Free Republic

We are fast approaching grand-strategy season in Washington. Within the next few weeks, the Obama administration will release both its Quadrennial Defense Review and new updated National Security Strategy. These documents often contain the essential strategic ideas—about goals and priorities, threats and opportunities, resources and constraints—that guide an administration’s statecraft. And because they do, they inevitably provoke debate about that administration’s grand strategy—whether it actually has one, what its major tenets are and what prospects for success it has. They will also invariably provoke comparisons to the grand strategies of administrations past—to the origins and evolution of containment under Harry...

Are atheism and promoting atheism consistent with American -- let alone conservative -- values and principles? The operational policy of the American Conservative Union now appears to contradict Ronald Reagan's view on this. Reagan believed atheism was not merely wrong, but the enemy of freedom. The ACU has functionally adopted the position that groups promoting atheism can be featured at its annual Conservative Political Action Conference -- so long as they promote godlessness with civility. In the same 1983 speech in which he declared the Soviet Union an "evil empire," Reagan unapologetically spelt out the "ideals and principles" that...

Ronald Reagan once said that Americans spend too much of their time second guessing themselves and their values. Of course he was absolutely right, and a cursory look at the state of our culture underlines that fact. Most of the “second guessing” and criticism of traditional American values comes courtesy of the modern progressive (read “liberal”) movement, its politicians and its cheerleaders in the mainstream media. But does this give conservatives the right to wallow in negativity and act defeated? And just what exactly does it accomplish when they do? Whether it’s talk radio, Fox News or online, you don’t...

If there were as many “fiscal conservatives” as there are people who claim to be, it is hard to see how Republicans would lose as many elections as they do. One frequently hears this political self-identification: “I’m socially liberal, but fiscally conservative.” Or: “If the Republicans weren’t conservative on so many social issues, I would vote Republican.” Or: “It’s too bad the Christian Right dominates the Republican party. I would vote for the Republicans on fiscal issues, but I can’t stand the religious Right.” The same sentiment holds among many inside the Republican party. Most secular conservatives and the libertarian...

To the Editor: In nature, mothers represent a great force in the perpetuation of their species. From the mighty killer whale, to the mother bear, to the petite soccer mom, the female of the species is dedicated to protection of her young and her family, and will readily stand down what would appear to be a superior foe. I realize that it is early to write about the next presidential election, but it has become apparent that America is ready for a woman to take the ultimate reins of power. The conservative woman is a force to be reckoned with,...

Yesterday, in response to one of the many brouhahas that CPAC seems always to invite, Brent Bozell issued the following statement: The invitation extended by the ACU, Al Cardenas and CPAC to American Atheists to have a booth is more than an attack on conservative principles. It is an attack on God Himself. American Atheists is an organization devoted to the hatred of God. How on earth could CPAC, or the ACU and its board of directors, and Al Cardenas condone such an atrocity? The particular merits of the American Atheists group to one side, this is a rather astounding...

This morning, American Atheists announced the group would have a booth at the Conservative Political Action Conference beginning March 6 in Washington. “‘Conservative’ isn’t a synonym for ‘religious’,” said American Atheists president David Silverman in a statement announcing the booth. “In fact, a fifth of conservatives seldom or never pray, and the same number state religion is not important in their lives.” “If conservatism doesn’t embrace religious neutrality, its influence will wither and die,” Silverman said. “Atheists are a growing constituency—an increasingly united constituency—and conservative legislators ignore our vote and our voice at their own peril. We demand equality and...

Conservative student group Turning Point USA caused a stir last week by posting pages online from a textbook used at the University of South Carolina. The book calls Ronald Reagan “sexist” and says conservatives “take a basically pessimistic view of human nature” — one in which “people are conceived of as being corrupt.” Several avowed conservatives balked not just at the negative portrayal of Reagan but also at the idea that the conservative persuasion contains a measure of pessimism. On this point, the textbook is right and they are wrong. Russell Kirk was the man credited by William F. Buckley...

A conservative LGBT organization will be part of this year's Conservative Political Action Conference event in Washington, DC after long being banned from the event. GOProud, a pro-gay group that holds several politically conservative views, will participate in CPAC next month as a guest organization. CPAC is an annual gathering of conservative groups held at the nation's Capital and organized by the American Conservative Union. The ACU provided The Christian Post with a statement by their executive director, Dan Schneider, regarding the matter. "We had a constructive meeting with GOProud's leadership last week. The directors have a new vision for...

VIDEO: Conservatism vs Liberalism mini-debate between Gov. Scott Walker (WI) and far-Left Gov. Peter Shumlin (VT). Walker cleans Shumlin's clock and shows what kind of candidate Walker might be in 2016.

