I remember not long ago walking out of one of those beltway morning movement pressers with a fellow ingrate. I was lamenting the hidebound, blinkered establishmentarian attitude that, it appeared, was intended to serve the Republican party indefinitely. But in 2006 it was already clear that indefinitely was definitely over. “Soon,” muttered my friend, “there will only be five Republicans in Congress, and one of them will be Ron Paul.” Now Daniel , only a bit hyperbolically, proclaims “the hollowing-out of the Republican coalition as we know it.” There are all sorts of questions such a claim raises — hinging as it does on the decay of the GOP in the Midwest, of all places — but here’s an Extra Controversial One. If the Reagan coalition is finished, is Reagan himself finished — not just as a rallying symbol but as a relevant point of reference? Another One: if that’s true, how far back does the GOP have to go to find one? One More: is Teddy Roosevelt simply too far back? Last One: Is there even any prospect for thinking through what it means to be the Party of Lincoln today? I leave my answers for another time.
