Monday, April 16, 2007

Will the Real Conservative Please Stand <i>Out</i>

Jason sends a link to a column by Jonah Goldberg in which he laments that conservatives have no dog in the 2008 fight. Goldberg's right about this, of course, and in fact, conservatives haven't had a dog in the fight since 1984. The Bushes (W. and H.W.) are more conservative than Michael Dukakis, Al Gore or John Kerry, but they're actually something of an ideological hybrid. Nor are any of the top three candidates in this year's Republican field conservatives, at least not on most economic and social issues.

Whether this is good or bad we leave to the reader to decide for him or herself. We mention it only to contrast it with the MSM's inability to distinguish between Republicans and conservatives. In the MSM's world there are the good guys in the Democratic party and there are conservatives who must be defeated by any means necessary. The conservatives can be identified because they have the scarlet letter R (for Reprobate, perhaps) next to their name.

Goldberg points out why this is such a false picture of the way things really are and why, at this moment in history, liberalism actually dominates both political parties. It's an interesting essay.

RLC