Woodgrains argued that Trump-era conservatism suffers from a fatal human capital problem, an inability to generate elite support on any meaningful scale. Conservative populism, he suggested, is a potent mass movement with an enduring vacuum at the top.
The Vance pick suggests that the G.O.P. aims to appeal to anti-woke Silicon Valley or finance types to address its competency crisis, with Vance embodying a right-leaning counter-elite. Response from tech figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel indicates a shift in support.
Republicans offer an opportunity for ambitious anti-woke secular individuals to gain influence by aligning with social conservatism and evangelicals in a coalition seeking policy competence. The allure of power voids can drive individuals to accept this Faustian bargain.
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