Is Conservatism Dying or Dead?
- Posted by Beth on February 1st, 2008 filed in 2008 election, Blogtards, Candidates, General, John McCain, Journalism, Moonbats, Politics, WTF conservatives · Republicans
Lately the meme among the conservative media has been “John McCain will kill conservatism.” I find that assertion ironic. Consider this (go read it!), for example, and tell me: who’s really destroying conservatism, by bringing discredit to conservatives?
Ann Coulter hasn’t just jumped the shark, she’s orbited it. That alone is enough to make conservatism look like a freaking joke.
But it’s not just her–have a look at the comments in the Hot Air post. At least Allah seems to get it, although he’s never been a Coulter fan anyway:
The ne plus ultra of conservatives crapping away Iraq in a fit of spite at Maverick: “I think she would be stronger on the war on terrorism.” Madness.
AMEN. And while Ann Coulter and her allies have been comfortably at their computers banging out their screeds and busy with self-promotion when they aren’t sitting at home watching American Idol, men and women have been risking their lives every single day overseas. What has Coulter or any of us had to sacrifice during the war? Nothing–while our military men and women risk everything, thousands paying the ultimate price. They deserve better. Supposedly pro-war “conservatives” like Coulter and her allies who would rather elect the defeatists? Not so much. Some clueless boob wrote the other day (I can’t remember where, sorry!) that he’ll “survive” a Clinton or Obama presidency. Well, duh. Of course these selfish creatures will “survive.” But I guess it doesn’t matter if others don’t survive, if you’re a selfish, small-minded, immature coward.
Allah also asks, “Civil war within the Hot Air family? I fear the worst, my friends.” Eh, not just within the Hot Air family, I’m afraid–there’s apparently a civil war within the conservative family, or at least one has been declared on everyone who doesn’t fall in line with the conservative media groupthink. Because, you know, the rest of us are just pretending to be conservative. Coulter, Malkin, Levin, Rush, Hannity, Hewitt, the Corner (save for Jonah Goldberg), Rick Santorum and the others with McCain Derangement Syndrome are the real Deciders, and they’ve apparently decided “true” conservatism is shrill, intolerant of differences of opinion, amoral, unhinged, hypocritical, hyper-emotional, selfish, laughably dishonest, full of contempt for “compassion,” and all the other perjoratives heaped upon conservatives by the Left. And these are the “voices” of conservatism to the public–and ironically, the same people who write books about the Left being insane.
Meanwhile, their sycophants on the internet parrot everything they say or write, dropping links to the MDS rants as though it’s proof John McCain is a “liberal,” often peppering their comments with frankly bigoted appellations like “Juan La Raza McAmnesty,” just as they called Bush “Jorge Arbusto.” (Yeah! They’re just like those dirty Mexicans!!1!)
Hey, that makes conservatism pretty appealing to the undecided, don’t ya think?
I’m not saying at all that you have to vote for John McCain in the primaries (although I hope people do)–I know everyone has his or her preference and that’s what the primaries are about. But this ridiculous demonization of McCain and those who are voting for him (as I did on Wednesday) is more harmful to the “conservative movement” than John McCain will ever be. As I wrote at Red State a couple weeks ago:
Even though McCain isn’t the ideal conservative and is wrong, even unacceptably so, on some things by our standards, he’s right on many more. (And as Reagan famously said, the person who agrees with me 80% of the time is not my enemy.) If he can bring in swing voters, he’s effectively moved the center rightward. He’s not polarizing among the general public, he knows how to speak to independents and centrists, and could very well change public opinion on certain issues, just as he had that effect with regard to the Rumsfeld strategy in the war. And it worked. We may not like his illegal immigration strategy, but it’s better than anything we’ll get with Hillobama and a Democratic Congress, and frankly, it’s not so different from what we’d get from most of the other GOP contenders, rhetoric aside. President McCain would absolutely have a more conservative solution to the illegal immigration problem than any Democrat.
Another point, which was raised in the comments of BlackRepub’s diary about black conservatives and the big tent, was that Hispanic voters are effectively gone for probably the next generation, after the last year. This is unfortunately very likely true, at least for those who would otherwise have been swing voters.
[...]
I can’t say I blame Hispanic swing voters for not wanting to vote Republican this time around. Not after the loud verbal beatings they’ve been taking as a group over the last couple of years, which on the internets (although not at RS) has been peppered with wildly offensive ethnic slurs and other perjorative rhetoric. Surely we’ve all seen it–it’s even been seen at some of the bigger blogs. I’m not Hispanic, but even I was ashamed to be identified as a conservative at times like that.But John McCain can bring them back.
