Posted on 08/05/2010 6:04:18 PM PDT by pissant
These days it's getting increasingly embarrassing to publicly identify oneself as a conservative. It was bad enough when George Bush 43, the K Street Gang, and the neo-cons were running up spending, fighting an unnecessary war of choice in Iraq, incurring massive deficits, expanding entitlements, and all the rest of the nonsense I cataloged over the years in posts like Bush 43 has been a disaster for conservatives.
These days, however, the most prominent so-called conservatives are increasingly fit only to be cast for the next Dumb and Dumber sequel. They're dumb and crazy.
Conservative pundit David Kilnghoffer has a great op-ed in today's LA Times that nicely captures what I'm on about:
Once, the iconic figures on the political right were urbane visionaries and builders of institutions — like William F. Buckley Jr., Irving Kristol and Father Richard John Neuhaus, all dead now. Today, far more representative is potty-mouthed Internet entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart, whose news and opinion website, Breitbart.com, is read by millions. In his most recent triumph, Breitbart got a U.S. Department of Agriculture official pushed out of her job after he released a deceptively edited video clip of her supposedly endorsing racism against white people.
What has become of conservatism? ... With its descent to baiting blacks, Mexicans and Muslims, its accommodation of conspiracy theories and an increasing nastiness and vulgarity, the conservative movement has undergone a shift toward demagoguery and hucksterism. Once the talk was of "neocons" versus "paleocons." Now we observe the rule of the crazy-cons. ...
Conservatism wasn't just a policy agenda, a set of partisan gripes or a football team seeking victory on the electoral field. Above all, it was a satisfying, sophisticated critique of modern, materialist culture, pointing a way out and up from liberalism.
Let's tick off ten things that make this conservative embarrassed by the modern conservative movement:
1. A poorly educated ex-sportwriter who served half of one term of an minor state governorship is prominently featured as a -- if not the -- leading prospect for the GOP's 2012 Presidential nomination.
2. Tom Tancredo calling President Obama “the greatest threat to the United States today" and arguing that he be impeached. Bad public policy is not a high crime nor a misdemeanor, and the casual assertion that pursuing liberal policies--however misguided--is an impeachable offense is just nuts.
3. Similar nonsense from former Ford-Reagan treasury department officials Ernest Christian and Gary Robbins, who IBD column was, as Doug Marconis observed, "a wildly exaggerated attack on President Obama’s record in office." Actually, it's more foaming at the mouth.
4. As Doug also observed, "The GOP controlled Congress from 1994 to 2006: Combine neocon warfare spending with entitlements, farm subsidies, education, water projects and you end up with a GOP welfare/warfare state driving the federal spending machine." Indeed, "when the GOP took control of Congress in 1994, and the White House in 2000, the desire to use the levers of power to create “compassionate conservatism” won our over any semblance of fiscal conservatism. Instead of tax cuts and spending cuts, we got tax cuts along with a trillion dollar entitlement program, a massive expansion of the Federal Government’s role in education, and two wars. That’s not fiscal conservatism it is, as others have said, fiscal insanity." Yet, today's GOP still has not articulated a message of real fiscal conservatism.
5. Thanks to the Tea Party, the Nevada GOP has probably pissed away a historic chance to out=st Harry Reid. See also Charlie Crist in Florida, Rand Paul in Kentucky, and so on. Whatever happened to not letting perfection be the enemy of the good?
6. The anti-science and anti-intellectualism that pervade the movement.
7. Trying to pretend Afghanistan is Obama's war.
8. Birthers.
9. Nativists.
10. The substitution of mouth-foaming, spittle-blasting, rabble-rousing talk radio for reasoned debate. Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Hugh Hewitt, and even Rush Limbaugh are not exactly putting on Firing Line. Whatever happened to smart, well-read, articulate leaders like Buckley, Neuhaus, Kirk, Jack Kent, Goldwater, and, yes, even Ronald Reagan?
