The best opinion columns don't aim to win an argument. They inspire fresh thinking.
Judged by that standard, Ross Douthat's latest column in The New York Times is a great one. Taking off from the conventional wisdom contained in a quote from former Obama White House speechwriter Ben Rhodes — that one of America's two major parties "no longer accepts democracy" — Douthat goes on to show how this idea simplifies and distorts a more complex reality.
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.
Yet Douthat notes that the modern right includes pro-democracy strands as well, growing out of Richard Nixon's and Ronald Reagan's landslide victories as much as the ideological conviction that the post-Reaganite defense of traditional morals, capitalist growth, and a strong national defense represents the true sentiments of the American majority.
Viewing former President Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election against the backdrop of this intricate constellation of views, Douthat asserts that Trump's lies should be understood as "a way to reconcile the two competing tendencies within conservatism, the intellectual right's skepticism of mass democracy and comfort with countermajoritarian institutions with the populist right's small-d democratic self-image."
That's illuminating, reminding us that however delusional the conviction was, Trump justified his coupish moves in the name of democracy, claiming that in reality he really did prevail in the election. Only the ruthlessness and corruption of his opponents, he said, made it seem otherwise.
Having complicated the conservative side of the story, Douthat then turns to progressives, showing how their unconditional defense of democratic norms and ideals sits uneasily with an equally firm conviction that in broad areas of political life credentialed experts ought to be empowered to make decisions, even (or especially) when they countermand majority opinion.
Some will say Douthat goes too easy on the Trumpified Republican Party, excusing its unconstitutional power grab and downplaying the distinctive threat it still poses to the American polity. Such critics have a point, but they miss the real value in Douthat's column, which can be found in its provocative reframing of familiar categories and assumptions.
The column made me think. And that's more than I can say about most examples of opinion journalism these days.
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Codeword: December 6, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Crossword: December 6, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Looming drone ban has farmers and farm-state Republicans anxiousIN THE SPOTLIGHT As congressional China-hawks work to limit commercial drone sales from Beijing, a growing number of conservative lawmakers are sounding an agricultural alarm
-
US government shutdown: why the Democrats ‘caved’In the Spotlight The recent stalemate in Congress could soon be ‘overshadowed by more enduring public perceptions’
-
A crowded field of Democrats is filling up the California governor’s raceIn the Spotlight Over a dozen Democrats have declared their candidacy
-
Will Chuck Schumer keep his job?Today's Big Question Democrats are discontented and pointing a finger at the Senate leader
-
Will California tax its billionaires?Talking Points A proposed one-time levy would shore up education and Medicaid
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
A free speech debate is raging over sign language at the White HouseTalking Points The administration has been accused of excluding deaf Americans from press briefings
