Welcome to NewMajority.com
Monday, January 19, 2009 8:15 PM
Welcome to NewMajority.com, a new Web site devoted to Republican reform and renewal.
We launch on a triumphant day for the United States, but a difficult moment for our party.
All Americans of all parties feel pride in the swearing in of the first African American president of the United States, an event all the more moving because it occurs five days after what would have been Martin Luther King’s 80th birthday. Dr. King spoke with uncanny prophetic truth when he said the day before his assassination that he had been to the mountaintop. He glimpsed the future country that he himself had formed.
Although Barack Obama was not the nominee of our party, Republicans in one respect at least can claim some unique insight into this moment. It is our conservative party that has insisted on the goodness and decency of Americans. Ironically, it was those of us who opposed the election of Barack Obama who were most confident that his election was possible. In the late spring of 2008, I attended a dinner party at which a prominent Hollywood figure – a major liberal voice and donor – shouted at the table: “You don’t understand this country! They will never elect a black president! Ever!” He was wrong of course. But his mistake was not a mistake about Obama. It was a mistake about America.
Our party has now taken two bad beatings in two consecutive cycles. It looks very likely we are heading for a third. It’s not a sign of lack of commitment to our party or our movement to acknowledge these hard facts.
Our goal here at NewMajority.com is to renew and reform our Republican party and the conservative philosophy – so that we can again earn the confidence of the American people and govern responsibly and effectively. We don’t claim to have all the answers. We are sure that we are asking the right questions. And we have assembled and are continuing to assemble some of the most thoughtful people in the land to answer them. Most are Republicans. Some are ex-Republicans. A few (we expect) are on their way to becoming Republicans at some point in the future.
We begin with Michael Powell and Douglas Holtz-Eakin – two names that suggest one of those “not since Thomas Jefferson dined alone” punchlines … and we continue through a series of contributors some famous, some not yet so, but all of whom have something distinctive and interesting to say.
Our opinion journalism is supported by investigative reporting by NewMajority’s own Moira Bagley, a Kentucky native and veteran of the Republican National Committee. Andrew Biggs, former deputy administrator of the Social Security Administration, will be a regular contributor, as will Amanda Foreman (biographer of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire), John Gardner, a senior staff veteran of two Bush White Houses, Fox News contributor Margaret Hoover, and John Avlon, my friend and comrade from the Giuliani campaign who knows more and has thought harder about the voting of independents and centrists than just about any politico I know. Avlon is the interviewer in our fascinating multi-part conversation with the mayor about the challenges and opportunities facing our Republican party.
Credit has to be paid here to our brilliant launch team: managing editor Meghashyam Mali, designer Adam Fairholm, site builder Brendan Turner, lead programer Mark Alicz, video editor Jessie Rogowski, business partners William Fisher and Jonathan Towers, and all-purpose utility infielder Danielle Crittenden. Not one of them has had a decent night’s sleep these past five days. We’re on a shakedown cruise here. Please join us. And please make your voice heard in the comments sections, where all civil and pertinent opinions are eagerly welcomed.