Three cheers for Brooks

David Brooks’ latest column is exceptional in its critique of the Republican Party, leading up to the Alabama Senate race between Roy Moore and Doug Jones. Three passages in particular are worth another look with minimal commentary from me.

A lot of good, honorable Republicans used to believe there was a safe middle ground. You didn’t have to tie yourself hip to hip with Donald Trump, but you didn’t have to go all the way to the other extreme and commit political suicide like the dissident Jeff Flake, either. You could sort of float along in the middle, and keep your head down until this whole Trump thing passed.

In a way, this is a good thing. Leaders in the Republican Party will see the line in the sand and be forced to publicly take a side. Unfortunately, most of the elected officials have, when asked, refused to take a stand and, instead, answered questions about this race by saying, “The people of Alabama will decide…”. This is not only painfully obvious but a complete abdication from their responsibility as leaders to help guide the national narrative towards a storyline with virtue.

“What shall it profit a man,” Jesus asked, “if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?” The current Republican Party seems to not understand that question. Donald Trump seems to have made gaining the world at the cost of his soul his entire life’s motto.

The reference to Matthew 16:26 could not be more piercing and is by far the most apt counter argument to those supporting Roy Moore (or those like him who have already won office).

Most people interviewed in Alabama who support Roy Moore do so begrudgingly, insisting that it’s more important to have him vote their views in Washington than to send someone whose moral integrity is in question. Ironically, many of those viewpoints are understood to be associated with the Christian faith. Yet, nowhere in the New Testament does it either explicitly state or thematically suggest that we are to pursue political power as a means to implement a Christian or moral code. And, for the record, tax cuts don’t count as Christian anyway.

The Republican Party I grew up with admired excellence. It admired intellectual excellence (Milton Friedman, William F. Buckley), moral excellence (John Paul II, Natan Sharansky) and excellent leaders (James Baker, Jeane Kirkpatrick). Populism abandoned all that — and had to by its very nature. Excellence is hierarchical. Excellence requires work, time, experience and talent. Populism doesn’t believe in hierarchy. Populism doesn’t demand the effort required to understand the best that has been thought and said. Populism celebrates the quick slogan, the impulsive slash, the easy ignorant assertion. Populism is blind to mastery and embraces mediocrity.

Perfectly said.