[DBtoo]

This was something I had been wondering but didn't want to ask. Thanks for posting this!

[Torie]

This article has echoes here and here. It is almost weird that you came up with this article giving the timing.

[Jhoffa_]

I, for one, am not eager to ban either abortion or cloning, two hot-button issues on the religious right. On economic matters, neocons--like pretty much all other Republicans, except for Mr. Buchanan and his five followers--embrace a laissez-faire line, though they are not as troubled by the size of the welfare state as libertarians are.

But it is not really domestic policy that defines neoconservatism. This was a movement founded on foreign policy...

?

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

I am much more interested in the policy/ideology debates themselves. This paleo/neo stuff has degenerated into name calling.

It is also evidence of the greater diversity of ideas within the conservative camp.

[UnBlinkingEye]

Pretty much all conservatives today agree on the need for a strong, vigorous foreign policy.

The author has confused conservatives with neocons. True conservatives align themselves with George Washington's Farewell Address, which advises no entangling foreign alliances.

There is no constituency for isolationism on the right, outside the Buchananite fever swamps.

Mr. Boot and his globalist point of view is destroying America's image as a shining city on the hill.

The question is how to define our interventionism.

The answer is a tragic tremendous mistake. We should lead by example not force.

[goldstategop]

I am a descendant of the neoconservative school and am very much a mainstream conservative. I am not unduly troubled at the existence of the welfare state and furthermore I champion the "hard Wilsonian" school of thought in international relations which holds American ideals must be spread abroad by persuasion where possible and defended by force of arms when necessary. America is the greatest country on earth and is an example to the rest of the world on how to create and sustain a country built upon individual initiative, maximum freedom and which the tendency to absolute power is checked by the robust application of the rule of law. Along with an admiration for the wonders of the free market and a respect for the virtues and values that define the republican virtue tradition, mainstream conservatives believe this captures what is special about America and will make the forthcoming century a uniquely American one as the previous ones have been. In short far from America's best days being behind her, we have yet to see the end of possibilities for this country. God Bless America.

[Sonny M]

A long time ago, I asked this question, and I got a weird variety of answers, not to mention being yelled at for just asking. Personally, the key word to me is conservative.

[chnsmok]

Good post. What is this thread about??

[kitkat]

Thanks for this one, Pokey. I've been SO confused by the term, "neocom."

[sauropod]

I reject your categorizations. I am a paleocon and I do not
hate anybody except His Slickness and Her Heinous!

[Jhoffa_]

PS: I am very glad you posted this..

Thank you. I have been wondering about it all day.

[quidnunc]

Have you noticed how much in common the paleocons have with the nihilistic loony-left anti-globalists?

[TLBSHOW]

bump

[Arkinsaw]

I got in trouble in the 5th grade (1972-73) for sticking an "I'm A Happy Republican" sticker on the front of my little two person desk. I stuck it on there because it had a smiley face on it and did not quite understand the furor, gnashing of teeth, and weeping amongst my teachers. But I have always identified with the Republican Party since that very day. Plus the fact that I could not stand to see Lyndon Baines Johnson on the television set.

[namvetcav]

What the heck goes on here? Some jokers or the other are lumping Ann Coulter with Pat Buchanan, the jew-hating fascist. This traitor to Republicans hated W so much he attempted to give Al Gore the election. Annie is a goddess and it is offensive to sully her name with any association to that knuckle-dragging, goldbug, Ted Turner-MSNBC-selected quasi-agent provocateur.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Max Boot is a neocon.

[timm22]

neocons are no less conservative than anyone else on the right.

Mr. Boot says this, yet in preceding paragraphs he explains how neoconservatives are softer on social issues than the Buchananite right and softer on economic issues than the libertarian right. Something seems amiss.

[aristeides]

We just had an excellent litmus test of who the neocons are. Republicans who attacked Lott are neocons.

[Publius6961]

What the Heck Is a 'Neocon'?

It is just another word for the clueless and the mindless to throw out when they feel intellectually outclassed.

Exactly like "homophobe", "Hate Radio", "Mean Spirited", "racist"...

[TroutStalker]

Here is the fifth in the series on American Conservatism.

If you would like on or off this bump list, let me know.

Here are links to the first four pieces:

A Question of Temperament [What makes one a conservative?] First of a Series

To Preserve What We Have- American Conservatism - WSJ article by Bill Buckley

Shelby Steele: Of Race and Imagination

Beyond Our Shores