The Ponnuru-Frum debate I mentioned earlier continues, somewhat intemperately, here, here and here.
« AIDS, Africa, and the National Interest | Main | Bobby Fischer, RIP » Whither Conservatism?18 Jan 2008 02:21 pm Comments (13)
I think conservatives need to step back and take note of the fact that most of the problems modern conservatism was invented to solve in the 70s/80s have been largely solved (or at least become much less pressing). Crime is way down. Abortion is way down. Affirmative action is over. The USSR is no more. Divorce rates are down. Teen drug use is down. Taxes are reasonably low. Regulation is reasonably low. So what reason do people have to vote for conservatives any more? People are worried about job insecurity. They're worried about health care. They're worried about loss of U.S. prestige in the world. They're worried about the national debt. Conservatism simply has no answers to these problems at this point, and until it comes up with some, it'll be on the wane. 
The problem for conservatives is that, with the exception of abortion and marriage, liberals have basically adopted every single broadly conservative position on the table. This is flattering, I suppose, but political disabling as well.
Don't feel too badly, Brian G. You guys still have torture, creationism, and smacking fags around all to yourselves.
"You guys still have torture, creationism, and smacking fags around all to yourselves." And civil, intelligent commenters for that matter.
Conservatives have won the Iraq debate, too - no President has the balls to leave Iraq, either. We're there for a decade, at least, too. But abortion - trying to prevent gay marriage and overturn Roe - those might not mobilize before. Plus, the younger generation aren't afraid of gay marriage like today's cons are. And abortion is also here to stay, too. If Roe goes, the states will allow it. So what issues do Conservatives have? Unfortunately, small govt is dead forever. Reagan couldn't shrink it, and Bush didn't even try. So sorry, Andy Sullivan. I think Cons are too beholden to Big Business to ever help the middle class and working class, too. There's just no payday in it. And the social cons, humiliated in losing their issues, can enjoy the fact that torture is embraced too. That's repugnant, but true.
Funny, Kevin Drum said last year that the big programs of the Libs have been passed already, too, and so that Libs too have in effect already won the big battles. So, what's left? Maybe, philosophically, we're in an era where deficit management, Iraq troop management, and energy scarcity planning and environmental planning become the issues. Think so? Me neither. We'll only start worrying about these when a crisis hits, and by then, it'll be too late, and we'll listen to whoever scares us the most, and then in a panic we'll be terrified into the stupidest but most symbolically ambitious and poorly thought out maneuver that our congressional weaklings can patch together without reading or debating. American's will then, in a haze of narcissism, invoke our exceptionalism as if it were some real, embodied thing we've lost; politicians will speechify about returning to our glorious past we've lost by letting homosexuals marry and feminists tell us what to do. The only choice will be to pretend the Bible is the roadmap to the future and let the classes stratify even further. The population will sink into despair and ironic self-consciousness and worry about reality TV evermore while paying more money to mock Tom Cruise's latest. The blogs will endlessly analyze and split hairs, fill with smug sarcasm and viciously take pot shots at each other. Yes, that'll do nicely. I guess I have run out of hope that we Americans can govern each anymore. There's no fight in us. The war is over there. The Surge failed, but hey, it's out of the news, so the Surge worked as propaganda. Let it go.
MoeLarryandJesus - Where do you get your name from? I"ve seen you at Ezra's, and Ygleisas, too, and here. There have been a few occasions where you just wouldn't let up on some poor sumbitch. Lessee... you kept calling Romney supporters something like RoboRomneys? Man, now I gotta go dig those posts up. Gave me a chuckle. You were merciless...
(of course, I mean, it's the stooges. I mean, does it have any meaning, or just an afterthought) - are you mocking redstaters, evangelicals?
Passerby quotes and replies: ""You guys still have torture, creationism, and smacking fags around all to yourselves." And civil, intelligent commenters for that matter." Civility as a response to movement conservatives is a luxury I'm willing to forgo. Don't thank me now.
laugh asks: "(of course, I mean, it's the stooges. I mean, does it have any meaning, or just an afterthought) - are you mocking redstaters, evangelicals?" It's sort of a Trinity reference, and I like to see how SuperChristians with sticks up their fundaments respond to it.
LMJ's name is Jim Keane. More info forthcoming.
Re: Kevin Drum said last year that the big programs of the Libs have been passed already, too, Which is why we have universal health care of course.
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MEOW! It's a Conservative Cat Fight in the NR corral! Now we need a Huckabee upset in South Carolina and the place will really explode.
Posted by tgb1000 | January 18, 2008 6:04 PM