announcements

For those weekend early risers, I'll be on C-SPAN's Washington Journal at 7:30 tomorrow morning representing The Next Right, alongside Open Left's Matt Stoller.

This is my second time on the program, and I had a lot of fun the first time. I'm really looking forward to it. 

I'll try to find a video to link to after the show.

We wanted to take a moment to recognize our advertisers in our first week of operation. They're the ones who help keep the lights on.

In the short time since its inception, the Heritage Foundation's The Foundry has quickly established itself as the go-to place for conservative policy information. Their coverage of Lieberman-Warner this week has been first rank. Be sure to subscribe to their Morning Bell emails.

The Connecticut Republican Party is one of the few state parties with leadership that "gets" the online space from top to bottom. Their "Everyday Republican" blog defines the center-right blogosphere in the Nutmeg State. We're grateful for their early support of The Next Right.

On Day One is the kind of experiment in collaborative agenda-setting that we need more of on the right -- kind of a Dell IdeaStorm for the next President. Check out the submissions from Grover Norquist and American Solutions' Princella Smith.

Today, we're pleased to pull back the curtain on The Next Right. This launch may be a small milestone of sorts, but this site is far from a finished work. To the contrary, the work is just beginning.

There is general consensus that the right is at an inflection point. We face a series of unsustainable trends: the aging of our voter base, an ideological cupboard seemingly bare of big ideas, and a leadership class that is at best spinning its wheels. I won't sugarcoat it: the road ahead could be disastrous.

At the same time, we have advantages none of our forebears could have dreamed of. The 'net, broadly defined as the breakdown of communications barriers based on status or geography, creates instant self-awareness of our problems and potential solutions. The right resources can be brought to bear in weeks and months, not years and decades as was often the case with past conservative journeys through the political wilderness.

This site is the product of literally hundreds of offline conversations with some of the brightest young minds in the conservative movement. It grows out of a recognition that the road back can't be about a series of disjointed technologies, blogs, and pundits. It begins with telling a story about why we should lead. With advancing majoritarian ideas with real buy-in from the grassroots, not diktats from Washington policy shops. With revitalizing the Republican Party with real participation from the bottom up. The right needed a place online where these discussions could flourish, where a narrative about revitalizing the movement could congeal, and where smart new voices could assert a leadership role in a party at a crossroads. We hope The Next Right can be a small part of this ongoing dialogue.

I've described the thinking behind this in further detail here, as have Soren and Jon.

Now, on to what you can expect here starting today. We're hoping this space becomes a commons for the best thinking about the future of the Right. We're going to be doing this a little differently. Not through a phalanx of famous writers anointed with front page privileges, but through the passions, ideas, and analysis of smart conservatives and libertarians that emerge from user blogs. Anyone -- including you -- can write for The Next Right. Start by signing up here. If they're good, your blogs will be promoted to the front page in a heartbeat. And if your stuff is consistently great, you'll be part of the first wave of front-page contributors we'll be announcing in a few weeks.

Enjoy the ride. Let us know your thoughts on the future direction of this site in the comments.