Progressive Conservatives

David Brooks' op-ed piece this weekend on McCain's failure to reach out to the centrists is required reading for anyone interested in American politics. Ignoring Brooks' assertions that McCain would be an "outstanding president," there is a succint summary of a centrist governing philosophy that can really drive the Democrats (and the nation) forward, and is steeped in pragmatism:

There are two major political parties in America, but there are at least three major political tendencies. The first is orthodox liberalism, a belief in using government to maximize equality. The second is free-market conservatism, the belief in limiting government to maximize freedom.

But there is a third tendency, which floats between. It is for using limited but energetic government to enhance social mobility. This tendency began with Alexander Hamilton, who created a vibrant national economy so more people could rise and succeed. It matured with Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Republicans, who created the Land Grant College Act and the Homestead Act to give people the tools to pursue their ambitions. It continued with Theodore Roosevelt, who busted the trusts to give more Americans a square deal.

This is a governing philosophy that understands that our duty to each other is to make sure that everyone is at roughly the same starting line, not that everybody has to finish at the same place. It understands that we can't let children lose their opportunity in life because of the failures of their parents.

I think Brooks and I might part ways on the level of government activity necessary to enhance social mobility, particularly with regard to the kind of investments we need in education to put kids from poor families on the same footing starting out in life as those from more wealthy families. Ultimately the more the country coalesces around this kind of governing philosophy (and leaves fights over "spreading the wealth" and "welfare queens" back in the '80s), the better off we'll all be.

Hat tip to TS on Facebook for bringing the piece to my attention.