Posted on 03/19/2005 7:42:20 PM PST by Mobile Vulgus
It should be the best of times for American conservatism. Republican majorities in the House and Senate, a re-elected Republican president, an increasing number of Republican governors and a rightwards tilt in the judiciary. While the British Tories and German Christian Democrats flounder, Americas right seems to flourish.
Well, thats the cover story. Beneath the surface, however, American conservatism is in increasing trouble. The Republican coalition, always fragile, now depends as much on the haplessness of the Democrats as on its own internal logic. On foreign and domestic policy alike the American right is splintering. With no obvious successor to George W Bush that splintering will deepen....
Sullivan has a point, only he missed one of the bigger divisions: illegal immigration. Bush is selling us out to Mexico, and a whole lot of Republicans are either too gutless or busy whoring themselves for the Hispanic vote to do anything about it. I'll back Bush for now because he's right on a lot of issues, and who else am I going to get behind anyway, Ted Kennedy? But I'm not going to automatically vote for every Republican who comes along, just because there's an 'R' by his/her name. If I'd just be electing another big-government, big spending, pro-illegal dweeb, I may as well stay home.
Maybe 2.5% max, and that includes bisexuals.
You forgot the "." in front of that 6%. It's about .6%, or it was before AIDS got holt of 'em.
Hey, we're co-opting their word. Without it the Progressives will just be another jot in history.
Andrew Sullivan: "If you fascist bastards don't let me get married, I'm taking my ball and going home!"
Actually, judging from some of the actions of our "conservative" leaders lately, I think it's far more likely that there are some progressives running around calling themselves conservative. Seems to have fooled some people, too.
Add "anti-gun" and "pro-Gay" and you have Rudy Giuliani, the media's favorite Republican.
>>>"Excuse me? Conservative and progressive don't belong in the same sentence, let alone in the same party"
No, not true at ALL. The conservative movement in the USA has ALWAYS had a large element of the progressive in it.
A standard, European conservative is backward looking. An American one builds on tradition, sure, but has always been progressive in the way they react to liberty and freedom. A European conservative is always out to LIMIT freedom, whereas an American one is out to further it. That is a progressive outlook.
I am also using progressive in its proper context. Not in the way the socialist left has coopted it, by the way.
You might want to rethink the use of that word. The dictionary includes a political definition under the word "progressive." You will always be misunderstood if you use the term progressive in conjunction with conservative. You may as well say "liberal republican."
[(Carter didn't just suck, he sucked ROYALLY)]
This is very true, but contrary to popular opinion, he didn't suck because he was an incompetent boob, he sucked because he (along with his Democratic friends who controlled Congress) skillfully implemented sweeping policies of Euro-socialism on our country. The result was a wrecked economy and societal problems that caused a national "malaise".
Perhaps that fudgy smell, a smell of fear that a truly grass roots conservatism is emerging that will not accept the elitist drive to cram the homosexual agenda down our throats and will finally draw the line that so far, so many of our "leaders" have refused to draw.
Frankly, I think the Republican congress is doing well. They have passed Anwr and transportation and bankrupcy laws that have been waiting for years. Social Security reform will happen. The Middle East is changing. I know you want more immigration action, and it will come.
Just another disastrous attempt by the gang that can't even get it up to shoot.
Yet another glorious backfire.
The Ghost of Peter Sellers is having a field day!
No republicans anymore
Dems are socialists and pubs are dems nowadays
CUT SPENDING DAMNIT
Didnt Bush get same gay vote in 04 he got in 00?
But in the history of the world, how many conflicts have involved two democracies fighting each other, and how many haven't?
There's no guarantee that every democracy will be a reasonably benign global player, but both logic and history tend to show that they are far more likely to be.
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