Mike Lee is the most interesting Republican in Washington
Meet the man who's working to make the GOP the smart party again
Of the four senators who were elected in the Tea Party wave that unseated establishment-backed Republican primary candidates in 2010, only one is not running for president. He's the one you should be paying attention to.
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah says he doesn't want to be president. Instead, it seems like he's trying something that would be even more meaningful if it succeeds: reshaping conservatism for the 21st century.
Lee is one of the most conservative members of Congress. He has a 100 percent score from the Club for Growth, a 100 percent score from the American Conservative Union, and a 99 percent score from the Heritage Foundation. He was one of the leaders of the effort to shut down the government over ObamaCare.
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.
But he's also been putting forward some of the most interesting GOP policy proposals we've seen in many years. He (with Rand Paul) was one of only two Republicans to vote against renewing certain portions of the Patriot Act. Lee has voted against provisions allowing indefinite detention without trials of those deemed enemy combatants. Lee's Tea Party conservatism isn't just economically libertarian. He also wants to protect civil liberties. This concern is something that is almost unknown on the right.
Lee has also been the cosponsor (with Marco Rubio) of one of the most interesting tax plans to emerge from the right for many years. The Lee proposal, from last year, would have focused on working-class families, by dramatically expanding the child-tax credit and making it partially refundable against payroll taxes, which means that poor families that don't pay federal income tax would get money under the plan. The plan would also reform America's most successful anti-poverty program, the Earned Income Tax Credit, to turn it into a wage subsidy. This would make it a lot more efficient and would help improve remuneration for low-wage jobs. These are wonky ideas, but they could make the lives of millions of people significantly better. More importantly, they represent a shift in focus for the right on taxes. No longer will GOP tax policy just be about cutting tax rates for high-income taxpayers. Lee is proposing conservative tax reforms that might actually help working people.
But the way Lee has been really unconventional is by promoting criminal justice reform. He has proposed expanding judicial discretion in sentencing and improving prison quality in order to reduce recidivism. Conservatives have been known for decade as the people who want to lock up more people for longer. But there's been a shift. Religious conservatives have realized that a purely punitive approach to criminal justice is not in line with Gospel values, and that excessive prison time destroys poor families. Fiscal conservatives have seen how dramatically expensive prisons are. While this conservative war has been going on for years now in the cultural arena and in state houses, until now it lacked a conservative champion.
Lee is a very sharp conservative mind, and with a safe Senate seat, it looks like he can spend the next few decades shaping the direction of American government by becoming a new intellectual statesman on the right. It's no coincidence that the sharpest conservative in the Senate is also a Tea Party guy. An insurgent movement brings in new blood and new thinking. Lee can take more chances without alienating conservatives because he has a solid record as an intellectual conservative. But more importantly, Lee shows how the Tea Party can improve the policies of the Republican Party precisely because he is trying to approach new issues creatively from a conservative worldview.
For years now pundits have attacked the right about for its intellectual exhaustion. They sometimes had a point. As recently as 2013 even Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal felt compelled to say that the GOP needed to "stop being the stupid party.” But politicians like Lee might represent a new direction. By applying timeless conservative principles to new challenges in a fresh and smart way, they show that conservative principles have a real, positive future in a changing America.
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
Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is a writer and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His writing has appeared at Forbes, The Atlantic, First Things, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, Quartz, and other places. He lives in Paris with his beloved wife and daughter.
-
'Election Day. Finally.'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Incendiary device plot: Russia's 'rehearsals' for attacks on transatlantic flights
The Explainer Security officials warn of widespread Moscow-backed 'sabotage campaign' in retaliation for continued Western support for Ukraine
By The Week UK Published
-
Outer Hebrides: a top travel destination
The Week Recommends Discover 'unspoiled beauty' of the Western Isles
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published