Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we have a problem. Let’s review the evidence:
Exhibit A: Conservative icon Sarah Palin endorses Rand Paul for one of Kentucky’s Senate seats. The son of notorious non-interventionist Congressman Ron Paul is on record as describing his foreign policy views as “very, very similar” to his father’s.
Exhibit B: Ron Paul wins the Straw poll at CPAC. (More a symbolic victory than a substantive one given that he netted the votes of less than 10% of CPAC attendees but never the less the victory becomes a tool for his cult of unhinged, online evangelists.)
Exhibit C: CPAC fails to feature a single official panel addressing the threat of Islamofascism. The tenacious Pamela Geller is forced to hold her own panel independently.
Exhibit D: The most important conservative talk show host, Glenn Beck, calls anti-Jihad politician Geert Wilders a “fascist” on his Fox News show. In the next hour, Special Report with Bret Baier labels the Dutch freedom-advocate “far Right,” and not a single pro-Wilders voice can be found in a panel of conservative commentators.
What can be drawn from this? The Conservative Movement is in danger of abdicating its primary responsibility as the defender of America. It’s drifting toward a foreign policy that is indistinguishable from the Left — and thus a death sentence for our nation.
Thankfully one of the Right’s most important advocates of a strong national defense and a serious engagement with Islamofascism is not going to let this happen.
Frank Gaffney Jr., President and Founder of the Center for Security Policy, has issued a challenge to Grover Norquist, one of the most prominent figures on the Right who symbolizes (and has been instrumental in driving) these troubling developments:
VIDEO: Challenging Grover Norquist: Debating Conservatism & National Security
Gaffney elaborates on his challenge in a MUST READ column at Townhall. Geller also has a great post in support of Gaffney at Atlas Shrugs.
We need to back Gaffney in these efforts and follow his example.
In so doing, we must distinguish between the ignorant and the malicious, the persuadable and the True Believers. There are plenty of patriots in this country who are alarmed by Obama administration domestic policies. With there being so many political balls up in the air it’s easy to get distracted, lured away — seduced – by the Norquists and the Pauls.
Such conservatives merely need to be set back on the right path. We just need to do a better job of educating them on the nature of the threat. (Palin and Beck both fall into this general category.)
But figures like the Pauls, Norquist and their True Believer supporters do not embrace their views out of any kind of ignorance. They are wildly possessed of the Radical Spirit and are thus impervious to reason. Attempts at constructive dialogue are ultimately a waste of time and energy.
Debates with such individuals serve one purpose: to demonstrate to the persuadables how dangerous the positions actually are. Gaffney knows this. And deep down so does Norquist — which is why it will be a big surprise to me if this necessary debate actually happens.