Posted on 05/13/2003 7:45:38 AM PDT by Reagan Man
The wisdom of Rodney King, by itself, won't solve this problem among Conservatives. The splendid little war in Iraq brought the squabbles among hyphenated conservatives out into the open. It seems the concept of pre-emptive war is as unsettling as its location in the Middle East. The fact that the U.S. has Imperial Power is troubling for some cons. Different dash-cons disagree on the roadmap for conservative power. And we all need to get along by January 04. A longer split could spell d-e-f-e-a-t in the 2004 Presidential race. Conservatives divided on ideas, could lose to Liberals united in hatred of Bush and the Republicans. It could happen.
It seems the real bitterness is the resentment that Paleo-conservatives (once and always conservatives before it was cool) have for Neo-conservatives (once liberal, democrats until the left went loony) for getting their way in the foreign affairs of the Bush administration. Some Paleocons think the Jewish intellectual Neo-cons make the U.S. interests the servant of Israel. Some Neocons detect a whiff of anti-semitism in some Paleocons. Some Neo-cons need to embrace the social agenda of Christian-Conservatives or say goodbye to the base of power and all hope.
Paleo. Paleocons will either understand that the U.S. is an Imperial Power without imperial ambitions or become irritating isolationist flakes. (Note to Pat Buchanan: When you are right you are powerful, but when you are wrong you are shrill and irrelevant). Isolationism was stupid in the 1930s and is suicidal now. The Islamists are a long, long term threat to us. Isolationism will not prevent an attack with weapons of mass destruction or simple terror. The judicious, deliberate, selective use of force - either pre-emptively or punitively - is necessary for national survival. We are an Imperial Republic without Imperial ambitions - it's just a fact. The Paleocons need to help us keep the Republic a Republic.
Neo. Some Neocons will either understand that the Republic can only be preserved by mobilizing Christian-conservatives or they will lose both the World War on Islamist Terrorism (WW-T) and the Second American Civil War (Great U.S. Culture War = ACW II). The issues will come to head this summer like thunderstorms when the U.S. Supreme Court discovers a privacy right to anal sex hidden in the U.S. Constitution and strikes down sodomy laws - and when the Massachusetts Supreme Court declares homosexual marriage legal. Neocons need to be either pro-family or not.
Christians. Christian cons need to draw a line in the sand or become useless. Dr. James Dobson is already talking about walking out of the GOP. Choose well, brothers and sisters. Is the line drawn on federal judgeships - and Senate Democrats re-writing the Constitution on appointments - or the defense of marriage and the family? What will Christians do to get the 4 million voters who showed up in '94 to come back to the polls?
The South - including Occupied-Florida. The South is the base for conservative victory. The South is the Bible Belt. Only the South has a culture - religion, language, and heritage - resisting the liberal institutions of academia (even K-12), most media, too many sissy churches and synagogues, big industry, and filthy rich foundations. All the cons need to watch the dust up on the Georgia state flag and pay attention. The issue isn't the particular Confederate symbol for political acceptance; it's the rhetoric of cultural cleansing from carpet-bagger and scalawag liberals. It's about to strike a chord of 'enough is enough' - maybe over the defense of marriage issue - that is going to reverberate loudly.
The doctrinal issues dividing conservatives will be sorted out by events - success or failure at home or overseas. Hopefully, the unrealistic, unreasonable, and untenable aspects of every sect of conservatives will be weighed and found wanting by the harsh scale of time - in fairly short order. Republicans have less than a year to get the conservatives together. The really big issues - like immigration, socialism, freedom of religion and speech, taxes, marriage and family - in the context of the two front War against Islamist Terrorism at home and abroad - have to be attacked. Take our high ground - and hold it. Let's do that this year.
He makes the error of thinking that pro-Israel sentiment in the US is a Jewish phenomenon. It isn't. It is a conservative Christian thing. You can't get elected in the US going against Israel, not because a few Jews will go against you, but because Christians will not vote for you.
Which means that most of the so-called Neo Cons are Christians. And that means that there is nothing "neo" about them.
There is a split between pro-Israel and anti-Israel conservatives, and there is a split between pro-intervention and anti-intervention conservatives, but it is not jewish thing, and the pro-interventionists are not new-comers. The difference is in the understanding of the threat. If you think the threat can be handled by withdrawing to the borders, you fall on one side. If you think that the threat will not be satisfied with less than your distruction, and that the cost to you and the world of retreat is unacceptable, then you fall on the other side.
...because you'll be absolutely crucified in all sectors of the media. You will not only be defeated, your reputation will be besmirched and you will never be referred to again without the the obligatory noun/adjective nazi being used.
Israel (for whom I have much sympathy), for all practical political purposes, is our 51st state.
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