Dark economic, political thoughts

Worth a read because sadly plausible: Reihan Salam says the current much-touted economic recovery is bogus. I also note that e21, an organization with which Salam is now affiliated, looks like it's doing interesting work, with an emphasis on evidence over ideology.

From the archives: I reviewed Douthat and Salam's Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream for the New York Post. I must say, though, I was more enthused then than I'd be now about the idea that appealing to "Sam's Club" shoppers without college educations is the key to future Republican success. I hadn't thoroughly contemplated how damaging the I-don't-care-what-intellectuals-think style of politics could be.