What is with this term "Neo-Conservative"?

[Martus]

I keep hearing this term "Neo-Conservative" thrown about by the "anti-war" phonies. What does this term mean and where did it come from?

Just wondering....

[Commander8]

Read this:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/2/21/02850.shtml

[Reagan Man]

Paleoconservatives are in the political minority.

Libertarians aren't true conservatives and therefore don't count.

OTOH, neoconservatives are also in the political minority, but have a lot in common with the values of the traditional conservative movement in America today.

[Kryptonite]

The intellectually-challenged anti-war scab sees neo-conservative as some type of slur to get foamy about.

A recent article in Time referred to Paul Wolfowitz as a neo-conservative, and Cheney as a conservative (while mentioning Clinton and his administration and never using any form of liberal to describe them), which told me this is actually a misguided smear campaign.

[jjm2111]

I'm a paleo-conservative, libertarian, and paleo-libertarian in that order.

[delacoert]

What is with this term "Neo-Conservative"?

Anyone who disagrees with a libertarian for any reason.

[Texas_Jarhead]

well, I'm not a libertarian. I simply posted a link to page that I knew had some info. on the subject. You try to go find some definitions for neocon and paleocon. It ain't easy. I was just trying to provide a starting place and a little help.

[Orangedog]

Neo-Cons were swept into the mainstream in the wake of the 1994 election. During the '94 election cycle, the GOP had gained momentum after X42 and his wife had scared the bejesus out of the voters with the largest tax increase in world history and a failed attempt at socializing the medical industry. The Republicans recruited like nobody's business and attempted to broaden it's base. Their message: "Give power back to the states and shrink the size of the federal government....sorta." They were able to recruit some fresh blood with that campaign. But what came along for the ride were new party members that didn't hold the traditional party line. They were right on board with decentralized government power...sorta. Your typical neo-con will support tax cuts, as long as the poll numbers are right. But don't count on them for opposing gun control.

Pretty much, if you want to deride a republican without using the insulting term of "moderate", you call them a neo-con.

[Texas_Jarhead]

I didn't make you any promises about the quality or accuracy of the material, just trying to help a little

[A_Conservative_in_Cambridge]

The term "neo-conservative" was originally used by leftists in the 1960s as a derogatory label for a group of former leftist writers who began to question the sacred cows of the left and eventually made it all the way over to the right side of the fence . "Paleo-conservative" refers to those who have always held conservative positions (e.g., William F Buckley, Russell Kirk). Since many of the "founding" neos were involved with the Left in their youth, they are keen observers of current leftist follies. Neos tend to be strongly anti-Communist, pro-defense, pro-Israel, and in favor of an assertive foreign policy, whereas the paleos at times take a more isolationist tack, citing George Washington's warning against foreign entanglements.

For a historical overview, I highly recommend a book by Mark Gerson: "The Essential Neo-Conservative Reader" (1996). There are several flagship publications which are still in print: Commentary, which was started in the 1950s by Norman Podhoretz, and The Public Interest, which was edited by Irving Kristol. Newer publications that I would place in the neo camp include "The Weekly Standard" and "City Journal". I also highly recommend David Horowitz's web site: www.frontpagemag.com.

Another avenue for exploring the roots of neo-conservatism is to "Google" the following writers:

- Norman Podhoretz
- Irving Kristol
- James Q Wilson
- Jeanne Kirkpatrick
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan
- Charles Krauthammer
- Nathan Glazer
- Gertrude Himmelfarb
- Midge Decter

[Arkinsaw]

I didn't make you any promises about the quality or accuracy of the material, just trying to help a little

No, it helped. Looked accurate to me. Its just that I don't fit cleanly into either category.

[annyokie]

"well, I'm not a libertarian. I simply posted a link to page that I knew had some info. on the subject. You try to go find some definitions for neocon and paleocon. It ain't easy. I was just trying to provide a starting place and a little help."


