It’s only been a week or so since Tony Snow’s passing, and I can still hear him speaking to me.
Snow was an outstanding fill-in host for Rush Limbaugh a decade or so ago, and at times he seemed to be a superior host to “El Rushbo” himself. Snow explained and defended his conservative views with a clarity and skill that was as effective as it was entertaining. Like fellow Limbaugh fill-in Dr. Walter E. Williams, Snow made conservatism intellectually as well as emotionally appealing. I’m sure that he convinced some liberal listeners to reconsider their views.
Cancer has not only robbed us of Snow’s friendship, it has also stolen the mind and voice of someone who, if he so chose, could have easily become President of the United States. Snow had the same skill President Reagan had: the ability to cast conservatism as a force for optimism and strength throughout the United States and the world. Snow could have led a conservative revival in this country—a revival that needs to, but may never, take place.
There are plenty of folks who speak for conservatism, but how many of these individuals can convince those in the center and those on the left to move to the right? Snow clearly had that ability, but it’s hard to find many conservatives today who have the same skill.
Recently, Alan Keyes appeared as a guest on Boston talk-radio star Reese Hopkins’ program. Keyes is a brilliant, passionate conservative whose oratory and devotion to his ideals has earned him many admirers on the right—but when it comes to communicating these ideals to non-conservatives, Keyes may be too brilliant and too passionate for his own good. Listening to his conversation with Hopkins, it occurred to me that Keyes is both ahead of his time and ahead of his country: he explains his beliefs with such intellectual depth and detail that most Americans will not be able to comprehend his wisdom.
The conservative movement needs people who can explain the right’s vision in a way that average non-conservative Americans can understand. Snow had that gift. So did Reagan and Williams. Limbaugh built an empire with that gift. Yet the list, as you may have noticed, is much too short. Snow and Reagan are no longer with us, and Williams and Limbaugh aren’t running for anything.
The average conservative is more intelligent than the average liberal, but the average liberal can explain his beliefs more skillfully than the average conservative. It’s easy to propagandize people with liberal concepts. It’s a bit more difficult to convince people of the correctness of conservatism.
I remember reading the syndicated columns of Williams, Thomas Sowell, and Ken Hamblin years ago, and being amazed by the clarity and crispness of their words. They discussed complex concepts in a way that any American could understand: if more Americans had read their articles, perhaps there’d be fewer “progressives” in this country.
Sadly, there seems to be a dwindling number of folks on the right who can do what Williams, Sowell, Hamblin, Reagan, Limbaugh and Snow did. Reading through modern-day conservative commentary, one can’t help feeling like Goldilocks: either one finds work that’s “too intelligent”, or one finds work that isn’t intelligent enough.
Conservatism is simply not going to survive in this country if we don’t have a gradual increase in the number of commentators who are “just right”—thoroughly committed to the principles of conservatism, and capable of effectively communicating those values to the common man and woman. Conservative publications and websites must make an extra effort to seek out those who have Snow’s gift—or else more minds and votes will be lost to the easy appeals of the left.
No one should be surprised that certain mentally defective folks on the left couldn’t resist taking shots at Snow after he died. They feared Snow precisely because he didn’t come across as the stereotypical cranky curmudgeon conservative. He was young, vibrant, handsome, charismatic—the mind of Reagan in the body of JFK Jr.
I hope that younger conservatives who watched, read, and listened to Snow over the past decade or so choose to emulate his approach as they enter politics and media. We need more people like Snow—people who can combat dour liberalism with skill, style and smiles. When it came to promoting conservatism, Snow wasn’t just good, he was better. Let’s hope he’s remembered not just as a great man, but also as a trendsetter.
