Bright Lights, Big City

Devone Tucker argues that if conservatism is to regain its much-diminished presence in America, we must find a way to extend the reach of conservatism into America’s major cities. The conservative Republican blogger opines: "The most disturbing political development of the last few decades has been the expansion of the control that the Democratic Party has over the major cities — cities that could use some conservative solutions to their chronic problems. It is appalling that so many major cities cannot hear the conservative message. Stripped to its essence, conservatism is about revival: revival of the economy through tax reduction, revival of the educational system through choice-based competition, revival of the populace’s sense of safety through crime reduction. This is a message that should resonate with the major cities — but it does not. This situation is potentially fatal for the country. If Democratic policies (which effectively trap the urban poor in failing public schools and encourage more and more reliance upon government) encourage dependence and Republican policies encourage independence, then the current status quo – hostility to Republican ideas in the major cities — is a recipe for more and more dependence, more and more ignorance, more and more recklessness. If we are sincerely committed to the conservative cause, we must begin to develop strategies for recapturing the major cities — or, at the very least, making our ideas competitive in these regions. This may be the only way conservatism can survive in a changing country."

He continues his commentary: "Yes, decades ago the Republican Party made the shortsighted decision to place an excessive emphasis on turning out the rural vote — this explains the 'Real American' rhetoric one often hears from Republican politicians. Yet it is the cities that desperately need to hear the Republican message of better schools and private-sector solutions to the problem of health-care accessibility. The conservative movement in general and the Republican Party in particular must transcend the mentality that concedes the major cities to the Democrats. Today, the right must focus on developing a city-based conservatism that can appeal to these regions. City-based conservatism cannot mean the old Northeastern-moderate vision, for that is so close to modern liberalism as to be nearly indistinguishable. City-based conservatism must mean a focus on schools, health care, crime prevention and economic renewal — a focus that can bring health and renewal to our broken cities. Yes, in terms of rhetoric, city-based conservatism will not be the same as 'rural conservatism.' Since city-based conservatism will be geared to sections of the country where progressives have won undisputed victories in the culture wars, it’s impossible to imagine a successful pitch to these regions built around certain hot-button issues. We need to capture the ears of social libertarians in these regions, lest these ears be alienated from the Republican message and hear instead the siren songs of socialism."

Booker Rising response: Mr. Tucker ignored a key piece: suburbs, where 55% of Americans now live. Conservative Republicans still have the upper hand there - as people, including black people, flee the results of liberal Democratic policies in the major cities - although Democrats are making gains. Thus the GOP and conservatism is in urban areas, just not in the central city. Mr. Tucker is correct that the GOP could be more competitive in the cities though. However, is the party affiliation more important to Mr. Tucker, or the center-right ideology?