There is a movement along the nation’s political right encompassing younger voters who cling to the tenets of smaller government, fewer regulations, and fiscal conservatism but not necessarily social conservatism. They take a more libertarian approach to such issues as gay marriage and drug control.
Can these “conservatarians” feed the momentum gained by Republicans in the 2014 midterm elections?
National Review writer Charles C.W. Cooke examines this hybrid constituency in a discussion of his new book – what defines them, where they stand on the hot-button issues of the day, and how they could instigate change within the GOP.
Co-sponsored by the National Review Institute.
(Kansas City, Missouri) - There is a movement along the nation's political right encompassing younger voters who cling to the tenets of smaller government, fewer regulations, and fiscal conservatism but not necessarily social conservatism. They take a more libertarian approach to such issues as gay marriage and drug control.
Can these "conservatarians" feed the momentum gained by Republicans in the 2014 midterm elections?
National Review writer Charles C.W. Cooke examines this hybrid constituency in a discussion of his new book, The Conservatarian Manifesto, on Thursday, March 26, 2015, at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St. The presentation, co-sponsored by the National Review Institute, begins at 6:30 p.m.
"Conservatives," Cooke writes, "remain keenly in touch with the principles that have led the country to its present position of plenty and of international primacy." But he maintains that they and the Republican Party have lost their way, "focusing on the wrong things and ignoring what it was the catapulted them to a position of influence in the first place."
He sees conservatarianism as a remedy. Its adherents are vexed, Cooke says, by the failure of Republicans to cut the size and scope of the federal government but critical of some libertarians for their positions on abortion, national defense, and immigration. Conservatarians stand by the right's efforts to protect Second Amendment rights but see the war on drugs as an "unmitigated disaster that goes against everything conservatives ought to value."
Cook examines the movement's potential for instigating change within the GOP.
Cooke is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where he studied modern history and politics. He is co-host of the National Review podcast Mad Dogs and Englishmen; has appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher; and been published in The New York Times, New York Post, and The Washington Times.
A 6 p.m. reception precedes the event. Admission is free. RSVP at kclibrary.org or call 816.701.3407. Free parking is available in the Library District parking garage at 10th and Baltimore.