"Real conservatism is dead in Britain," concludes John Derbyshire after the Conservatives garnered just a third of the vote in last week's elections. "Is it any better off here in the USA? Hardly." Derbyshire cites six fundamentals traditionally associated with conservatism that John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge lay out in The Right Nation: suspicion of the power of the state, favoring liberty over equality, patriotism, deference to institutions and hierarchies, lack of faith in progress, and elitism. Derbyshire finds Bush wanting in the first three principles. He doesn't explore the last three, but it's hard to make the case that the president would score better here. By embracing a Hegelian understanding of progress (without knowing Hegel from Bagel), Bush discards that esteemed warning of all conservatives: "Don't Immanentize the Eschaton." "We think of our president as a conservative," Derbyshire notes, "but in what respects can he be said to have advanced conservatism?" Good question.

"All your base are belong to us." - Neocons

GG N0 R3, P4L30C0NZ0RZ

I was going to ask Ben T for a translation, but do I really want to know?

I hope so... They are screwing the country over.

Anon: Clever... No, wait, if it is dead, it isn't screwing the country over. And if it is screwing the country over, it isn't dead. Hmmm. What's your point again?

Short - I think Ben-T was activing the auto-destruct sequence...

Dan, I knew you'd latch onto the Derb column. But be advised, he's the confessed pessimist of National Review: an honorable job that he does well, but not the whole story any more than a pollyanna sunshine column would be. Reagan won and did well, and unlike Britain, our Left didn't "reform" the way Derb talks about - they just got loonier. Yes, on the one hand it's creepy to think that a better candidate than Kerry could have beaten W; on the other, it's reassuring to know that they didn't have one - or at least, didn't have one that had a prayer of securing their nomination. (2008 is another story. We'd better be ready for false centrism and lip service to make a big comeback.)

You're point on Britain's liberals moving to the center while our liberals are moving to the Left is an excellent one. I was on one of the UK's largest talk stations last night, and that was one of the topics we discussed--how people like Tony Benn are no longer front-and-center in Labour politics and how, by way of contrast, people like Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, and Howard Dean are front-and-center in Democrat politics.

My point was that I hope its dead and if not, then it's screwing the country over. I made a mistake relaying the message.

Way to go, Anon.

Dan asks if it's dead (because according to him, nobody's doing anything to further it). You say "I hope so" (that it is dead, i.e. nobody is engaged in it) because it is actively affecting people, despite that many conservatives doubt that it is doing anything.

So conservativism is ruining the country, how? By trying to appease liberals by actions that conservatives reject? Thanks for showing that some find it hard meeting their opposition even a quarter of the way. (You shouldn't be in power. The people should not have elected you. You shouldn't appoint the people you want. You should conduct more of a dialog with the minority party. And when you try world-building, or social programs, or big-budget bloating programs, that's all the more reason, we should be in power! ---or in a word: waaaaah!)

Your whole post is a mistake. You didn't make a mistake, unless you mean by that a post. Go back to DU, they'd probably understand that one there.

Conservatism isn't just dead; it's a fossil. Bush cultists aren't conservative and the country is and will continue to move farther to the Left.

Nightfly,
Republicans have to look out for "lipservice" and "lipstick" in 2008, right? Of course, when they nominate (who?) Rudy to run against her we can see which liberal wins out and have Reagan be an 8 year blip before a Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton/Giuliani-establishment liberal dominance of American politics.

Anon, try this: "I think conservatives are screwing the country over so I want conservatism to die!" I think that would get your point across right?

I was going to ask Ben T for a translation, but do I really want to know?
Posted by short at May 11, 2005 11:00 AM

If you didn't get Obi Juan's joke (the first post in this thread) then there is no way you could possibly get mine.