I’ve long been arguing that conservatives are generally right on principle, but tend not to be that smart when it comes to politics. Conversely, I believe that liberals are generally wrong on (or lacking in) principle, but tend to be pretty shrewd politicians. One doesn’t have to look hard to find proof of this. We live in a country in which nearly twice as many people describe themselves as conservatives as do liberals, and conservatives outnumber liberals in 47 of our 50 states. Yet, arguably the most liberal president in United States history won re-election after doubling our national debt,...

"...................................In 1980, Tennessee Senator Howard.....Baker—who had won the nickname “The Great Conciliator” and supported President Carter’s giveaway of the Panama Canal—ran for president. Reagan, of course, had famously opposed Carter on the Panama Canal issue and incurred the wrath of the GOP establishment by going from one end of America to the other saying “we built it, we paid for it, it’s ours and we should tell Torrijos [then Panama’s ruling military dictator] we are going to keep it.” Baker lost resoundingly to Reagan. During the 1980 GOP Convention in Detroit, Howard Baker was spotted standing at the rim of...

Mark Levin has proposed a series of "Liberty Amendments" to the Constitution through an Article 5 state convention. I have my own set of amendments which I hope to share here and add to the proposed Liberty Amendments. The first involves the resurrection of the city-state. This plan would take our largest cities, governed primarily by socialist Democrats, and separate them out as independent, self-governing, self-funding political units, with no connection to the states, but within the exclusive oversight of the federal government, just as the states are. There is a huge separation in this country right now between the...

Robert George ‘77 and Cornel West’s collection on Monday, hosted by the Institute for the Liberal Arts, culminated a campus-wide discussion on the meaning of discourse at Swarthmore. The Princeton professors, known for their friendship despite of their strongly opposing viewpoints, intended to build community and discuss questions like “What does it mean to communicate across differences regarding what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong?’” The event was expected by many to be controversial, with rumors of student-led protest in the form of a boycott of the event or a rally after the collection, but no such protest occurred during the collection....

credit Greg Nash Conservatives in Iowa and New Hampshire are preparing a hero’s welcome for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after he showed up Senate Republican leaders during a crucial vote on the debt limit. Cruz infuriated his Senate Republican colleagues this week when he filibustered a clean bill to raise the debt limit. His objection forced Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and 11 other Republicans to vote with Democrats to advance the legislation. But in Iowa and New Hampshire, two important presidential primary states, conservative activists are cheering Cruz’s stand and buzzing about a possible presidential run in 2016....

I jumped at the last-minute invitation to hear P.J.O'Rourke comment on current events and tout his new book on the Boomer generation at the Commonwealth Club last night in San Francisco. What a disappointment! He unleashed a scathing---and not funny to me----attack on the Tea Party and Ted Cruz. He said, "This is why politics should not be left to amateurs. Boehner is an adult. Ted Cruz is not." Also added "The Tea Party is a big tree and unfortunately big trees attract a lot of squirrels." In the past I have relished his writing, from National Lampoon's High School...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Breitbart News has learned exclusively. CPAC is an annual gathering of thousands of conservative activists hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU). “We are pleased to again welcome Governor Sarah Palin to CPAC in March,” ACU Chairman Al Cardenas said in a release provided to Breitbart News. “Governor Palin electrified the crowd in 2013, and we are thrilled to welcome her back this year.” Palin served as the governor of Alaska from late 2006 until 2009, and was the 2008 Vice Presidential nominee for the Republican...

An unfortunate legacy of the Cold War is the negative attitude some American conservatives yet harbor toward Russia. Conditioned for decades to see Russia and the Soviet Union as synonymous, they still view post-communist Russia as a threat. They forget that Tsarist Russia was the most conservative great power, a bastion of Christian monarchy loathed by revolutionaries, Jacobins, and democrats. Joseph de Maistre was not alone among 19th-century conservatives in finding refuge and hope in Russia. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia is emerging once more as the leading conservative power. As we witnessed in Russia’s rescue of President Obama from...

While Heritage has drawn the ire of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for its frequent opposition to leadership proposals, the presenters largely ignored the party leaders. Instead, the lawmakers who took the stage on Monday went out of their way to align themselves with the increasingly controversial organization. “When you’re working with the Heritage Foundation, I’ll bet on that team every time,” Jordan said, calling it “the greatest policy think tank in the whole wide world.”Conservatives on Monday offered a vision of a nation without ObamaCare, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and with the federal government offloading authority over a broad...

Republicans are buoyant they can capture the Senate this year – but will Mitch McConnell still be there as majority leader? A surprising survey out of Kentucky this week underscores that the Senate minority leader is truly running the race of his life — and could even be the underdog heading into 2014. The Bluegrass Poll, conducted by SurveyUSA for several local TV stations and newspapers, showed McConnell trailing Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes by four points, 46 percent to 42 percent. It’s the Secretary of state’s biggest lead yet and outside the poll’s margin of error. Maybe most troubling for...