Nixon's the One

Charles Brown CharlesB at cncl.ci.detroit.mi.us
Thu May 16 08:44:36 PDT 2002


Nixon's the One

"Nathan Newman" <nathan at newman.org>

CB: My theory would be that the rightwingers had more money, lots more money, and this is why they were totally more successful than the left. The bourgeoisie used their prime advantage to the maximum.

^^^^^^^^

That libertarian sentiment is as much a product of the counter-culture as of Reaganism and doesn't explain the rise of the religious right which is very interested in NOT having people left alone.

As I noted, I don't buy interpreting certain policy successes as overarching ideological changes. I think that the Right was much more strategic in holding together the conflicting libertarian and majoritarian impulses that permeated their coalition. The explanation of rightwing ideological success is far better explained by the concrete coalition-building outlined in books like Sidney Blumenthal's RISE OF THE COUNTER ESTABLISHMENT than in sorting through public opinion polls that are remarkably unchanging on many issues that saw quite dramatic policy changes over the years.

- -- Nathan Newman



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