Are G.W. Bush and the Republican Party true exemplars of a conservative...

[Kire]

...tradition? In many respects, they are very far from it, argues Jeffrey Hart.

The Burke Habit
Prudence, skepticism and "unbought grace."

BY JEFFREY HART
Tuesday, December 27, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST

In "The Conservative Mind" (1953), a founding document of the American conservative movement, Russell Kirk assembled an array of major thinkers beginning with Edmund Burke and made a major statement. He proved that conservative thought in America existed, and even that such thought was highly intelligent--a demonstration very much needed at the time.

Today we are in a very different and more complicated situation. Nevertheless, a synthesis is possible, based on what American conservatism has achieved and left unachieved since Kirk's volume. Any political position is only as important as the thought by which it is derived; the political philosopher presiding will be Burke, but a Burke interpreted for a new constitutional republic and for modern life. Here, then, is my assessment of the ideas held in balance in the American Conservative Mind today.

Hard utopianism. During the 20th century, socialism and communism tried to effect versions of their Perfect Man in the Perfect Society. But as Pascal had written, "Man is neither angel nor brute, and the misfortune is that he who would act the angel acts the brute." In abstract theory was born the Gulag. One of conservatism's most noble enterprises from its beginning was its informed anti-communism.

Soft utopianism. Both hard and soft utopianism ignore flawed human nature. Soft utopianism believes in benevolent illusions, most abstractly stated in the proposition that all goals are reconcilable, as in such dreams as the Family of Man, World Peace, multiculturalism, pacifism and Wilsonian global democracy. To all of these the Conservative Mind objects. Men do not all desire the same things: Domination is a powerful desire. The phrase about the lion lying down with the lamb is commonly quoted; but Isaiah knew his vision of peace would take divine intervention, not at all to be counted on. Without such intervention, the lion dines well.

More: http://www.opinionjournal.com/ac/?id=110007730

[SammyBlue]

1. No. . .the best thing that even comes close to a conservative on the righ

is a libertarian. Small government in all aspects of life (money, social choice, social vices, etc.)

Bush isn't conservative, neither his Michael Savage (who likes to pass himself off as a true conservative) because a true conservative is actually a liberal. A true conservative believes in government being off your back and out of your lives. . .completely! That means no dictating what we can and can't do when it affects no one but ourselves (drugs, alcohol, vices of all nature). A true conservative believes government's sole purpose is to protect the people from enemies foreign and domestic. . .meaning the domestic enemies to a true conservative a criminals (murderers, rapists, ChoMos, etc).

What we have today is authoritarian neo-fascism (meaning a heavy hand on every law, while government and business meld for the good of the hegemonic state's superiority) mixed with old fashioned fundamentalism theological mandates.

In other words, we have Fascist Italy trying to meld with Theocratic Iran (though our theocrats are Christian, not moslem!

[dave123williams]

2. Maybe a better analogy...

Is Pat Boone trying to meld with Martha Stewart.

[izzie]

4. Oh you said it so much better than I. Thank you

--

[izzie]

3. I guess they are Conservatives of a type.

That they conserve the ways of 100 years ago seems to be in place. I do not see this as a new thinking but old thinking. Force, laissez faire in business and into govt.Rule by the money people and born to rule sort of. I would not be shocked to see only property owners let to vote next. I have even heard people say that is how it should be. I have asked if they know who pays the bill to the tax people when they rent but they do not seem to understand that the renter does. And we have to face another fact. The corp have become the 'welfare queens' under this new WAY and Bush seems to be all for that help. It must be hard for him to keep both sides of this conservative base in line, they are both so far apart.Church and business.

[Frustratedlady]

5. Conservative, when it's their money....

...they seem to do a pretty good job of spending/losing ours. How many trillion can't they find, as of 1/1/06? How many trillion has GWB spent on his folly in our name? We, the people, demand an accounting!

[MrTriumph]

6. YES, THEY ARE! Don't let Republicans deny their own

I've seen 2 or 3 opinion pieces by conservatives saying, well, Bush does have problems but that's because really and truly he's a liberal or some such nonsense.

Hey, Bush is a self-proclaimed Conservative and he became president because of the support- some of it shamefully ruthless- of fellow conservatives.