I wasn't slamming you. Sorry if you took it that way. Have you read any of David Horowitz' stuff?

[Paleo Conservative]

Definition:

neo-con: a liberal who has been mugged.

[ggekko]

"Neo-conservatives are former liberals and leftists who moved right in..."

The term neo-conservative has also come to be associated with William F. Buckley and the National Review who have had a large impact about on the Conservative movement since the 1950s. Mr. Buckley's most recent book details his attempts to take the movement out of the policy ghetto in the 1950s. It is a fascinating read as it describes a time when apostles of Ayn Rand and the John Birch Society were much more closely associated with the conservative movement.

Some of the animus currently circulating between the neo-cons and the paleo-cons was initiated during the early days of the Reagan administration. After having been out of power for many years many paleos were expecting positions in the Reagan adminstration but were passed over in favor of neo-cons in a number of cases. The sniping between the two camps seems to have begun at that time. It became worse after Pat Buchanan's presidential run.

Recently prominent neo-con David Frum wrote a scathing piece about many paleos including Pat Buchanan. This article has caused the fur to fly between the two camps. IMHO, the rhetoric between both camps has become overheated and I wish they would both take a "timeout". I believe that the neo-cons have made remarkable contributions in defense and foreign policy over the last 20 years that have helped make the conservative position the dominant one. I also believe that the paleos have made contributions in cultural analsysis, the dangers of excessive globalization, the problems of immigration and assimilation. I still think there is more in common philosophically between William F. Buckley and Pat Buchanan than either man would have with Ted Kennedy. Both camps should realize that splintering the conservative movement helps no one but the Democrats.

[merrin]

The term neo-conservative has also come to be associated with William F. Buckley and the National Review....

Yeah, but mostly by paleoconservatives who use it as a pejorative.

[Texas_Jarhead]

No I didn't think you were slamming me. You just assumed I was a libertarian ("I don't get you libertarians"). I was just settin ya straight ;-). Yes, I thoroughly enjoy FPMag. They produce some of the best articles around.

[annyokie]

Sorry about the misunderstanding.

I love David Horowitz. Read "Radical Son" if you have not already! What a smart guy he is!

[TradicalRC]

This is the most reasonable post if seen in this thread (so far). Part of the problem is that conservatism is NOT an ideology and tends to regard any form of Utopianism as foolishness. Therefore, in conservative circles you will find a grab bag of persons each containing a grab bag of ideas. The terms paleocon and neocon may be adequate to describe a basic tendency, but I think you still need to take conservatives on a person by person basis.

[elbucko]

(Soccer-Moms are the biggest threat to your freedoms and the republic !)

Your tag is absolutely correct. The women are going to vote our freedoms down the toilet for perceived security.

[ggekko]

No doubt; most of the vitriol in the current paleo-neo con argument has been coming from the paleo side. The Frum piece was written in response to a J'accuse style article written by Pat Buchanan directed against what he called "a cabal of neo-cons in the Bush Administration".

Pat Buchanan's foreign policy analyses have taken on a strange cast in recent years. I consider Pat to be a patriot but I think he has used his considerable rhetorical skills to promote discredited neo-isolationist policies. IMHO Pat is a better rhetoritician but the neo-cons have had the better of the foreign policy debate.

[ggekko]

There are tensions in the conservative coalition that I find to be largely fruitless. The one trait I find in common between neo-cons, libertarians, and paleo-cons is a categorical rejection of ethical and cultural relativism and a concommitant rejection of morbid emotionalism and sentimentality in politcal analysis.

As an offshoot of this fundamental commitment I often see the pattern among conservatives of branding someone they disagree with in another conservative camp over a policy issue (free trade, immigration) as being a "traitor". This emotionally charged language is not helpful.

I think it would better if all conservatives would try to remember that the rejection of relavatism binds them closely against the nihilistic left that is attempting to destroy our nation with the witches brew of identity politics, socialism and bogus internationalism.