Peter Ross Range never fails to annoy me:
Part of the Democrats’ problem has been cultural. Still notionally tied to the 20th century glory days of strong urban working class and ethnic voting blocs, some Democratic activists have trouble imagining themselves as the car-pool and mega-mall party. Educated elites in the core cities, university towns, and inner suburbs often reject the exurban lifestyle — big yards, big cars, big churches, big families — and thus refuse to embrace a politics based on their concerns. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in the suburbs,” one 20- something urban liberal told me recently in Washington’s leading political bookstore.
Seriously? That’s the evidence? One twentysomething liberal in Kramerbooks or Politics & Prose told him that he wouldn’t be caught dead in the suburbs and this is the source of the Democratic Party’s political woes? Obviously, though, the suburban lifestyle isn’t supposed to appeal to single young professionals. If the Democratic Party’s electoral fortunes genuinely hinge on convincing twentysomething activists that they find suburban living personally appealing then the party is fucked. But maybe if Range thought about this for ten minutes he’d see that his account doesn’t make sense. It’s just that he’s writing in Blueprint so he needs to find a way to take a random personal swipe at liberals.