An article in New York Magazine notes the difficulty The New York Times is having in trying to find a conservative voice it’s comfortable with for its opinion page.
The paper is losing one of its two ostensibly conservative columnists. Departing columnist Bill Kristol is an establishment Republican who’s never been accused of being exactly dynamic, eloquent or edgy. Hence, he was safe from The Times’ perspective.
The paper’s remaining voice on the right (loosely defined) is David Brooks. In Brooks, The Times has found a writer Maureen Dowd would be comfortable taking home to dinner.
Pro-abortion and gay marriage, in the past campaign, Brooks cooed over Obama and pummeled Palin. However, he is rumored to have once had a warm feeling while contemplating enterprise zones.
The Times’ conservative-opinion deficit may be contrasted with the equally liberal Washington Post, which isn’t intimidated by authentic voices on the right.
The Post has a bevy of conservative columnists, including George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Robert Samuelson, Michael Gerson and Robert Kagan.
As a replacement for Kristol, The Times is considering writers no one on the right has ever heard of — Christopher Caldwell, Ross Douthat and Megan McArdle. Presumably, each of them can pass The Times’ litmus tests for neutered conservatives — on abortion, homosexual rights, the deconstruction of marriage, gun control and other sacrosanct issues.
Try to imagine The New York Times hiring an Ann Coulter, Chuck Colson or Rush Limbaugh as an op-ed writer. Try to imagine the sky falling.
@nytimes.com
