The New Right Movement Issues - Essay Example

First coined by the YAF or Young Americans for Freedom in a 1962 article, it became widely used in the late 70s. I was also able to trace it back, in part, to the American “New Deal” opponents Brent Bozell and Clarence Marion, both writers who were pioneers of what later became a Southern strategy. Other major proponents of the movement were Friedrich Hayek and Peter Viereck, who I believe were two of its most eminent intellectual forbearers.

The social changes that were blowing through America in the 60s and 70ms were not well received by everyone. Following the Roe vs. Wade ruling that established abortion rights; a fervent movement for the protection of unborn children was established. I also see the Equal Rights Amendment as the driver of anti-feminism, which took root with some Americans contending that it eroded the traditional unit of the family and its values. From the readings, there was obvious shock among some Americans at what they viewed as sexual permissiveness in magazines and film, whereas the gay and lesbian rights movement was attacked as sinful. With ever-increasing rates of crime and divorce, some Americans increasingly blamed the social maladies on America’s liberal welfare system. At the end of the 70s, it is already clear that there was a cultural war-taking root in the US.

The New Right was at one end of this cultural war, which I make out to have been a combination of fringe political groups, conservative tycoons angered by what they saw as labor and environmental regulations that held back the country’s global competitiveness, and Christian religious leaders. However, by this time, there was not a lot that was new about this economic and political conservatism. In 1964, I already see that Barry Goldwater had made the repudiation of the “New Deal” his presidential campaign driving point, declaring that the government was running a dime store New Deal. Increased welfare and social spending were to be cut to reduce tax burdens on families and individual Americans, whereas government regulations also needed to be reduced to re-establish personal freedoms and economic growth. In my opinion, the idea of a “New Right” took off in the 70s with foreign competition penetrating American markets, which caused people to believe that Goldwater was right. The New Right movement, therefore, was, and not surprisingly, strengthened by the financial resources of big American corporations.

The Christian Right was another linchpin for the movement, especially with numbers that had swelled since the 50s in the evangelical denominations. In fact, between 1963 and 1978, the number of born-again Americans had risen from 24% to 40%. They had numerous faces, although I think the most important were fundamentalists like Jerry Falwell and the Pentecostalism leader Pat Robertson. I find it remarkable that, despite their deep theological divisions, all leaders in evangelical America agreed that there was moral decay in the country. The main points they rallied against were homosexuality and its effect on the family, the “abandonment” by the woman of her family role, liberal media, and its effect on the youth, and courts for “banning” religion in public schools. Even Catholic Americans agreed with their sentiments, claiming that the Democratic Party had been spending time chasing gays, blacks, and women while ignoring everyone else. Family rights and abortion were issues that the Catholics and the evangelicals had common ground on. However, I feel like the Catholics slowly left the New Right movement with the appointment of John Paul II, an ultra-conservative, who marked the end of the Church’s reformist spirit.

The leaders in the New Right were highly organized, understanding the strength of telecommunications. In this aspect, I think Pat Robertson was the most proactive leader, forming the CBN, Christian Broadcasting Network, to spread the New Right’s religious message. Jim Bakker’s PTL club was involved in the transmission of a raucous religious revival that transmitted to what was the largest audience on TV. Through mass telecommunications, they built up databases with addresses and names of potential contributors. Moral Majority Inc., formed by Jerry Falwell in 1979, on its part, worked toward the political defeat of liberal governors, representatives, and senators. They also sought to control local school boards to advance what I believe was their conservative agenda. The New Right’s crowning glory, I think, was Ronald Regan’s victory in the 1980 election, especially as they had been major contributors to his campaign.