Ricochet.com: A 'clever and cunning' new brand of conservatism?
A "fun" and "light-hearted" new website is trying to repackage the Right for the age of Twitter. Will it catch on?
In an effort to make conservative ideas "fun, light-hearted, and accessible," a Reagan speechwriter and a Hollywood producer are launching Ricochet, a new politics website intended to resemble Facebook and Twitter:
Who's behind Ricochet?
The driving forces are Peter Robinson, a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, and Rob Long, a Hollywood producer most famous for his work on "Cheers." James Poulos, formerly the politics editor at defunct conservative site Culture 11, will be the managing editor. The site is being funded by unidentified private donors.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What's so new about it?
The format of the site — it will be "a feed like Facebook or Twitter or Tumbler," says Poulos — and the "clever and cunning" tone of the discourse. Ricochet's handful of podcasts — the only content so far from the nascent site — are "like listening in on a few smart conservative friends having beers," says The Atlantic's Jordan Smith. Essentially, Ricochet is trying to repackage conservatism for the age of Obama.
Who else is on board?
The plan is to have about 40 contributors, including Robinson and Long. The list of those already signed up includes names familiar to readers of conservative magazines National Review and The Weekly Standard: Mark Steyn, Victor Hanson Davis, John Yoo, Shelby Steele, and Claire Berlinski. Govs. Mitch Daniels (R-IN) and Haley Barbour (R-MS) have also signed on, and Robinson recruited at least one new voice, Florida trucker Dave Carter.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
What does Ricochet tell us about the conservative movement?
That it has recovered from its ideological self-doubt following the 2006 and 2008 electoral setbacks, according to the site's creators. Obama's election and first year have really galvanized conservatives, says Poulos, and "the conversation on the right has become more interesting and productive than it was."
Will Ricochet rally conservatives?
There's ample skepticism on both the left and right. Two figures from the 1980s are going to "inject some vibrancy" into conservatism through "a Twitter rip-off"? asks Allison Kilkenny at True/Slant. What's "particularly annoying," says conservative blogger Dan Riehl, is that these conservative "establishment figures" don't think Right-leaning blogs have been having any fun up till now. The site's aims are well and good, says Clark Stooksbury in The American Conservative, but Ricochet won't do much to help conservatives learn from their Bush-era mistakes so they don't, "you know, ruin the country once they take power again."
Sources: The Atlantic, American Conservative, Riehl World, Ricochet, True/Slant
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published