Neocons, Paleocons And Other-Cons: Can’t We Just Get Along?
By James Bowden (05/09/03)
The wisdom of Rodney King, by itself, won’t solve this problem among Conservatives. The splendid little war in Iraq brought the squabbles among hyphenated conservatives out into the open. It seems the concept of pre-emptive war is as unsettling as its location in the Middle East.
The fact that the U.S. has Imperial Power is troubling for some cons. Different dash-cons disagree on the roadmap for conservative power. And we all need to get along by January 04. A longer split could spell d-e-f-e-a-t in the 2004 Presidential race. Conservatives divided on ideas, could lose to Liberals united in hatred of Bush and the Republicans. It could happen.
It seems the real bitterness is the resentment that Paleo-conservatives (once and always conservatives before it was cool) have for Neo-conservatives (once liberal, democrats until the left went loony) for getting their way in the foreign affairs of the Bush administration. Some Paleocons think the Jewish intellectual Neo-cons make the U.S. interests the servant of Israel. Some Neocons detect a whiff of anti-semitism in some Paleocons. Some Neo-cons need to embrace the social agenda of Christian-Conservatives or say goodbye to the base of power and all hope.
Paleo. Paleocons will either understand that the U.S. is an Imperial Power without imperial ambitions or become irritating isolationist flakes. (Note to Pat Buchanan: When you are right you are powerful, but when you are wrong you are shrill and irrelevant). Isolationism was stupid in the 1930s and is suicidal now. The Islamists are a long, long term threat to us. Isolationism will not prevent an attack with weapons of mass destruction or simple terror. The judicious, deliberate, selective use of force – either pre-emptively or punitively – is necessary for national survival. We are an Imperial Republic without Imperial ambitions – it’s just a fact. The Paleocons need to help us keep the Republic a Republic.
Neo. Some Neocons will either understand that the Republic can only be preserved by mobilizing Christian-conservatives or they will lose both the World War on Islamist Terrorism (WW-T) and the Second American Civil War (Great U.S. Culture War = ACW II). The issues will come to head this Summer like thunderstorms when the U.S. Supreme Court discovers a privacy right to anal sex hidden in the U.S. Constitution and strikes down sodomy laws – and when the Massachusetts Supreme Court declares homosexual marriage legal. Neocons need to be either pro-family or not.
Christians. Christian cons need to draw a line in the sand or become useless. Dr. James Dobson is already talking about walking out of the GOP. Chose well, brothers and sisters. Is the line drawn on federal judgeships – and Senate Democrats re-writing the Constitution on appointments - or the defense of marriage and the family? What will Christians do to get the 4 million voters who showed up in ’94 to come back to the polls?
The South – including Occupied-Florida. The South is the base for conservative victory. The South is the Bible Belt. Only the South has a culture – religion, language, and heritage – resisting the liberal institutions of academia (even K-12), most media, too many sissy churches and synagogues, big industry, and filthy rich foundations. All the cons need to watch the dust up on the Georgia state flag and pay attention. The issue isn’t the particular Confederate symbol for political acceptance; it’s the rhetoric of cultural cleansing from carpet-bagger and scalawag liberals. It’s about to strike a chord of ‘enough is enough’ – maybe over the defense of marriage issue – that is going to reverberate loudly.
The doctrinal issues dividing conservatives will be sorted out by events – success or failure at home or overseas. Hopefully, the unrealistic, unreasonable, and untenable aspects of every sect of conservatives will be weighed and found wanting by the harsh scale of time – in fairly short order. Republicans have less than a year to get the conservatives together. The really big issues – like immigration, socialism, freedom of religion and speech, taxes, marriage and family – in the context of the two front War against Islamist Terrorism at home and abroad - have to be attacked. Take our high ground – and hold it. Let’s do that this year.
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