We have an opportunity to GROW the conservative movement by attracting new people to our tent. Will they be as conservative as Ann Coulter? Probably not, and I’d say that’s not a bad thing. They won’t be “infiltrating,” as I’ve seen some stupidly say, they’ll be joining. As for me, I welcome independent and disaffected Democrats into the big tent. I may not agree with them on some things, but if they’re casting votes as I am, I’ll get more of what I want. So will the MDS cranks, for that matter. Isn’t it better to have people NOT voting for Democrats with their “progressive” (oxymoron!) ideals?
So thanks, conservative MDS media, for nothing. You can now go pose for your group picture that goes up on the poster the Left waves around as an example of what the Right is about. They might have to make it a panoramic shot to fit y’all in among Larry Craig, Mark Foley, Ted Haggert, Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay, Ted “Bridge to Nowhere” Stevens, and yes, Rick Santorum as well. Thanks, y’all!
Hey, don’t you want to be a conservative too?
A final, but important note, before someone says, “you’re a RINO” or whatever. I am a conservative. I am pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, fiercely patriotic, for a strong military, a national security hawk, for the Patriot Act and the war (including keeping Gitmo operational), for less gubmint intrusion in business, for low (flat!) taxes and less spending, against judicial activism, for law and order (which includes immigration enforcement, but not just for the southern border!), and I believe in “traditional” Judeo-Christian values, to include being vehemently anti-racist and having compassion for those less fortunate. I also believe in pragmatism and in “drawing more flies with honey than vinegar.” I’m not going to say “that’s what conservatism is”–I don’t pretentiously claim to be the arbiter of such things, as some do–but one would frankly be stupid if he or she were to actually think the rhetoric of the MDSers is an effective way to bring others to the Right.
I am a conservative, and I support John McCain.
UPDATE: The Anchoress:
Nothing else matters but that they don’t believe the same things “we” believe (whoever “we” are, Conservative or Liberal). Because they don’t believe the same things “we” believe, they are bad, undesirable people and we shun them and will not have them in our midst.
It’s downright unAmerican, if you ask me.
This ain’t Hell, but you can see it from here » Surprise! Ann Coulter says something controversial says:
[...] side of the blogosphere has run the gamut. (Videos of the clip are at all of the links below). My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy’s Beth thinks conservatism is dead because of the anti-McCain strikes from Hannity, Rush, Michele Malkin, [...]
Terrye says:
I agree, Ann Coulter and people like her are just plain nuts.
JR says:
Thank you! I’m glad that there are other people who are recognzing the true problem here, and are not just echoing the usual hot air that passes for intelligent commentary and discourse.
SJ Reidhead says:
I keep wondering, if these people had wanted a “pure” conservative, why did they refuse to support Sam Brownback?
SJR
The Pink Flamingo
Are Our Ideologies Our Idols? | The Anchoress says:
[...] Beth minces no words. [...]
William Teach says:
I usually agree with Ann, but, in this case, she has the left the station without the train. The only people who are going to destroy the Conservative movement are people who are, quite frankly, having moonbat style hissy fits over McCain, and failing to see the bigger picture.
I’m sure that will generate some nasty, personal comments from the McCain haters, but, you know, I do not care. I despise the guy politically. But, if he is the nominee for the GOP, I will go to the polls and vote for him, because seeing Democrats, lets face it, Socialists, like Hillary or Obama in the White House with a potential Dem Congress would do VASTLY more harm to Conservatism then John McCain.
Excellent article, Beth. Me, I am a Classical Liberal (close enough to Conservative), and I will support McCain. I’d prefer Romney at this juncture (well, really, Duncan Hunter, but, alas….), but, I will support McCain whole heartedly if he is the nominee.
Greg says:
Alan Colmes reacting was classic! “Done.. My work is done!, (raises Ann Couter’s stick arm in triumph), Go!”
- effin classic!
Glad conservatives are finally realizing she is harmful to the conservative cause. i take no comfort in that because I’m on the left. She just needs to go.
Beth says:
Heh. Greg, it’s not “finally” in my case. She’s pissed me off for years, and she DOES need to go. You know what they say, you draw more flies with honey than vinegar. Coultard is cheap, rancid vinegar. ;)
And yeah, I have to admit I thought Colmes’ reaction was classic too, and I almost never agree with him. O’course, Hannity is a real idiot–that show is like watching Dumb and Dumber. I watch it for their guests but cringe when H&C are the ones talking–except when Coultard or some other disgraceful twat is on, that is.