Update: Patterico says the foregoing are "reasons that conservatives should not support the Republican party," not reasons for being embarrassed about being a conservative. Fair enough. I'd accept that as a friendly amendment, but we're not friends.
I am reminded of Russell Kirk's great essay on Republican errors, in which he wrote that "in my lamenting of the present state of Republican leadership in Washington, I am more moved by sorrow than by wrath." Unfortunately, the present GOP leadership in Washington continues making many of the same errors of which Kirk complained 20 years ago. As such, sorrow begins to give way to wrath.
What an elitist statement! I guess EVERYONE who attended college at anything less than an Ivy League college, or one of the big name colleges is 'poorly educated'.
As for the snide comment about having been Governor of a 'minor' state. I wonder what the Professor would think if that 'minor' state decided not to share its natural resources with the Lower 48, which includes, I suppose, the 'major' states. Maybe he'd reconsider its importance.
This man is a TOTAL IDIOT!His way of thinking is one of the reasons The Repubs lost both houses in 2006!DemonRat Lite just doesn’t cut it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If Sara Palin embarrasses you then I guess the average American does too. And that’s the problem we’re facing today. The average (read Tea Party) working stiff is finding their voice and it probably scares the crap out of these guys (sorry, is “crap” to common). We’ve become tired of elitist telling us what’s good for us, convinced they know best for us because they went to the same elitist Alma Maters, attend the same parties and live in the same bubble away from the hoi polloi. Frankly, I’m getting sick of reading how much these people are getting their panties in a wad. They’re scared and it’s coming out as disdain. Good.
Cindie
Let me guess, Vanderbilt?
Heh. I was thinking William and Mary, which considers itself the Hahvahd of the South.
From the sound of it, David Brook’s pecker.
She is better off not being exposed to libtard propaganda at some libtard college by a bunch of libtard professors.She can get a better education by reading the right books on her own.
He’s no prof, he’s a poseur.
Sure it did, Professor. Actually, from the comments I read on your own site, they positively destroyed you and made it clear where the viciousness ("poorly educated") and vacuity ("Nativists") lies.
Frankly, it’s becoming apparent to me that an Ivy League education these days is worse than the education that average caveman received.
This guy’s brand of Rockefeller Republican, old NE money conservatism is irrelevant to the struggle conservatism faces in the 21st century. We don’t need “urbane”. We don’t need “elite”. This sort of crap got us where we are now. “Conservatives” of this stripe might as well be liberals.
IowaHawk, is that you?
One wonders if Professor Bainbridge is any kind of conservative with an objective opinion, or just another ranting loonie leftwinger..
Another poser exposes himself...
From the sound of it, David Brook’s pecker
I didn’t think of that. That is why I went to you for wise and educated guidance, Pissant. I needed understand in an effort to mend my broken self esteem after receiving the superior professor’s condemnation. Bottom line, it is probably a pecker issue. I should have guessed.
BTW, did you see me teasing on you on a Meghan McCain thread last week? I said that I heard you were dating Meghan and the poster should ask you about it. Ofcourse, I did not ping you. I told you I would get even with you for teasing me when I was new. :)
I think this is T. Coddington Van Voorhees VII writing under a nom de plume.
I recognize the writing style as well as the belief set.
Hi T.!!!!!!
I know exactly what you are talking about. In detail.
Now, now! We all have to be patient with this brilliant idiot. After all it took several advanced degrees from prestigious universities and a long incubation period in elitist salons for the good “perfesser” to become this incredibly arrogant and stupid.
Brings to mind the Russian proverb: “A fool is a terrible thing to have around, but a fool with energy is a nightmare”.
Now, now! We all have to be patient with this brilliant idiot. After all it took several advanced degrees from prestigious universities and a long incubation period in elitist salons for the good “perfesser” to become this incredibly arrogant and stupid.
Brings to mind the Russian proverb: “A fool is a terrible thing to have around, but a fool with energy is a nightmare”.
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