I’m a liberal, and while I don’t think I live in a bubble in terms of whom I associate with, I do consume news and opinion from mainly liberal sources. I have finally admitted to myself that I need to seek out more information from sources that don’t already agree with me.
I’ve fallen into the lazy habit of equating conservative media with Hannity and Limbaugh. I know there are thoughtful conservative writers out there, but I’m not sure where to look. So, where should I go?
(Mods, I dunno if this belongs here or maybe IMHO, but it seems like I’ll get the best response from the folks who hang out in this forum.)
One long article, monthly. Should fill your quota. The stuff that the thoughtful conservatives here say get dumbed down for the masses but this is one of the first places you’ll see them.
It will be interesting to see if they part ways with trumpism and how soon.
I also do remember how they were more willing that others in the right to debunk very loopy reporting or dumb talking points from other right wing sources.
The Economist is more conservative in the UK Tory sense of the word - which these days is basically centrist on the American spectrum. They endorsed John Kerry in 2004, Obama in 2008, reluctantly endorsed Obama again in 2012, and endorsed Hillary this year.
You beat me to it. I get a lot of my news from The Economist, and don’t consider it especially “conservative” in the American sense of the world. If it were, I wouldn’t be in need of as much bubble-bursting as I am. (Great question from the OP, BTW. I’ve been wondering the same thing.)
Libertarian blogs don’t seem to be what OP wants; not only would sieving off the looniest ideas be a tedious waste of time, but the modern GOP is “libertarian” only in the sense of “if the Koch Brothers say it’s libertarian that’s good enough for all y’all!”
So I was left with just National Review. That’s fine! One thoughtful conservative site is good enough for me! I clicked.
[QUOTE=National Review Headline] Obama Despises Israel Because He Despises the West
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
John Kerry’s Indefensible Swipe at Israel.
[/QUOTE]
Give me further credit please. I didn’t give up yet! I clicked a couple of the stories, but saw no objectivity nor sense of balance nor fair play. I certainly failed to see the “thoughtful conservative” wisdom OP was asking for.
Maybe OP should just stick to Hannity and Limbaugh. At least they try to be funny.
This may not be quite what the OP is asking for, but if you watch Bill Maher’s Real Time on HBO, he probably has more conservative guests on than liberal ones. Granted, you’ll get the whack-os like Ann Coulter, so you have to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Otherwise, the editorial page of the WSJ. I find The Economist interesting more from the standpoint of getting a European view of things, as opposed to the constant American-centric media most of us in the US are exposed to.
Thanks for the suggestions. Facebook is my main headline feed these days, so I followed several of the sources already mentioned. A few comments:
I’d never heard of them. I skimmed a couple articles, and they looked reasonable and thought-provoking. I’ll definitely devote more time to them.
The WSJ is behind a paywall now, I think, and I haven’t been all that impressed with their work that I have read, But The Economist is now on my list.
Bill Kristol is a knucklehead, but I took a look, and I agree that it’s probably worthwhile to listen to what the other writers there have to say. On the list it goes.
I’m fairly ignorant of issues concerning Israel. This is a good addition.
I really like reading Daniel Larison over at The American Conservative. The other authors over there are also occasionally worthwhile, but I have to admit that the only other one I read regularly is Rod Dreher, and that’s primarily for the amusement value of his constant freakouts.
The Middle East in general and Israel in particular does tend to bring out the batshit crazy in conservative writers IME.
Anyway a conservative who I enjoy reading is Ross Douthat at the NYTimes. For example his latest columnis an intriguing attempt to develop a two-axis framework to predict where the Trump administration might go.
And though it’s not conservative in the US sense, I heartily add to the recommendations for the Economist which has probably shaped my thinking more than any other news source over the last 20+ years. Their Christmas issue ,which is out now, is also an annual delight of quirky essays of the kind you won’t quite find anywhere else.