Reform conservatives are reforming conservative commentary, not conservatism

There has been some interesting discussion in the blogosphere about the "reform conservatives". Ryan Cooper got it started a few weeks ago. Mike Konzcal was fairly dismissive of the idea. Reihan Salaam responded. So did Douthat. Jonathan Chait wrote a profile of Josh Barro and another blog post on the subject. I wrote about this a few weeks back.

Thinking more about the subject, the most striking feature of the reform conservatives isn't their policy preferences. Instead, reform conservatives have redefined their roles as commentators, vis-a-vis their relationship with the Republican party and greater conservative movement.

A few weeks back, Alex Pareene had a great post on Media Matters' effort to promote a series of anti-scandal talking points for liberal pundits to use. The greater conservative movement walks in lock-step--with journalists, party members, and activists working together to promote the conservative agenda. Talking points feature prominently within the movement, with bloggers, pundits, activists, politicians and activists coordinating on message. The liberal coalition doesn't exhibit the same level of coordination. Actual democratic party operatives--Stephanie Cutter, Paul Begala, etc.--would be willing to use a series of talking points to defend the party, but liberal journalists would be too embarrassed to do so. Liberal journalists see themselves as independent of their political party, in a way that conservative journalists do not. Kevin Drum has coined the term "Hack Gap" to describe this disparity.

The unifying principle of the reform conservatives is a tendency to act more like liberal commentators and less like conservative ones, in this regard. Unlike the conservative media in general, they don't really discuss Benghazi and don't think the Obama administration has spent the last four years telling the IRS to prosecute conservatives. These subjects don't interest them. And I bet if you asked them in private, they would say the conservative obsession with these scandals is a little silly. In contrast, most of the non-reformish content at the National Review Online follows the basic Republican talking points on these scandals.

The actual relationship of the reformists to the Republican party is more complicated. Frum and Barro have staked out positions as explicit critics, outside the party. While Salaam and Douthat are still best viewed as critics from within. Here is how Salaam described his relationship with the party to Chait:

When I interviewed Salam for my Barro profile, he was admirably candid about the political delicacy of his mission, which he described as being “part of a team” and “politically engaged.” What’s more, I’m not sure he’s wrong, either.

Regardless of these constraints, the reform conservatives do seem to be exercising an independent voice. That is why liberal commentators actually debate with, and respond to, them. The reformists are engaging in the exercise of policy debate and discussion, rather than partisan hackery.

The reform conservatives don't have a coherent set of views that they all share, so it is unlikely they will be able to coalesce around a "reform conservative agenda". Rather, they share a certain degree of independence from the Republican party. Whether this posture is sustainable within the current conservative movement is the big question.

The conservative echo chamber is a destructive force in American politics. Hopefully the reformers can weaken it and provide a breath of fresh air for the conservative movement.