The death of modern conservatism

[rwarn17588]

This is a devastating essay by not a left-leaning Democrat, but by a former big cheese at the right-wing New Republic. It thoughtfully coalesces all what's gone horribly wrong with conservatism in recent years:

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_20/cover.html

[papaspot]

quote:Crazed ideologues are ubiquitous, even (perhaps especially) in democracies.

quote:How nations sink, by darling schemes oppressed / when vengeance listens to the fool's request!

[Route66Kid]

So what does the future hold for the American Conservative movement?  

Any of the resident conservatives care to weigh in?

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by rwarn17588

This is a devastating essay by not a left-leaning Democrat, but by a former big cheese at the right-wing New Republic. It thoughtfully coalesces all what's gone horribly wrong with conservatism in recent years:

http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_20/cover.html

Methinks he was a closet liberal all along seeing that Buckley asked him to resign some time back[}:)]  Thanks for just posting the link and not doing a cut and paste...whew that is a long and wordy read!

[rwarn17588]

<Conan wrote:

Thanks for just posting the link and not doing a cut and paste...

<end clip>

No problem. I think it's good etiquette, frankly. One little link's gonna take up a heck of a lot less room than pasting the whole bloomin' thing.

If people are interested enough, they'll go there and read it.

[rwarn17588]

<Route66Kid wrote:

Any of the resident conservatives care to weigh in?

<end clip>

Most of them won't, because the article brings to light a whole lot of the contradictions and lack of thought that have beset the so-called "conservative" movement in recent years. It's not a pretty picture.

Plus a whole lot of conservatives are still smarting from the elections and lying low.

A few still don't get it. I read one prominent Tulsa blogger who blamed the GOP's corruption for the losses on Election Day, while ignoring the elephant in the room (no pun intended) called the Iraq War.

Corruption was a factor (among many others), but the Iraq debacle is numero uno. And it probably will be in 2008, too.

[Conan71]

I do believe that the war was used as a political football (I hate cliches more than anyone else, but I just don't know another way to word it [] ) by both sides.  What is painfully obvious now is that GOP legislators should have been making a more open-minded appraisal of the war instead of circling the wagons for President Bush, there would be a lot more of those guys still in office.  Hell, even firing Rumsfeld a few weeks prior to the election would have likely saved some seats.

[papaspot]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

I do believe that the war was used as a political football (I hate cliches more than anyone else, but I just don't know another way to word it [] ) by both sides.

How 'bout this? "The war was used as a political air hockey puck." []

[tim huntzinger]

I think that 'white papers' by ascendent 'think-tanks,' the collapse of the precinct as the primary unit of our democracy, the rise of politicommercial 'superstars,' the insidious  dumbing down of the electorate, and pernicious effect of identity-group politics threaten conservatism and liberalism.

What we reckon as conservatism was a movement against Statism as embodied in Marxist Communism, later as a reaction against social permissiveness of the chaotic 60's.  The poster boys Goldwater and Reagan, respectively, were both products of the Great Depression and the pioneering spirit of the West.

Modern conservatives are products of suburban, homogoneous middle-class backgrounds who have - by and large - never experienced want or deprivation.  Inasmuch as politics are more an intellectualization of self-serving biases than anything else, 'conservative' politics define poverty as a moral failing, and any disagreement as anti-social deviance.

All that and gerrymandering 'safe' districts has weakened the democratic aspects of our republic.

[aoxamaxoa]

November 30, 2006 at 06:50:25

Pretending That November 7th Never Happened.

by Lawrence Velvel

"Re: Pretending That November 7th Never Happened. Also, It Is Now Time To Quite Seriously Ask The Question Of Whether George Bush Is Sane."
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_lawrence_061129_pretending_that_nove.htm

[aoxamaxoa]

This is one of those articles where it's clear that something serious is under debate in the White House but they are in denial about it. It sure looks like they are thinking about splitting up Iraq, but read for yourself ...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061202/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq