Our Lunch with Al Regnery
By Peter and Helen Evans (02/25/08)
It was a special occasion, indeed. Alfred Regnery is talking about his new book, "Upstream: the Ascendance of American Conservatism." He explains he's been a conservative since he was seven or eight years old. Not surprising, considering that his father is Henry Regnery, who started his own publishing house back in the 1940's and pioneered in publishing conservative authors, one of the first being William F. Buckley, Jr, whose "God and Man at Yale" came out in 1951. Mr Regnery is very humble about his own accomplishments and influence within the conservative movement. He prefers to call himself a historian rather than a political strategist.
One of the first anticipated questions he volunteered to answer was, "Is Senator McCain a conservative and should conservatives back him?" Mr. Regnery says straight out that, "No, Sen. McCain is not a conservative and, yes, we conservatives should back him." He asks us to consider what happens after the Presidential inauguration in January 2009. Yes, much has been made of the fact that Sen. McCain will, at 72 years of age, be the oldest man ever inaugurated. However, and much more important to conservatives, there will be four Supreme Courts Justices over 70 years of age. Two of these are likely to retire during the next President's first term. Who do we want nominating the next two Supreme Court Justices? We have a good chance to influence the choices of a President McCain... if we elect him. But we would very little chance to influence a President Obama or (gasp) another President Clinton.
"How might this influence take shape?" It's already been effectively exercised on the Bush White House. As Mr. Regnery tells the story over lunch, a group of conservatives got together, organized resources, including fund-raisers and phone banks and then asked for a meeting with General Counsel at the White House. They presented a short list of four names acceptable to the conservative movement and said they would rally th necessary forces to back any one of those. Well, the Bush White House went its own way with the Harriet Meyers nomination. You recall how quickly that episode ended. They seem to have learned a lesson, because while hearing rumors of a Gonzales nomination, it never came to pass.
Someone at the table suggested that Sen. McCain isn't one to bend to pressure like that. Mr. Regnery suggested that after losing once, then twice, no one, especially not President McCain, would like to go on being called a loser. We believe that that conservative juggernaut can again be put into action for the right reason. Conservatism is healthy and well.
In fact, that's the real message of "Upstream." Conservatism is not necessarily Republicanism; it's a political movement that includes philosophers. This is in contrast to the Democrats, who look to political activists when they want inspiration. Although it may not always be the best way to win elections, conservatives do believe we must stand firm in our principles. Ideas have consequences and we must defend the right ideas.
Why were we honored to have lunch with Mr. Regnery? It was not a power lunch between Mr. Regnery and Peter and Helen, it was a power lunch hosted by what is arguably the biggest conservative think-tank in Washington, DC with Mr. Regnery, Peter and Helen and about 25 other bloggers. Still, it was an intimate gathering where we had plenty of time for questions in a very relaxed atmosphere. We'll keep attending, so you keep watching this space to hear more and more of the inside scoop of what's really happening in our nation's capitol. It's your country, you should be aware of how it works.
Peter and Helen Evans
http://peterandhelenevans.com/
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