Larry Craig, and Mark Sanford were democrats by putting a D next to their names.

|9.21.09 @ 4:25PM|#

a controversial new book which argues that the contemporary right has forsaken the intellectual rigor and seriousness of William F. Buckley and Whittaker Chambers in favor of shallow partisan politics.

What? As opposed to the contemporary left?

creech|9.21.09 @ 4:32PM|#

Parents Rights/Marine Patriot: One hopes you are correct. But experience says otherwise.
In 1964, the Goldwater movement was roaring along, rallies, "meet up" groups, etc. Those within it couldn't see the forest for the trees. We thought LBJ would get clobbered because the enthusiasm for him was not apparent until late in the campaign. Goldwater got creamed - less than 40% of the popular vote. One should guard against projecting what "the American people" will do in thirteen months based on feeling high because 100,000 people marched with you in D.C.

Tricky Prickears|9.21.09 @ 4:39PM|#

(Beck, Hannity, Hit 'n Run)

Is it me, or does there seem to be a lot of right wing conservatives that think they are Libertarians? Anybody who would put Beck and Hannity in the same parenthesis as H&R is no Libertarian I want to know. And then quote that nasty little cunt, Ann Coulter. Sure I'd fuck her, but only if she had a roll of duct tape around her mouth.

Tell me, what is the Libertarian position on gay rights, immigration and civil rights?

Beck and Hannity do nothing but hurt the Conservative movement because their prime motivation is ratings and book sales.

anon|9.21.09 @ 4:41PM|#

LOL @ Meta4.

Isn't 'Parent Rights' the guy who just found this site a few posts back and hasn't yet realized that people here tend to hate republicans as much if not more than democrats?

Tony|9.21.09 @ 4:42PM|#

I totally agree that the conservative movement should expel all those cheese-eating intellectuals and RINOs. After all, political movements always gain popularity by sticking to rigid ideological axioms and casting all heretics out.

As Parents Rights so artfully described, there is no longer truth or facts, just the New Idiom. Consequently, conservatism will rise again, if only you just believe hard enough.

|9.21.09 @ 4:42PM|#

""What? As opposed to the contemporary left?""

He said he just as easy could have wrote the death of liberalism and hinted that he may. He explains a little in the video why wrote the book.

dennis|9.21.09 @ 4:48PM|#

John Rawls and Russell Kirk are rolling over in their graves. I would have used Robert Nozick instead of Kirk, but Nozick wasn't a conservative (but he was a better thinker than Kirk by a wide margin.)

Xeones|9.21.09 @ 4:49PM|#

They are upset because their prior audience of genteel conservative media consumers have moved on to greener pastures (Beck, Hannity, Hit 'n Run).

Ok, i laughed at this. Dude, one of those parenthetical things is not like the others.

Then LoneWacko and Tony show up. Fuck!

|9.21.09 @ 4:56PM|#

"""2010 is going to be a blow out - my prediction is that the GOP retakes both houses and at least 8 governorships"""

If it does it will be a result of the dems failures and the ability for the new crew, Beck, O'Reilly, ect, to rally the troops, not because conservative are putting forth good ideas. That's exactly what Tanenhaus is talking about.

The failure of conservatism comes when it replaces forwarding the cause using ideas, with forwarding the cause using contempt for others.

|9.21.09 @ 4:56PM|#

Conservativism vs. Conservatism.

There can be only one.

|9.21.09 @ 4:57PM|#

2010 is going to be a blow out - my prediction is that the GOP retakes both houses and at least 8 governorships.

I dunno about the House, but I believe this it is almost mathematically impossible for the GOP to engineer a 20-seat swing in the Senate (on net, ten Dems lose their seats to Reps). There are 18 Dem seats in play, so its not impossible, but many of them are in "safe" states.

|9.21.09 @ 4:58PM|#

Maybe Sesame Street stopped doing it's one of these things is doing it's own thing segment.

|9.21.09 @ 5:06PM|#

Tony finally found who he's been arguing with for six months! I hope you two are happy together.

Tony|9.21.09 @ 5:42PM|#

Apparently I was arguing with a spoofer. See his paean to Larry the Cable Guy on the Michael Moore thread.

Darell|9.21.09 @ 9:25PM|#

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|9.21.09 @ 10:58PM|#

At this point, no party "wins" elected office, it's just the other party that loses it. Both are utterly bereft of ideas and filled with the zeal to grab the reins of power for power's sake.

Dark days for our nation.

|9.22.09 @ 4:21PM|#

In that respects, were there ever bright days for our nation?

Seems mostly downhill since Washington went to beat the crap out of some people for not paying their whisky tax.

Of course, having to depend on Ben Franklin talking the French out of money to pay our troops fighting the rebellion had an influence.