Take Back the Suburbs

Michael Smerconish, Philadelphia’s conservative talk-radio star, made waves last fall when he announced who he would be voting for: Barack Obama. But he doesn’t just support Obama—he’s also calling out the Republican Party. As he’s watched the party lose ground in the Main Line suburbs where he lives and other areas like it, he sees a party unwilling to look at new positions. Which is why he’s looking for them. His “Suburban Manifesto” offers a platform for a moderate, suburban conservative party that keeps its hard line on national security but leaves room for the nation’s shifting social mores. Smerconish sat down with Politics this week to discuss campaigns, politics and the future of his old friend Arlen Specter.Click here to read the Q&A.