David Brooks David Brooks
Let me state it flat
You love complicated books:
You're a Democrat!
Dear David:
The above words, dropped by a wayward muse, have been driving me crazy, rattling around my head to the tune of Stephen Foster's "Nelly Bly." Still, I've been thinking about writing to you for almost a year now, so maybe this letter will shake them out.
Seeing you on Charlie Rose's program recently has given me that extra push. Although you still have your goofy smile — Is there a tooth problem there? I hope not: I've just spent $1500 on a cap — bags sagged under your soulful eyes, almost as heavy as Charlie's; and when Dick Cheney's name came up, you had to struggle to say something not entirely disloyal to the Republican Party. Ruefully, you admitted that, until lately, "Letting it all hang out was never Dick Cheney's policy."
David Brooks David Brooks
Shake off those fat cats
Cheney Rove and all those crooks
You're a Democrat…
And when you said that "Obama's the most self-confident person in the history of homo sapiens," we knew you were sold on him. Years ago, you became a Republican when you were swept under the wing of the previous most self-confident person in history, the witty and knowledgeable pundit, William Buckley.
Born in Toronto, growing up in New York City, attending the University of Chicago — a prototypical Blue State background, to use one of your favorite divisions — you must have been idealistic, liberal-leaning, but unformed until you were run over by Buckley's intellectual, social and financial charisma. He recognized a good mind, offering you a job on his conservative magazine, National Review. So off you went, heady times for an ambitious young man!
Buckley was an eloquent talker, and though he was, through much of his life, a pro-war Joe McCarthy racist — he supported white supremacy and McCarthy's patriotism — his wit and personal generosity glossed over these drawbacks, and you, with many others, followed him gratefully. But in later life, Buckley began to back off his earlier stances; then his son Christopher, once a Republican stalwart himself, completed the family journey by quitting the Review and — publicly! — voting for Barack Obama. If Christopher Buckley can do this, so can you.
David Brooks David Brooks
Time to hang your hat
Where your heart's already hooked:
You're a Democrat!
Listen, I'm thinking of your health here. Although it must be satisfying to be the most famous Republican on the New York Times' roster, you can't keep your inner feelings bottled up much longer without developing ulcers or some other internal damage, like gum loss. For years, we've enjoyed your enlightening debates with Mark Shields on PBS NewsHour programs, but lately they've been hard to watch: like gym class, the sides aren't fair.
You might have a problem like my Mom. A lifelong Republican, she became at heart, in her old age, a strong feminist. When Hillary Clinton began running for president, Mom wrote her a warning letter: "You must be very careful, because the Press will twist everything you say!" We agreed that this was useful advice. But when Mom got into the actual voting booth (she told us), she couldn't pull the Democratic lever; it was like a mortal sin.
It must kill you, a protégé of the polite and articulate Buckley, to be lined up with hitmen like Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Bill O'Reilly, Anne Coulter and mob bosses like Cheney and Karl Rove. Your reasoned support of Sonia Sotomayor is the dead-on reverse of their catcalls.
David Brooks David Brooks
Loosen your cravat
Boot those stonyhearted spooks
Join the Democrats
Remember the debates on Firing Line, when Buckley would take on all comers, especially from the left wing — John Galbraith, Noam Chomsky, Jimmy Carter, even St. Petersburg's Jack Kerouac — with unfailing courtesy, no yelling, no interruptions? Ideas actually got discussed. Like a great athlete, Buckley wasn't afraid to lose a debate: he loved the game. Now your Party's squatting in an anti-intellectual smog, where the actual interchange of ideas is scorned.
You astutely argued this month that the quagmire leading to the sinking of General Motors began in the 1980s, and that clever financing schemes won't fix it. What's broken is GM's "corporate and workplace culture — the unquantifiable but essential attitudes, mind-sets and relationship patterns that are passed down, year after year."
Yes! And this is also what's happened to the Republicans. They brayed at the idea of Obama being a "community organizer." They turned down scientists studying climate change, environmentalists calling for smaller cars, teachers asking for more money. They got the leaders they deserved.
In debates, Buckley listened to his opponents, and then undid them, at least temporarily. He didn't raise his voice, but carefully phrased his words in a manner somewhat like… like… yes, like Obama!
Think of it: you could slip over, be a moderate, literate (and healthy) Democratic voice tempering its wacko fringe. David, you're a good man — pack up your books and come home!
David Brooks David Brooks
You'll be our Cheshire Cat
Smiling in a warmer nook:
When you're a Democrat!
Affectionately,
Peter
—Peter Meinke (www.petermeinke.com) isn't giving up poetry for song-writing. In fact, he and Jeanne have promised their friends never to sing at all in public.
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2009.