Rod Dreher Confronts his Election Choices

Conservative religious writer Rod Dreher may vote for a Democrat in the upcoming House race in his district, held to replace an incumbent who left to take a job in state government. His Louisiana district is solidly Republican and Dreher knows his next representative will be a Republican, but after the Tea Party tantrum in Washington he just can't vote for candidates whose web sites say things like:

Our nation has come to a crossroads. Our fundamental American values are being challenged by left-wing Washington politicians. The decisions our leaders make over the next few years will chart the course for future generations.

And:

Jay Morris is pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-traditional marriage! Jay Morris will lead the fight to build the wall along Mexico and protect our nation’s borders!

…The single most important action facing our Congress is to defund Obamacare. Action needs to be taken to improve our health care system, but Obamacare will dramatically raise insurance rates, destroy full time jobs, and put the federal government and the IRS between you and your doctor. It is time to defund Obamacare and start over on a free market basis.

Dreher:

I’m not voting for this kind of thing. . . . In a few minutes, I’m going to walk over to the courthouse and vote either Democrat or Libertarian as a protest, which is to say, I’m throwing my vote away to object to the Tea Party. The current crisis in Washington is the last straw.

I know liberals who find Tea Party rhetoric hilarious. But I think laughing about the Tea Party is a big mistake. These people speak for millions of Americans, enough that they can, as we are witnessing, tie the country in knots. Instead liberals should respond to conservative populism when we can, for example by demanding a strict accounting of crimes on Wall Street, reigning in government spying, protecting religious liberty, and working to get working class Americans a better economic deal. If we can do enough of that -- and Obamacare, if it ever works, is a real step in that direction -- then many of the working class people who support the Tea Party may vote Democratic again.