In 1997, Republicans lost a special election in the 22nd House district of California. I talked to a well-known Republican strategist afterward, and he blamed, in part, social-conservative activists who had run ads on abortion during the campaign. The strategist said that this was a stupid move “in a wine-and-brie coastal California district.” It was a nice line at the time. But my impression is that the proportion of our population that consumes either wine or brie, or both together, has gone up since then. (If I were David Brooks, I’d have the data, straight from American Demographics, at my fingertips.) Hasn’t the insult lost its bite? I thought of this when I read a crack against elites that mentioned bottled water. It sure seems as though drinking bottled water has ceased to be an elite activity. Back in 1997, conservatives could mock latte towns–but you can find latte in any town you’re in nowadays. Conclusion: We need some new put-downs. (Confession: I like brie and wine, have occasionally had a latte, and buy bottled water for my family–but that last point reflects the high lead content in D.C. water rather than a preference on my part.)