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Question:

At what point does it become comical to insist on calling yourself a conservative while at the same time claiming the case need be made that socialism is of necessity not consonant with the founding ideals of the American experiment?

The TEA Party movement — and its electoral successes — stands as a pointed rebuke to those who told us how unhelpful it was for “purists” and “extremists” on the right to insist that our representatives advocate for conservative and classical liberal principles. The idea that the only way to win over independents is to l compromise with an ever more leftward legislative drift — and to accept the basic goodness and decency of those who very aims it is to “transform” our country into something fundamentally other, and to do so against our express wishes — has been shown to be nonsense.

It turns out what Americans really wanted was clarity.

Chalk one up for the ideologues.

27 Replies to “Question:”

  1. sdferr says:

    Ron Radosh:

    Let’s stop on the latter point. What is wrong with partisanship? Aren’t political parties and candidates supposed to stand for something, so that the electorate knows what they are voting for or against? At one point, FDR even said that he hoped America would create one national conservative party and one national liberal party, so that the choice between the two would be starkly presented and then Americans could choose which direction they wanted the country to move towards. In a way, we are about at that point now. If the silent majority of the public — the group Galston and Frum cite as their basis for a new movement — do not like the present set-up, then a new party would emerge from the remnant of one of the two existing major parties.

  2. Rick says:

    Perhaps Frum is merely positioning himself for the “acceptable Conservative” host slot on the doomed “Parker-Spitzer” program, which I understand is still carried on cable.

    Cordially…

  3. cranky-d says:

    It can be difficult at times to admit that you were wrong about something, especially if you have dedicated a lot of thought towards it. Frum is in that situation. I think he will never let go of what he holds to be true, even in the face of mounting evidence.

    Obama is who we thought he was two years ago (or more). This is not a surprise to anyone who was paying attention.

  4. happyfeet says:

    And it’s against the use of epithets that the No Labels movement is protesting.

    he’s just precious

  5. Joe says:

    I am not sure I would describe David Frum’s “conservatism” as comical. It is more of a bad joke.

    But on the flip side, I enjoyed this quote: “[Obama’s] a con man. I have no use for him,” Nader said.

  6. Jeff G. says:

    I don’t think calling him a con man is very fair or helpful.

  7. Joe says:

    I just hope the Gentle Naderites get fired up again to run and be spoilers.

  8. sdferr says:

    I don’t think calling him a con man is very fair or helpful.

    uh oh.

  9. Ernst Schreiber says:

    Frumery. What’s it good for?

  10. sdferr says:

    Frumery. What’s it good for?

    Feeding David’s children, I reckon Ernst.

  11. Squid says:

    I think [Frum] will never let go of what he holds to be true, even in the face of mounting evidence.

    I think it more likely that a few years from now, he’ll have formulated a new argument that refutes his 2008 arguments, and he’ll insist that he’s been right the whole time.

    I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a political argument with my mother at Christmas, and then had the exact same argument at the 4th of July, except that in the latter case, she’s arguing the points I made the first time around, and insisting that this was her original argument. It’s infuriating and gratifying — I feel like I won the argument, but there’s no way to declare victory.

    Love her dearly, but I’m very grateful that she’s not in charge of any important policy directives.

  12. Jeff G. says:

    I’ve encountered those same ploys, Squid.

    It’s surreal, isn’t it?

  13. LTC John says:

    “At what point does it become comical to insist on calling yourself a conservative …”

    At the moment I read those words, all I could think was “Andrew Sullivan, 2004.”

  14. Ernst Schreiber says:

    There’s more honorable ways to prostitute yourself, sdferr.

  15. rjacobse says:

    Just once, I would like for one of these CINOs to provide an explanation of what Conservativism is, what its fundamental principles are, and how that is in concordance with the decidedly non-conservative pap that they espouse.

  16. sdferr says:

    As my Granddad used to say E, I’d say of Frum: “He pays his money, he takes his chances”.

  17. Mike LaRoche says:

    Frumery. What is it good for?

    Absolutely nothing.

  18. Squid says:

    The TEA Party movement — and its electoral successes — stand as a pointed rebuke…

    Electoral successes? Did they have any of those? ‘Cuz all I heard for the past month was about how the Tea Party was the ones what got rebuked.

    Funny how you can win 300 battles, yet little Keithie Couricmann only talks about the couple you lost.

  19. Mikey NTH says:

    [Frum] will never let go of what he holds to be true, even in the face of mounting evidence.

    Such a rigid ideologue, firm in his squishiness.

  20. Mikey NTH says:

    Funny how you can win 300 battles, yet little Keithie Couricmann only talks about the couple you lost.

    Considering the size of his audience (and hers) I’m not too worried.

  21. Squid says:

    Heh. Now I have this mental image of Katie telling Keith, “Mine’s bigger!”

  22. Mikey NTH says:

    Serves you right for starting it.

  23. pdbuttons says:

    frum is a good word
    it’s no bjork, mind you
    but it got it’s…charms..
    frum leads u to foggy london/jack the ripper
    black’n’white blood leaks,,dribble..
    regret..self doubt- hesitance..
    ‘are you gonna stick ur toe in the water, or are u gonna jump in?’
    frum
    bjork- on the other paw..
    is a positive word!
    scene;hospital- aids ward; bjork visits.
    looks at your chart/ sees ur positive..
    then she screams[happy scream]oh- u are hiv positive!
    and then she starts dancing/echo=ing
    twirling..positive,possibly rent free
    whee!
    !

  24. happyfeet says:

    What could be of interest to the large oil companies are the offshore drilling opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico. Pemex will move to open these fields to foreigners by 2012. The company says it has identified some new fields underwater that could hold a billion barrels of crude or more.*

    America just falls further and further behind it’s quite pitiful

  25. Mikey NTH says:

    It’s going to take a lot more than what the Obama crew can dream up to put America behind Mexico, haps. A lot.

  26. happyfeet says:

    I hope you’re right but in 1960 Detroit was a thriving city, member?

    this sort of thing can happen lickety split

    we must be vigilant

  27. Swen says:

    I don’t think calling him a con man is very fair or helpful.

    Who knew Nader was such a racist?

Comments are closed.