The U.S. Conservative Political Racial Fringe is Dead

National Review Magazine ^ | Jonah Goldberg

[ewing]

I think this mess has been very good for conservatives, though not necessarily good for Republicans.

One needs one's views challenged in order to fully embrace them.

Conservatives were put on the spot and asked to defend or reject their racist past.

They rejected it.

The debate served as a useful dye-marker for many of us on the health and status of the conservative body politic.

The self diagnosis was painful for many, especially given the bad faith of many liberals who used the opportunity to claim--once again--that any disagreement with them consitutes racism.

But even Lott's defenders defended the man, not the views he expressed.

Indeed, the generally reasonable defense was that the man was not a racist, not that the racism found in his words was defensible.

Conservatives emerge from this with their views fully on the record.

[ewing]

ping

[Mudboy Slim]

"Conservatives were put on the spot and asked to defend or reject their racist past."

Jonah's a full-blown MORON....SHEEEESH, apple don't fall far from the tree...MUD

[Cincinatus]

In this column, Jonah references a very good piece by David Frum today at NRO on Paleoconservatism.

[TLBSHOW]

BUT HE IS RIGHT ABOUT BUSH NOT BEING A CONSERVATIVE.

[joesnuffy]

I'll drink to that........

[wardaddy]

According to NeoCons like Jonah, all culture war conservatives ...especially Southern....are racist...to be purged or fess up.

Screw him.

[mhking]

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[hchutch]

Indeed - and Frum has hit "paleo-conservatism" dead-center. If anything, it looks like an insidious version that I'd steer clear of.

[ClearCase_guy]

Yeah, this really bothered me. I think the Dems are going continue to paint Republicans as racists. "They are all like Lott."

I think Republicans have to get good and knowledgeable about the Democratic party's past: pro-slavery, anti-reconstruction, anti-civil rights act, pro-affirmative action and all the rest of the stuff that divides the nation between the Lights and the Darks.

In addition, Republicans have to get good and knowledeable about individual Democrat's history: Byrd and the klan, Ted Kennedy making nice-nice with George Wallace, Clinton and the N-word, various Dems dancing in blackface.

It's all out there. The Dems are and have always been stridently racist. The Republicans have no such history.

[wardaddy]

Every time a Pubbie has ditched his socially conservative base to be a crossover rainmaker, it has failed. He fooled me. I spent about 5-10% of my net earnings in 00 and crawled like a legionaire thru the desert to contribute to his victory. Now, although he is a good war leader, seemingly decent, and beats the hell out of the previous 8 years, I'm no longer 100%.

I hope the moderates are happy. They won. Let's see what they do with it.

[Mudboy Slim]

"HE IS RIGHT ABOUT BUSH NOT BEING A CONSERVATIVE"

Bush I was certainly a MilquToastModerate who squandered the Reagan Revolution, but I still believe Dubyuh's Conservatism is potentially on the horizon. Sure like his chances better with Santorum in there than Lott as SML...MUD

[My2Cents]

According to NeoCons like Jonah, all culture war conservatives ...especially Southern....are racist.

Please cite your source.

[Mudboy Slim]

"Screw him."

Exactly...lazy bastard mama's boy!!

LOL...MUD

[My2Cents]

I hope the moderates are happy. They won.

This implies that Lott was the darling of conservatives. It seems to me that the loudest voices for Trent to stand down were conservatives. Read Peggy Noonan's column today in the Wall Street Journal.

[ewing]

LOL! Didn't say I ageed with it..

[goldstategop]

We're squeaky clean now and have reclaimed the moral high ground. In the meantime we can have the pleasure of watching the Democrats wade through the mud of American politics while pretending to be angels.

[Mudboy Slim]

"I think Republicans have to get good and knowledgeable about the Democratic party's past"

Exactly!! And we need to start by drumming out one of their own as a "ClosetRacist"...my nominee is Terry "ThePUNK" McAuliffe, who has made soooo many Demeaning2Blacks comments that JessieJackA$$ oughtta be burnin' a cross in front of T-Mac's house in McLean, Virginia!!

FReegards...MUD

[wardaddy]

Peggy Noonan darling as she is, is not a hard right conservative. The fight was not about Lott. You are correct, most hard right folks like me don't like him. My issue was the way the moderates and RINOs abandoned him and the way the NeoCons breastbeated about race as cover to can him period. Capitulating to the PC folks is not my cup of tea.

But for whatever reason, you won. Enjoy it and let's see how you guys handle it.

I'm cut from the DeLay cloth so don't call me a Buchananite either....he is an isolationist and I don't share his views on Israel.

[ewing]

It will be interesting to see how the press reacts the next time a Democrat says something stupid.