A colleague from #dontgo recently sent an email asking members When Will the Right Start Collaborating? Here's my response:
I have a few theories about this question but none of them are going to be popular. The first theory is that the Right is in the midst of a civil war (read Jon Henke's article at The Next Right article on Mike Huckabee and Libertarians for the latest installment of this debacle).
The second theory is that there really is a difference in neural wiring between conservatives and liberals. I'm convinced that conservatives are not collective action-takers who thrive in the beehive environment with the possible exception of (a) great threat, and/or (b) great opportunity. When faced with great threat/opportunity, conservatives actually will organize and collaborate - but again, it's not in our nature to do so on a daily basis as it appears to be for our liberal brethren. Liberals have bought into the mindset of continuous struggle toward a perfect world, whereas conservatives seem to be of the mindset that life is "good enough for me most of the time".
Conservatives respond very well to rallying around principled leadership, the kind of leadership that can articulate their values and teach conservatism as well as influence its policy implementation through strong personality and charisma. The message we were sent with McConnell and Boehner's continued elevation in the Party was "bend over and we'll drive you home with more of the same". I think this was a major strategic error, just as keeping the current auto industry management in place would be. Conservatives should demand a "restructure" but right now everyone I know is so completely demotivated, which has led to entropy and paralysis. I see people reverting to "comfort activities" which is a form of reality denial.
What I think needs to happen in order for collaboration to occur, is great pressure in the form of crisis, and then strong, articulate, charismatic (hopefully principled) leadership which is able to step in, man the helm, and inspire cohesive group behavior. This is a standard recipe for all historic social/political movements. If Obama does succeed, and the economy recovers, and his administration does reach across the aisle, and he does govern from the center, there will not be enough crisis to motivate conservatives to develop clear, alternative messages. One of the worst practices of the GOP media and campaign strategists is to continually focus on what the Left does wrong instead of focusing on what the GOP is going to do correctly. Articulate, teach, inform us of a conservative message - please.
Another thing that online media evangelists may not be aware of is the fact that 90% of my colleagues in the technology industry spend absolutely NO TIME whatsoever on blogs, activist websites, or use Social Media for purposes other than socializing with real friends. The idea that average Americans, especially conservatives, are somehow "plugged in" online is absolutely untrue. Millenials actually are plugged in politically, but the majority tends to lean liberal. Boomers and Gen X'ers appear to still be relying on email and video (TV/movies). If we developed a conservative television series with the charisma of Mad Men, that could be absolute magic.
This all probably produces more questions than solutions, but I don't yet have the bandwidth to study the science of influence and persuasion that might turn the tide of online participation by older conservatives. Keep ensuring the platform is there (if you build it, they will come?), and don't give up - but we really need to examine this sociologically a hell of a lot more than we have in the past. With every crisis comes great opportunity. We need social scientists, psychologists, and propaganda artists (Hollywood conservatives), but even more, we need A Clearly Defined Message for them to proliferate. This takes us back to the civil war at the top, so until we break out of the loop, I'm concerned that we will continue to rinse, lather and repeat the mistakes and failures that have brought us to this crossroads.
cross-posted at Lagomorphic Tendencies
