Looking past the election

Readers of the latest edition of National Review saw John Locke Foundation President John Hood‘s name on the cover. Hood wrote a featured article titled “Brand: Old Party” for NR‘s special post-election issue. (I don’t deny that Republicans should reengineer their campaign machinery from top to bottom, or that the conservative movement should enter a period of introspection and renewal. With regard to the latter, I believe that only a coherent, easy-to-explain combination of tax relief and government reforms that draw on the movement’s libertarian and traditionalist strands — call it a bold fusion of liberty and virtue — has a chance of addressing the concerns of America’s broad middle class and assembling an electoral majority. But some perspective is called for here. Any political scientist using standard predictive models would have forecast a Democratic victory months ago, long before the general election was under way. Despite it all, McCain attracted 46 percent of the popular vote. And with every electoral cylinder firing for the Dems, their 2008 gains got them back to the status quo ante of 1993, but no further.) The Asheville Citizen-Times also called on Hood’s exepertise for an article about local and state government responses to the economy’s recent woes. Hood reminded state government leaders of the potential problems associated with tax increases to raise government revenue. Speaking of raising revenue, many state governments hope to see a piece of the federal government’s bailout pie. JLF Fiscal Policy Analyst Joseph Coletti contributed an op-ed to the Charlotte Observer Friday discussing the reasons why North Carolina should decline federal bailout funds. Meanwhile, The Mooresville Tribune picked up a recent column from Vice President for Outreach Becki Gray. It urges North Carolinians to “keep calm and carry on” in the face of significant budget challenges.