Pat and Zoomers
After decades of commentary, Pat Buchanan has officially resigned from his column. His blog was a safe haven for loyal fans trying to find the right perspective in an era that was increasingly more partisan. His credentials would carry a legacy forged from the Nixon years to the Reagan era, where conservatism would fight for its identity in magazines, television interviews, and the lucky arbiters of the movement itself.
One of the largest contributions from Buchanan was his legitimization of a third path in American discourse. He railed against the neoconservatives with personal experience on his side and the moderates were not effective enough to defend their principles. Paleoconservatism was the label donned by his ilk, most of whom could not survive with their reputations intact. Joe Sobran and Mel Bradford lost in the court of public opinion, as did Buchanan shortly after.
The early 90’s was his peak on the national stage. New Hampshire showed voters that the commentator could do more than merely talk like Rush Limbaugh. He could lead a movement to question the two party system without engaging in life ruining endeavors. There was a philosophical underpinning uniting this vanguard to new heights that had not been reached since Nixon’s Catholic and Protestant coalition.
However, the cards were stacked against him. The men he critiqued in Where The Right When Wrong were in privileged positions. Their leverage guaranteed that no matter how much grassroots support had been gained by Buchanan, his message would not be presented alongside George H.W. Bush and Jack Kemp. It was just business as usual.
If the GOP would not allow a Phyllis Schlafly-esque March to Washington, then Pat would go his own way. The Reform Party was the last swipe against the establishment. He has been successfully gatekept from redefining the party line to include identity politics, anti-globalization, and an America First platform.
After the last campaign, Buchanan’s strong suit remained in his books. Offering a canon to the new generation, many could discover the paradigm that kept him and his supporters from reaping the rewards hoarded by mainstream Republicans. Without Buchanan’s testimony, there’s an intellectual gap between the GOP and those who would go on to vote for Donald Trump. The resentment that lingered over D.C. would find its champion in Pat as their lone representative in polite society.
With his retirement announced, it’s worth considering the career of a man who saw the country change rapidly and held his own for so long. The Nixon loyalist who tried to talk him out of concessions to the left, realizing its futility. The candidate who ushered in a brigade against his own party and made future dissidents possible. And finally, the author who warned his readers about the decline they would inherit in a few short years.
From a Generation Z perspective, many of these paleoconservative views have made their way into public vocabulary. During high school, Tucker Carlson was just beginning to impact the discourse and many young minds would take them for granted. The struggle between pro amnesty Republicans and those insisting on a moratorium were already here. The Ron Paul Revolution and Tea Party sensation had already been extinguished. Ann Coulter was no longer the lone voice questioning American identity. Partisan politics became more vicious as our primitive years peaked. This made Donald Trump an easy sell to a demographic seeing the world in no uncertain terms.
Many who would usually consider a role at the Leadership Institute or volunteer at Claremont were looking for alternatives. The paleoconservative platform offered the youthful vibrance that other strains of Republicanism lacked. This was a canon that embraced Russell Kirk and Mencken was a competitor to Leo Strauss and Harry Jaffa. Since then, there has been a push and pull between establishment figures and dissidents to promote some ideas at the expense of others. This sequence of struggle has galvanized generations of politically curious people, especially zoomers.