I've Been on an Informal Listening Tour of Rural Michigan. What I Heard Surprised Me.

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By Matthew Walther

Mr. Walther is the editor of The Lamp, a Catholic literary journal, and a contributing Opinion writer.

((Some intereting stuff here, fwiw.)

'Despite Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election, his political coalition was already expanding in consequential ways. Not only did he make notable gains among Hispanic and African-American voters — gains that only increased this year — but he also attracted the support of a loose grouping of mostly young, male voters whom I described around that time as “Barstool conservatives.” This year, as I had predicted, they appeared to swing hard for Mr. Trump.

“Barstool conservatism” was a reference to the media company Barstool Sports and its founder, Dave Portnoy, who became a folk hero of sorts in 2020 after raising millions of dollars on behalf of bars and restaurants whose existence had been threatened by Covid lockdowns. Apart from Mr. Portnoy, Barstool conservatism’s most representative figures today are the podcast host Joe Rogan, the retired N.F.L. punter turned ESPN personality Pat McAfee and various mixed martial arts fighters.

Barstool conservatism is libertarian in the sense that it values autonomy and ambition but not doctrinaire about it in a way that would be recognizable to, say, the editors of Reason magazine. It is a world of fantasy football podcasts, betting apps, diet trends (keto, paleo, carnivore) and more nebulous “lifestyle” questions about the nuances of alcohol and cannabis use. The outlook is culturally rather than socially conservative, skeptical of racial and gender politics for reasons that have more to do with the stridency of their proponents than with any deep-seated convictions about the issues themselves. . .

I have long been inclined to make certain hard and fast distinctions between Barstool conservatism and Trumpism of the sort that Mr. Vance represents, which I associate with opposition to abortion, pornography and cannabis, and support for traditional families, shoring up the power of organized labor and protecting religious freedom. In theory these two conservative tendencies are diametrically opposed. Until recently I would have suggested that only Mr. Trump could possibly unite them, by sheer force of personality.

But since this year’s election I have been on an informal listening tour of young men in the part of rural Michigan where I live, which is a nice way of saying that I have spent a lot of time talking to people in bars. What I heard from mechanics, waiters, high school teachers and others often surprised me. The future of American conservatism now strikes me as more complex and less ideologically predictable — and less dependent on Mr. Trump — than I had thought.

My longest conversation was with a 25-year-old garbageman named Collin Tone. Collin is an enthusiastic Trump voter. He enjoys listening to Mr. Portnoy and Mr. Rogan as well as the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. (Our conversation began with a discussion of Alp, a brand of nicotine pouch recently backed by Mr. Carlson.) He seemed to me at first a Barstool type.

But Collin is also a nondenominational Christian. Unlike most of his friends, he is married. On social and economic issues, his views do not line up neatly with either the “don’t tread on me” bro-ism of the Barstool set or the government-backed traditionalism envisioned by Mr. Vance.

Collin told me that while he and his wife have saved about $20,000 for a down payment on a house, he expressed frustration that very few Americans his age will be able to accumulate this kind of money. Unlike a Barstool type, he thinks the government should help young home buyers by lowering interest rates. But while he is open, like Mr. Vance, to the possibility of more generous European-style family policy, he also thinks that the expenses associated with child rearing are often overstated.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/01/opinion/trump-barstool-young-men.html