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I’m reading this over at Commentary Magazine … and I am like, wow, THIS. IS. ME.
“If you wanted to destroy conservatism – not merely to shatter the Republican Party’s governing coalition, but to break up and discredit the conservative movement itself – how would you go about it? …
Then, you might undermine the central hypothesis at the core of the American experiment itself: that all the peoples of the world can unite, not around tribal affinity or class associations, but around an idea. The idea, that mankind is fit for self-governance, and that it need not look toward a ruling caste of elites to manage national affairs. You might expose the central divisions within conservatism by exacerbating internal disagreements over the execution of American foreign policy objectives. You might pervert an honest and healthy debate about the extent of American power, about its goals, its alliance structures, and about nation building abroad, and you would reveal that a substantial subset of voters on all sides of that issue believe the premise is flawed. You might suggest that the value of Fortress America is not merely the preservation of American security, but of meting out a sort of cosmic justice for those born into poverty, authoritarianism, and savagery abroad. Maybe those poor souls deserve their Hobbesian lot, you’d imply strongly. And the crowds would cheer. …
The curious subset to whom you have appealed would demonstrate their antipathy for basic conservative programs like small government, a private health care system, a reduced tax burden on the most productive sectors of society, frugality, and the moral imperative of bequeathing unto the next generation a manageable debt burden. You would marry class and racial suspicion with a program that promises even more unsustainable benefits, for which children not yet born will pay.”
If you can’t access the article, clean out your cache and refresh. You should also check out this new article on the strength of the budding populist movement.