Russia’s Right Turn. Moscow has reclaimed its 19th-century conservative role.

The American Conservative ^ | February 11, 2014 | William S. Lind

[cunning_fish]

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 the corner into which he had painted himself on Syria, the Kremlin is today, as the New York Times reports, “Establishing Russia’s role in world affairs not based on the dated Cold War paradigm but rather on its different outlook, which favors state sovereignty and status quo stability over the spread of Western-style democracy.”

In his own Times op-ed on Syria, Putin wrote, “It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it.” Sen. Robert A. Taft and Russell Kirk also doubted it.

Moscow appears to understand better than Washington that the driving foreign-policy requirement of the 21st century is the preservation of the state in the face of Fourth Generation war waged by non-state entities, such as those fighting on the rebels’ side in Syria. Russia has rightly upbraided Washington for destroying states, including Iraq and Libya.

[cunning_fish]

>>”Thuggery” in high office is not justified because it is directed against sodomites.<<

What are you talking about right now?

[Just mythoughts]

"Thuggery" in high office is not justified because it is directed against sodomites.

Putin is only 'mocking' US with his pretend outlawing of sodomy. Putin knows from whence our blessings come. I think there is plenty of 'thuggery' going on in many 'high' places, but it most certainly is not directed at the sodomites.

[ScottinVA]

“Putin came to the defense of the church with the Pussy Riot incident”

Putin also was the only world leader who stated his country wid not stand idly by while Christians were being slaughtered in Syria by U.S.-supported muslim terrorists.

[ScottinVA]

wid=would

[DemforBush]

LOL!!! Yeah, that’s it, dude. I’m a liberal plant because I don’t admire a former KGB colonel who presides over a country where journalists disappear, political dissent is censored, and has a level of crony capitalism that makes Obama look like an Eagle Scout by comparison. In Reagan’s time, pal, guys like that were the ENEMY.

Criminy, Putin’s no more an American-style conservative than Pol Pot was. People like you remind me of George C. Scott’s character in Dr. Strangelove - “Boy, I sure wish *we* had one them Doomsday devices!”

LOL!!!

[bd476]

wardaddy wrote: "Why don’t you tell the whole story...

...Maybe you’re too young

...nice try....typical

...I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that like most brick throwers here you have personal reasons but lack the courage to say what it is

...Maybe you’re more at home at Southern poverty law center since you have IG in for Lind..."

Brilliant Wardaddy! You have outed me as a cowardly anti-American leftist hanging out on leftists' sites 24 hours a day, while I steadfastly campaign for all the Commie Marxist Pigs I can stand.

And if you believe any of that, you're not quite the sharp cookie I had assumed you were.

Before this goes any further Wardaddy, I asked for my earlier post to be removed and checking again, it has been.

Earlier I responded to DesertRhino's post explaining my error in believing what turns out to have been someone's nefarious edit of Mr. Lind's former title "Director of Cultural Conservativism" into "Director of Cultural Marxism."

My response to DesertRhino is copied below and includes the link to Amazon selling the book Mr. Lind co-authored with Senator Gary Hart.

I have also responded to Jim Robinson's comments regarding my error.

Meanwhile here is a screenshot of the Wikipedia article on William S. Lind.

I have highlighted the instances where apparently someone edited in Marxist or Marxism in place of Conservatives or Conservatism.

William S. Lind

---

To: DesertRhino; nathanbedford

DesertRhino wrote: "Lind is not a Marxist. That’s nuts. Someone is using the wiki entry and not understanding what they read. The guy is dedicated to fighting Marxism. He directed the area of a very conservative think tank that is studying the spread of it.

Fortunately it is possible for anyone to research as well as to look at the history of Wikipedia edits and I have been doing both for the past hour.

The Wikipedia article is still there. However from my research and in looking at the Wikipedia edit history, it appears that someone changed one word changing William Lind's title of "Director of Cultural Conservativism" into "Director of Cultural Marxism."

However the information that Lind was against the Iraq War and that he never served in the military is true.

Also true: William S. Lind co-authored a book with Senator Gary Hart in 1986. It is listed on Amazon:

America Can Win: The Case for Military Reform

I will ask for my earlier post to be removed.

18 posted on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 12:21:45 AM by bd476

DesertRhino wrote: "Lind is not a Marxist. That’s nuts. Someone is using the wiki entry and not understanding what they read. The guy is dedicated to fighting Marxism. He directed the area of a very conservative think tank that is studying the spread of it.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I think wikipedia is full of crap. But that’s nothing new.

14 posted on 02/12/2014 12:00:55 AM PST by Jim Robinson

Wiki is fine for learning about how aggregate is classified into silt, sand, and gravel.

