Reinventar o republicanismo

Ryan Lizza procura perceber num artigo no The New Yorker se McCain é capaz de reinventar o republicanismo:

In 2000, McCain railed against corporate power and the influence of lobbyists and money in politics. Today, the only mention of corporations in his stump speech is a demand that the corporate-tax rate be lowered. After 2000, McCain seemed briefly to be considering leaving the Republican Party, just as Roosevelt had. But, once terrorism and the war in Iraq became the preeminent issues, he decided instead to take over the Party.

McCain is careful not to mock the broader libertarian right, which makes up a far larger share of his party than Paul’s followers do. Nonetheless, his victory is a repudiation of small-government conservatism, a development not seen in the years of Barry Goldwater, Reagan, and the two Bushes. “For the first time since Eisenhower,” Newt Gingrich told me, “you have someone who has clearly not accommodated the conservative wing winning the nomination. That is a remarkable achievement.”

Em poucas palavras, a hipótese da necessidade de reinvenção resulta dos Estados Unidos estarem a evoluir – maior peso de imigrantes, jovens mais “democratas” que noutros tempos – e do próprio partido estar a evoluir – mais apoio interno para intervenções “eficientes” do Estado em áreas específicas. De qualquer forma, a dúvida fica se McCain chegará a fazer essa reinvenção ou se acabará por ser sobreposto pelo poder da reacção.