Long rant on changing conservatism

Many of us on the right have come to believe & to say in louder & louder voices that it’s over: The (1)free market-(2)strong defense-(3)we’ll talk about maybe doing something about abortion, (3*)but no, we won’t! coalition of the Reagan era is over. Now, it’s change or become a minority party, with or without a massive organizational-ideological collapse. & it’s happening right before our eyes. 2016 is the most interesting year for conservatism since when? I think it’s been a generation since anything this troubling has happened…

So last year I was telling people on Ricochet & wherever I could get them to listen: If you think you’ve only got a messaging problem, you have no idea what a problem you really have! If you think, it’s mostly that … Continue reading

Bill ‘I’ve got morals!’ Bennett: ‘What morals!’

Do you have fifteen minutes? Listen to this recent interview: This is what it takes to make me speak up for Mr. Jonah Goldberg, until recently a star in the intellectual firmament of recent American conservatism. He lays out his case against talk-radio-at-its-best for its connivance in the rise of Mr. Trump. Mr. Bennett, I believe, makes a fool of himself. Mr. Goldberg is all of respect & consideration–do not judge him by my tone, of course–but he points out what I think is true of all supposedly principled anti-anti-Trump speakers.

They are all trying to have it both ways: Be committed conservatives & support–but only at arm’s length, only polemically, apparently–the man who is proving that conservatism does not matter. As I never tire of saying, the GOP has … Continue reading

A younger conservative you might like!

I’ve been recommending postmodern conservatism over the last year & I’ve been happy to see former–& future?–Ricochet & Postmodern Conservative member James Poulos warmly recommended on Ricochet by Prof. Rahe’s. I’d like to share with folks who are likelier to agree his argument that in the new America, there’s no place for the Sunshine Senator. Prof. Rahe only showed the pretty stuff, so allow me the pleasure of introducing to you the ugly attacks that led to this new Cruz v. Trump world. This is a column from about a week or a ten-day before the Florida primary & it’s really good on showing what wrong with the view of the GOP that Sen. Rubio championed. His focus on the future–new American century!–really failed on all levels to deal with the failures of … Continue reading

Reflecting On Conservatism In A Global Era

I have always self  identified as a conservative back when that phrase was also viewed as synonymous with patriot. As I proceeded through life and read the writings of Friedman, Hayek and Buckley, I found my reading of Bob Heinlein as a kid was my real foundation, and took my new influences with a salt shaker or two.

Lately, watching the next generation of ‘conservatives’ after Reagan, those who viewed him as a distant father figure and now make their living in the conservative media I worry that some of the basic belief systems that used to moderate conservative theory like ‘the national interest”  have been left by the wayside, and our new intelligentsia , like their progressive counterparts are following their theorists blindly.

We live in a … Continue reading