Ryan says:
The GOP tent has become so big that the Conservatives have been pushed out. There is little difference between McCain/Clinton/Obama. Stick up for the modern day GOP if you want, but the Conservative movement is much more important in the long-run.
PaulW says:
Conservativism is not dying or dead: differences in the political spectrum, the dual oppositions of two sides of an argument, will not go away until the issues themselves go away. As long as there’s liberals, there will be conservatives. Bickering and yelling and selling their books on C-SPAN, the lot of them.
At issue here is the quality of leadership: WHO BEST DEFINES THE IDEOLOGY. To whom shall the banner of Republican conservatism go? Few so far were able to convince voters they were worthy: well-known hardline conservatives like Duncan Hunter got almost no support; Fred Thompson was what you called Old Guard conservatism, but was himself slow to rise to the challenge; Giuliani was a Cult of Personality doomed to collapse on itself. That’s left Ron Paul (too extreme at the end of the conservative spectrum); Huckabee (a social conservative, but fiscal liberal and someone the GOP establishment just can’t respect); Romney (in truth the most competent candidate, but also the most slippery and least trustworthy); and McCain (perhaps best described as Old Guard hybrid of Goldwater and Reagan ideology, but also too willing to compromise on issues that conservatives would prefer to keep inviolate).
This is why Reagan’s name keeps popping up: there’s this underlying wish fulfillment to have a known quantity come back to lead the conservative cause once more. Which is so sad and so wrong: don’t wish for the leaders you’ve had, find the leaders of today you need. Of the ones left in the race, the one we need is McCain: qualified, experienced, knowledgeable of foreign affairs and military matters, and yes someone willing and able to work with Democrats (do the simple math: the Dems, barring a massive controversy like Reid and Pelosi caught naked on a goat farm, are going to remain in power and because of the rising number of retiring Republicans could well garner more seats).
Am I openly endorsing McCain? Kinda. I do wish he’d stop lying about Romney though: it makes himself look bad…
Lord Bitememan says:
Ryan, on the contrary, it is not conservatives drown out by the size of the tent, it is moderates being pushed out by those trying to shrink that tent. And where will we go once we have no home in the GOP? I’ll leave you to fill in that blank.
Beth says:
Very true, and not just moderates, either–conservatives like me are being pushed out of the tent too (or rather, running away from the Crazy Wing of conservatism) because we aren’t demanding, unrealistic, petulant children. Or maybe I am moderate–in temperament, at least. Some of my fellow conservatives? Extreme in every respect.
As if that’s *ever* going to win the hearts and minds of the American people, much less win any elections! LOL!
Beth says:
Hey, Ryan? I thought that “poor me, I’m being victimized!” shit was a classic trait of (il)liberals.
God, even conservatives have joined the Nation of Victims.
Waaaaaaahhhh! Open your eyes, Ryan! No “conservative” like you is being pushed out, and if you think there’s “little difference” btw McCain and Clinton, then you’re just basically stupid. Or a goddamned liar. Or both.
Sorry I can’t be nicer about it, but I don’t have any respect for people who say things so obviously false. Go find somewhere else where brain-dead liars hang out to spew that laughable crap.
PaulW says:
The quality of being conservative is not measured by how loudly you pronounce yourself, nor is it measured by how quickly you denounce others you deem lacking in it.
An honest man, like a true religion, appeals to the understanding, or modestly confides in the internal evidence of his conscience. The imposter employs force instead of argument, imposes silence where he cannot convince, and propagates his character by the sword. - The Letters Of Junius (1769-1771)
Big S says:
Hey,
It’s my first time here-I found your blog while slashing my way through the jungle-o-links. I must say, I like your blog and agree with this post. I’m on the far reaches of the Big Tent as a (classically) liberal (sometime) Republican (gasp!)and have become pretty disheartened with all of the MDS going around. It’s good to hear a voice of reason, and I’ll be sure to check back soon.
Best,
Conservative Belle says:
Don’t you just love Google ads? You rail about Ann Coulter and then they advertise for her free weekly columns.
I make the case against McCain on my blog and I get Mike Huckabee and John McCain campaign ads. Ha!
Jake Was Here says:
I think the nadir of this split was reached when the Anchoress posted a reasonable call for peace on Ace of Spades. One of the first responses she got basically boiled down to: “Suck my cock, you RINO sycophant.”
Beth says:
Yeah, I saw that too, Jake. I’ve considered Ace’s a home away from home for a while now, but that was beyond despicable. (Needless to say, I’m not hanging out there much lately.) If I want to see deranged histrionics, I can hang out at Kos or the DU. I don’t want to see it from conservatives.