The Right Side: Part 2

Jonah and Matt Continetti continue their tremendously nerdy adventure through the history of American conservatism ...

By
21

Jonah and Matt Continetti continue their tremendously nerdy adventure through the history of American conservatism today, taking us from the 1970s to the present. In a conversation tailor-made for holders of the Remnant bingo card, they discuss the Reagan Revolution, the Clinton years, the future of the conservative movement, and much more. Can the contemporary right hold off resurgent anti-Americanism? Could fascism happen here? And how many more times will Matt need to appear for Jonah to ask everything that’s on his mind?

Show Notes:

– Matt’s page at AEI

– The Right, available now

– Part 1 of Jonah and Matt’s shameless nerdfest

– Buckley’s The Unmaking of a Mayor

– Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative

– Milton and Rose Friedman’s Two Lucky People

– Kevin Phillips’ The Emerging Republican Majority

– John Patrick Diggins’ Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History

– Stephen F. Hayward’s The Age of Reagan

– Jonah: “Appetite for Power”

By
Comments (21)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. Scott Smart

    Loved these two episodes, just bought the book.

    Collapse
  2. Very Old Grumpy Guy

    Jonah - I love hearing your thoughts, but I think you are getting distracted by this concern that the criticisms of "the right" do not include criticizing "the left" for similar hypocrisies. We need to focus on reforming the right and leave the left to be reformed by people on the left. I do not know as much history as you do, but perhaps you can enlighten me as to the last time a school of thought, institution or movement was reformed by its opponents? Reform MUST come from the insiders who support the ideals of the movement. It does appear that movements that do not reform can spawn similar, competitive movements, think Martin Luther, but I do not see the point of expending energy saying, "Yea, but they were/are worse." We need to get our house in order and let guys like Sam Harris, and Bill Maher work on their people. We need to reform the Republican Party or split from it. Leave the Democrats to their own demons.

    Collapse
  3. Pohl

    An entertaining conclusion. Thanks.

    Collapse
  4. Avatar photo
    Denise Cote

    Four words: The Remnant moves product. Time to buy another book.

    Collapse
  5. Robert Bottome

    An excellent discussion
    Would appreciate a second set that catalogues the authoritarian tendencies on the left (equality vs liberty trade offs).

    A favor please: can you attribute your intro sound bites? Is one of them your dingo?

    Collapse
  6. Avatar photo
    Portland Isaiah

    These two podcasts are my favorite. Easily the best episodes in recent memory. Well done.

    Collapse
  7. linda

    Really enjoyed both episodes. I'm old so I got much of the Goldwater to Reagan.
    During the repub primary Reagan was one of several. My sister called him grandpa. He wasn't my first pick and to me he didn't stand out much in a field of too many. As the field was whittled I watched him more closely. The old guy had some magnetism. Ended up voting for him among millions and millions. My younger sister (around 23) still called him grandpa but with a great deal of affection attacked to the name. Last time I really voted for someone I believed in to do what was right.
    To Jonah: my pre-school grandson sits with me and watches Spider Man Utubes while I listen to podcasts. When your intro comes on he pauses his vid to listen because he thinks it's hysterical. Future audience, just sayin'.

    Collapse
  8. Avatar photo
    Chris Jenkins

    Can't wait for parts 3-17!

    Collapse
  9. Avatar photo
    The Bell Tower

    “The trouble with our Liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.”

    I think Reagan was very specific here. I think he liked FDR and Democrats generally because he understood that their goals were noble even if their solutions were not desirable to him. He followed the Atticus Finch advice to walk around in other men’s shoes for a while. IE: empathy.

    My father, who voted for Johnson before turning to Reagan later on and my grandmother, who revered FDR but was a staunch conservative Republican by the 80’s, embodied similar spirits.

    Grandma, who lived through the depression and WWII (and who could quote Cicero in the original Latin even though she never went to college) cared for two of her children who came down with MS in her own home for all of her later life. She was as caring a human as any who ever walked the earth.

    I learned from her as much as Reagan that conservatism does not equate to hard or cold heartedness. This is a virulent myth peddled by scoundrels.

    The extremes meet at the intersection of paranoia and ignorance. They don’t live in the real world and they are far too loud for their number. Reagan understood this. So did Buckley. So do probably most Americans from all across the spectrum.

    The modern “elites” are the ones who have forgotten either because they are fools or because they are charlatans and so they push straw man constructions of Americans that bear no resemblance to the reality outside of their Twittery fart cloud. This groomer smear is but the latest example.

    Anyway, thanks for an excellent podcast, as usual. Mr. Continetti’s book arrived yesterday and I’m pretty excited to read it.

    Collapse
  10. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    This listener enjoyed this two-parter. I’d like to hear a part three on the last thirty years.

    “As long as you’re an anti-statist and you agree with Calvin Coolidge that the idea that all men are created equal is final, then there’s no danger of you becoming a fascist.”

    We are in violent agreement!

    Collapse
Load More