But for learning about conservatives, it’s absolutely worthless. The wiki editors allow amazing slanders, distortions, and misleading entries,,,while sanitizing the pages of leftists.

IOW, you read Wikipedia the same way you read The New York Times - for factual, nonpolitical information. But always with your spidey senses activated in case there are political implications which might not be obvious at first blush.

It’s a simple formula: anyone who claims, not merely to try to be objective but actually to be objective, is not remotely objective about themselves. And will spew propaganda - perhaps while actually believing it.

The natural disposition is always to believe. It is acquired wisdom and experience only that teach incredulity, and they very seldom teach it enough. The wisest and most cautious of us all frequently gives credit to stories which he himself is afterwards both ashamed and astonished that he could possibly think of believing.

The man whom we believe is necessarily, in the things concerning which we believe him, our leader and director, and we look up to him with a certain degree of esteem and respect. But as from admiring other people we come to wish to be admired ourselves; so from being led and directed by other people we learn to wish to become ourselves leaders and directors . . .

The desire of being believed, the desire of persuading, of leading and directing other people, seems to be one of the strongest of all our natural desires. -  Adam Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments

[cunning_fish]

>>LOL!!! Yeah, that’s it, dude. I’m a liberal plant because I don’t admire a former KGB colonel who presides over a country where journalists disappear, political dissent is censored, and has a level of crony capitalism that makes Obama look like an Eagle Scout by comparison. In Reagan’s time, pal, guys like that were the ENEMY.

Criminy, Putin’s no more an American-style conservative than Pol Pot was. People like you remind me of George C. Scott’s character in Dr. Strangelove - “Boy, I sure wish *we* had one them Doomsday devices!”<<

Who said Putin = Jefferson?
He is not Pol Pot either.

Who are these journalists “murdered” by Russian government? Are there any clues linking their deaths to a regime or just claims by their fellow liberal moonbats?

What political dissent exactly censored? They have dozens of liberal and communists medias bashing Putin and his regime 24/7.

Are there any American MSMs critical to Obamao left?

[NittanyLion]

Very good comment. While you’re not likely to find many supporters on this thread, what you described is the essence of conservatism.

[867V309]

Ped State. Go Sanduskies!

[SoFloFreeper]

Russia has rightly upbraided Washington for destroying states, including Iraq and Libya.

Half right. Libya had been tamed, thanks in no small measure to our work in Iraq. Iraq, otoh, was a destabilizing threat to the region and our ally Israel. Taking Hussein out was the right thing to do.

[SoFloFreeper]

Good words, Nathan. I agree.

[cunning_fish]

>>Half right. Libya had been tamed, thanks in no small measure to our work in Iraq. Iraq, otoh, was a destabilizing threat to the region and our ally Israel. Taking Hussein out was the right thing to do.<<

Hussein was a pain in a butt, sure. But is it any better right now there?

[jimjohn]

Ditto.

[PGR88]

I’d like to see them re establish Constantinople

[fwdude]

I won’t consider Russia truly conservative until they again criminalize homosexual sodomy.

Same with us.

[Mount Athos]

Why any conservative would want a leader to act like a thug?

That's a very strange question.
Is this a trick question? What's the punchline?
I give up, why would they?

Hitler ... did murder gays in the Nazi party in the Night of the Long knives. Are we then to say, mass murderer or not, Hitler behaved as we would want our conservative leaders to behave?

Straw man attack of the year.

Nathan?
Where are these conservatives clamoring for hitler and the mass killing of gays?
Madness!
What does this have to do with the discussion at hand?

Gays are as protected under our Constitution as are Christians, of whom I count myself one. I will not have my Constitution subverted or the rule of law discarded or conservatism perverted in the service of homophobia.

So you are arguing against a position no one has advocated, and in the process grossly smeared conservatives as clamoring for the subversion of people's civil rights.
Who among us has advocated breaking the constitution and oppressing any minority? Come on now.


Russia doesn't have any laws against gay sex.
Many states in the USA still do.

Russia's law protecting minors from gay propaganda involves no jail sentence whatsoever and the equivalent of a 75 dollar fine. It wasn't unilaterally imposed by Putin -- it passed Russia's equivalent of congress.

Yet somehow you are talking as if gays in Russia are being sent en masse by Putin to death camps. I wonder where you are getting your information.

Hitler and the mass murder of gays?

[cunning_fish]

>>>Russia’s law protecting minors from gay propaganda involves no jail sentence whatsoever and the equivalent of a 75 dollar fine.<<<

It seems like homosexuals takes a broken windows rule very serious.
None has to stay intact as soon as they have started to smash it.

[ilovesarah2012]

Why would Russia want America (as it is now) as an ally?

[ilovesarah2012]

“Homophobia”??? Really??? What does that have to do with the Constitution?