On the conservative reform agenda

I have a new The Week column, “Conservative reformers haven’t been defeated. They’re just biding their time.”  It’s a response to fellow The Week columnist Ryan Cooper who — after watching GOP 2016ers propose massive tax cuts, immigration restrictions, and a return to the gold standard — concluded “reformocon” ideas “have been stamped into the dirt, soaked in kerosene, and set ablaze.”

One point I make is that issues candidates highlight in debates may not fully reflect what’s in their policy agendas and what the eventual nominee might highlight in the general election.

Marco Rubio discusses “The Next Agenda for the American Presidency” at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council 2015 annual meeting in Washington November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas.

For instance: In the GOP debate hosted by Fox Business, all the top-tier candidates expressed their opposition to the minimum wage. Better to help lower-income workers through a stronger economy, they said. None I recall also mentioned expanding the EITC wage subsidies, though some are on record stating just that. But the EITC isn’t a big applause line, I guess. Anyway, a bit from the piece:

But Cooper’s pessimistic take is unwarranted. (I am, by the way, one of the conservative reformers Cooper mentions in his piece.) For starters, I would characterize the core conservative reform agenda as one that attempts to address the real-world problems of today’s middle-class Americans, including stagnant incomes and rising health care and higher education costs.

And when I look at the policy agendas of the various candidates, I see a lot of that stuff in there. Both Marco Rubio — the GOPer most likely to be the Republican nominee, according to prediction markets — and Jeb Bush offer thoughtful plans to boost take-home pay for working class Americans and provide an alternative to ObamaCare beyond a return to the status quo. Rubio also has a comprehensive plan to make college more affordable and provide greater value to students.