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Welcome to The Next Right

by Patrick Ruffini | May 27, 2008 at 12:10 AM
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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.

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Comments

This is AWESOME!!

Submitted by Snooper on Tue, 05/27/2008 - 01:43.

Whatever we at A Newt One can do, we will.

Awesome...

Submitted by Chuck Adkins on Tue, 05/27/2008 - 11:12.

As someone who left the "left of center" World, after they basically decided that the Military and everything that I have held sacred since a child, (Like my Christianity) is fair game, and after they "flipped the bird" to Michigan, I welcome this sort of a place. I will do everything I can to help out.

I am a Libertarian/ Constitutionalist/Paleo-Conservative and very much a free thinker. I might not always toe the "Party Line" and might not join the usual chorus of the Neo Cons, but I do love America and the Christian values that I was raised with.

Glad to be a Part of it..

-Chuck Adkins

Owner

Political Byline

American Nationalist News Service

Best Wishes

Submitted by Allen on Tue, 05/27/2008 - 11:39.

Congratulations for launching this important project. I look forward to participating as a conservative who has played an active role in conservative elections and movements in New York, The United States (they are not always one and the same), the UK, Israel, Kiev, etc.

While I am more of an experienced than a  "young" mind I have always been an out of the box conservative activist who has learned the absolutely central role ideas play in the political movement of people. Another life lesson we should keep in mind is that (even in this technology advanced age) history provides invaluable lessons on how to succeed in politics and the public square. Ignorance of history often to leads to avoidable mistakes.

Yesterday, I listened to a Newshour conversation on young people voting. One of the experts declared that studies are showing that the most effective means of getting young people to vote is a message from their peers that it is important to vote. Sounds like the 19th century playbook of Bosses Tweed and Plunkitt of Tammany Hall.

Thanks for having me along for this exciting ride.

Much Needed!

Submitted by SafeTons on Tue, 05/27/2008 - 16:07.

Two issues plague our current system of politics.  The first is idealogical.  There is not a home for socially libertarian, economically liberal (traditional sense) people.  Though the United States was founded on both principles, these are no longer dominate strings of thought in American Politics.  Further, America has slipped from her once proud heritage of a Meritocracy in favor of diversity and feel good identity politics.  The GOP has embedded ourselves with authoritarian religous groups that care little about the preservation of libertarian principles.  In fact, both the left and the right have fallen victim to Guilt-Groups; meaning groups that operate by making the vast majority of people feel guilty for doing or not doing something.  Groups on the Left may want us to feel guilty for not sacrificing our values for the sake of those "in need."  Groups on the Right want us to feel guilty for not saving everyone's soul.  And social libertarian, economic liberals, the great drivers of progress in the world, fall prey to these ploys. 

The second issue plaguing our current system of politics is corruption.  The above mentioned Guilt-Groups use the guise of guilt to hide the real agenda, which is power and control.  Rick Santorium and Hillary Clinton both want control of our lives and they will bend our systems of laws and government to get that power under the justification that "they" know what is best for us.  Corruption exists for many purposes but it's final purpose is to live off the productive nature of man, to mooch and loot our hard work, and to make us feel guitly for challenging the corruption. 

The Next Right must bridge the gap between various individuals who are committed to freedom and liberty.  We must be committed to protecting life, liberty, and property as the minimum expectations of living in a modern democracy.  We must be committed to standing against the Guilt-Groups, regardless of the fake moral outrage with which we are faced.  We must be committed to saving this country, the most moral social experiment in the history of man, from those that would seek to control our lives and property.  And we must do this in a way that perserves our ability to lead this nation into greater perfection -- meaning we must live lives of integrity and honor before we ask that of anyone else. 

I am a selfish human being.  I chose my own values over the values of others.  And, above all, I value life.  It is up to us, those that value life, to retake this nation and lead her forward to into greater liberty.  The past is done.  Our future is ours if we take it!