If you really want to take a hike back to yesterday where conservatives were thundering “that government governs best which governs least” and wrapping themselves around Washington’s Farewell Address warning against “entangling alliances,” the days of the celluloid high collars, William E. Borah, high button shoes and Henry Clay’s high protective tariff, read The American Conservative magazine which, unfortunately, is put out by a good man gone so far right he’s dropping off the edge of his flat world, Pat Buchanan. To read it is to get a whiff of the 19th century. They’re still fighting our entry into World War II, still threatening to saw off the east coast and let it float out to sea. The most rabid of the lot isn’t Pat who dances close to the edge but returns to home base occasionally—it’s none other than Paul Craig Roberts, the once sound supply side economist who used to write editorials for The Wall Street Journal but now crusades fervently to return us to Fortress America. Pat can at least write and is entertaining with inflammatory doggerel. To think that Roberts was once a major domo in Jack Kemp’s presidential campaign—and now he’s come to this.
Roberts and Howard Dean are ideological soul-mates with Roberts writing favorably about Mahathir Mohamad the former prime minister of Maslaysia who spoke at a rump Human Rights Conference asking “who are the terrorists—the Iraqis or the Americans?” Believe it or not Roberts summarizes his column with “the whole world is asking this question.” One shouldn’t get too upset about these Full Mooners, however, since it proves that conservatives now are so numerous they can afford to have their own brand of nuts. In the mid-1950s when the paleo right were dangerous with the John Birch Society tinted with anti-Semitism which threatened to engulf the entire movement, Bill Buckley helped excommunicate them from conservatism. The paleos don’t warrant being hounded out of the right now because they are so far outnumbered.
I think you are off base calling a true patriot like Pat Buchanan who fights for America first - always "Unpatriotic". Pat Buchanan has joined many conservatives and liberals in calling this Iraq war an enormous mistake - in terms of human life, obscene costs and the fact that this war did not benefit America or make us safe.
ReplyDeleteWe need to defend our borders, inforce immigration laws, cut taxes and remove our troops defending countries throughout the world and send them home where they belong. America's government shoudl serve the American people, not the UN, not foreign nations.
The non patriots are the neo cons who have added to the welfare state with their obscene Medicare RX scam - the third largest welfare program ever enacted and their record deficits. Due to bipartisan fraud and deception which makes the "combine" in Illinois look like childs play we will leave America to future generations WORSE off for the first time in our nations history.
I am not going to comment on Roberst because I am not familiar with his work but once again Pat Buchanan proved he is right on Iraq and Bush an utter failure in this regard. Hopefully Bush can nominate a qualified conservative judge (judges are one of the few areas Bush has actually done a good job) or two so that his 2 terms in office are not a complete waste.
I still doubt whether the Republicans will ever overturn Roe v. Wade as it benefits them more when abortion is legal which explains their "mistake" (O'Conner) after "mistake" (Kennedy) after "mistake" (Souter) after "mistake" (Stevens).