In the paper, McDonnell lays out his political agenda for the Republican Party and what he describes as its “vision for the family.”<\/p>\n
It’s a fascinating, candid and intelligent appraisal of the trends which many conservatives decry in our society.<\/p>\n
Key problems include a “decline in the respect for authority” and “a selfish individualism.”<\/p>\n
McDonnell argues that the dangers facing America stem from a fundamental clash between “traditional morality and absolutism” (which he clearly favors) and “the modern pervasive relativism of truth, ethics and justice.”<\/p>\n
The loser in all this change, according to McDonnell, has been the traditional family – once the foundation of what he views as America’s golden age.<\/p>\n
McDonnell’s proposed fixes for these problems have drawn a lot of “gotcha” style attention. He suggests the following:<\/p>\n
-Use preferential government programs to benefit “married couples over cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators…”<\/p>\n
-Diminish childcare programs that encourage “the dynamic new trend of working women and feminists that is ultimately detrimental to the family.”<\/p>\n
-Erase the “folklore” that church and state shouldn’t mingle in American politics.<\/p>\n
“Therefore, government at all levels must help create the legal and financial conditions to unleash the power of the church…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
McDonnell also speaks plainly about the unpopularity of his views and the need for patience, subtlety and “incrementalism” in advocating for socially conservative values.<\/p>\n
The essay offers a rich and complex insight into conservative thinking.<\/p>\n
And while written 20 years ago, the essay illuminates the current debate over universal healthcare (which McDonnell mentions in his paper).<\/p>\n
It lays out the argument that government institutions have systematically eroded the most important institutions in our society: family, church and (to a lesser extent) the free market.<\/p>\n
By offering Americans more help, even with the best of intentions, Federal agencies take on even more power — a trend McDonnell calls “government usurpation.”<\/p>\n
According to the conservative view, the dangers of that shift outweigh any possible benefits.<\/p>\n
Most voters don’t see the world this way. Even most conservatives have grown comfortable with the idea of women in the workplace.<\/p>\n
Most Republican leaders no longer support unequal treatment of homosexuals, with the notable exception of same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n
What’s more, the idea that government should be an activist player, shaping the economy and providing a social safety net, is increasingly popular.<\/p>\n
As a consequence, McDonnell the Candidate has sought to distance himself from McDonnell the Academic. He insists that his views have “evolved.”<\/p>\n
I’m skeptical.<\/p>\n
The manifesto laid out here may be radical; it may be out of sync with the American mainstream, but it’s also thoughtful, idealistic and ambitious.<\/p>\n
It reflects the thinking of a new generation of Republican leaders, educated and trained at conservative institutions like Regent University.<\/p>\n
The religious right moved deliberately to foster bright and committed activists such as McDonnell.<\/p>\n
Now that they’ve come of age, they should be open about their views and their agenda.<\/p>\n
Then American voters would be given a real choice about their leadership and their future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve written and thought a lot about rural conservatism, so the “controversy” unfolding in Virginia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}