Is "WASP nostalgia" just a dog whistle?

What's really behind a controversial argument?

By Mary Elizabeth Williams

Senior Writer

Published December 10, 2018 7:00PM (EST)

FILE - In this March 13, 1990 file photo, President George H.W. Bush speaks during a news conference in the White House briefing room in Washington. Ted Cruz once proudly wore a belt buckle reading “President of the United States” borrowed from George H.W. Bush. He campaigned and worked for, and helped write a book lavishing praise on, that former president’s son, Dubya. And the endorsement of George P. Bush, the family’s latest rising political star, lent credibility to Cruz’s then little-known 2012 Senate campaign. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma, File) (AP)
FILE - In this March 13, 1990 file photo, President George H.W. Bush speaks during a news conference in the White House briefing room in Washington. Ted Cruz once proudly wore a belt buckle reading “President of the United States” borrowed from George H.W. Bush. He campaigned and worked for, and helped write a book lavishing praise on, that former president’s son, Dubya. And the endorsement of George P. Bush, the family’s latest rising political star, lent credibility to Cruz’s then little-known 2012 Senate campaign. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma, File) (AP)

Salon introduces the question of the day, where we invite you to lead the conversation.

Last week, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat  penned a sentimental remembrance of George Bush, and an explanation of "Why We Miss the WASPs." But Chauncey DeVega argues against the "myth of a great white Anglo-Saxon leadership class" and the "white supremacist public policies" that elevated them. What do you think? Do "we" miss WASPS, or is this nostalgia just MAGA culture in preppier clothing?


By Mary Elizabeth Williams

Mary Elizabeth Williams is a senior writer for Salon and author of "A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles."

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Chauncey Devega George Bush New York Times Wasps