The Neo-Con Assault on the Constitution

Lewrockwell.com ^ | April 25, 2002 | Thomas J. DiLorenzo

[A.J.Armitage]

Germany was hardly "winning" wwI when the USA entered it. This best it could have hoped for would have been a negoitiated peace the worst years more of stalemate trench warfare. OUr entry merely hastened its defeat and made it certain.

And do you deny that this would have been better for the world?

[ex-snook]

"Merriam-Webster defines neoconservative as, a former liberal espousing political conservatism. "

Of course there is the paleo-con who is not a former liberal but espoused political conservatism. This gets confusing as to what this all means now. I sort of update it for today:
-- A republican is one who never criticizes Bush.
-- A neo-con is one who never criticizes Sharon.
-- A conservative criticizes both.

Bill Bennett, George Will, William Safire, Brit Hume, Krauthammer are neo-cons. Maybe someone can slot Keyes. I find him too hard to listen to.

[Reagan Man]

My friend, read my remarks. We happen to agree, more or less. But, I don't agree with you, that isolationism is a conservative value and should be promoted as a positive attribute of American foreign policy. In addition, my remarks were aimed at pointing out, that George W. Bush and Alan Keyes, are not neoconservatives. I don't believe either man wants to bomb the rest of the world, back to the stoneage. But America does have current interests in the world that she should continue to support, protect and defend. One of those interests, is the future existence of the state of Israel. As for destroying the legacies of the New Deal and the Great Society, thats an ultimate aim of all true conservatives, but it won't happen overnight. After 70 years of creeping liberal-socialism, any significant change in the political and governing course of America, will take some time. May be another 70 years. Who knows.

But I still think Lew Rockwell and his crowd, are fringe wackos.

[justshutupandtakeit]

A sovereign state can protect itself and prolong its existence. The Slaveocracy could do neither; it was an abortion and died precisely because it could not create sovereignty.

It is false that the Slaveocrat's rebellion upheld the constitution in any way. All the founders believed that secession or disunion would result in catastrope for our people.

Remember the revolutionary motto and flag "Union or death" with the snake cut into thirteen pieces? This was common knowledge not even Jefferson urged such folly. When he seemed to and the lunatics started yammering in the 1820s about secession Madison had to bring him up sharp and made him regain his sanity.

BTW Jefferson Davis was not tried for treason because it would have gone against the policy of trying to reunite the states. He would have been found guilty and hanged without a doubt.

[NittanyLion]

Suppose Alaska enacted a law that provided that all folks over 70 would be killed? Is that any concern for Pennsylvanians?

With all due respect, your analogy doesn't hold. I talk about a state allowing an activity with the consent of all involved parties; you talk about killing people against their will. Perhaps it's time to brush up on your logic/debate skills.

[tacticalogic]

Hamilton often warned that the mere creation of the constitution would not substitute for caution against designing men, men of little understanding and integrity. This is why he regularly warned that the spirit of the laws was very important and used the biblical injunction that the letter of the law killeth while the spirit of the law exalts.

In this case I think that advice applies well. FDR twisted the letter of the law and used it to commit an egregious perversion of the spirit of the law. It should not be forgotten, or forgiven.

[Torie]

You are missing the point that some hold views that euthanasia is close to murder (they would hold that the distinctions you raise are not dispositive). You may disagree, and I may disagree, but this bit about the feds keeping the noses out of state business is really driven by whose ox is being gored. It is a make weight argument.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Certainly the Peace of Versaille was a disaster and provoked WWII but you also have to look at the real role of the German army during the war. It created the National Socialist Labor Party (which was the largest labor party in Germany during the war.) And was deeply involved in politics.

I can't say that the world would have been better off with German militarism unchecked and without its political role the Communists and Socialists would have been dominant. This could easily have led to an alliance with the Soviets which would have been a huge problem for the democracies of the west. After all you know why Lenin was allowed to go into Russia in the first place.

[VinnyTex]

that isolationism is a conservative value and should be promoted as a positive attribute of American foreign policy

Lets just put it this way. The Old Right are the descendants of the Jefferson and Madison wars against the Hamiltonians. States Rights Vs a strong Central government. Neo Cons favor a very strong active Central government.

[Reagan Man]

Paleo-con! LOL Let's not go there. Besides, I don't think its in M-W.

I've criticized Bush, but have found it hard to criticize Sharon, at least in recent weeks.

Bill Bennett is a former democrat. William Safire is a liberal republican. Charles Krathammer makes a lot of sense, most of the time, but he is a neo-con. George Will has always been a conservative-republican. Brit Hume comes across as a conservative, but I don't know his political history. Alan Keyes may be hard to stomach for some, but I don't classify him as a neo-con.

[amused]

BUMP

[rdb3]

As I read the Rockwellian types, I have to ask the question: So what?

"Neo-con." Whoopie! Count me in among that lot. I, rdb3, am a "neo-con." Yes, I was once a Democrat. Then I grew up.

So, for the Rockwellian types and their supporters, I ask again, "So, what?"

Want me and others who matured into the political Right to vanish? Is that it?

My being a "neo-con"servative not good enough for ya? Hmmm?

So what?

What's accomplished by pieces like this? What's accomplished by incessantly criticizing "neo-cons," hmmm? What's accomplished by beating up on those who "saw the light?"

So what?

We have Leftists who are in full control of our school boards nationwide, yet Rockwellian types and their supporters attack "neo-cons."

We have Leftists who are in complete control of 99.9% of our colleges and universities, yet Rockwellian types and their supporters attack "neo-cons."

We have Leftists who are in complete control of our lexicon and are an absolute perversion to our American culture, yet Rockwellian types and their supporters attack "neo-cons." Notice that I didn't say "Southern" culture, or "Midwestern" culture, or even "Northeast/East Coast" culture. I said AMERICAN culture. The Left is running a full-court press on it, yet some find it more profitable to attack those like me than those who are filling your children's minds with their nonsense be it on TV, the movies, or in the classroom.

How does the attack on so-called "neo-cons" bring others into the fold? For Rockwellian types, if you are a former Democrat, you need not apply.

What will it take for paleoconservatives to realize that, since the Constitution is NOT being taught to our children (and hasn't been taught in quite a while), that just saying the word "Constitution" is not magic? When will paleoconservatives realize that the Constitution must be brought down to the personal level? By this I mean, how are you going to go about demonstrating to the people how the Constitution applies to them personally? What will it take for you to realize that words on a piece of paper are dead without people giving it the correct meaning so that it might live in the hearts and minds of the people?

I won't hold my breath for an answer.

In the meantime, I'll just suffer through the slings and arrows of the paleocons. Shame on those like me for ever had been a Democrat, even though we see the light.

[A.J.Armitage]

I can't say that the world would have been better off with German militarism unchecked and without its political role the Communists and Socialists would have been dominant.

Given what actually happened, how could just about any other scenario have been anything but better?

[Aurelius]

BUMP

[Reagan Man]

Lets just put it this way. The Old Right are the descendants of the Jefferson and Madison wars against the Hamiltonians. States Rights Vs a strong Central government. Neo Cons favor a very strong active Central government.

Agreed.

But let's call them, the old old old right, or is that the old old old left? As in, the classic liberal sense. After 200 years, some things change and sometimes, they change for the better. Sometimes, for the worse.

[A.J.Armitage]

In a certain sense neo-cons are simply former leftists. But there was a particular group of former leftists, mostly, if I recall, Trotskyites, who didn't really see the light. They became conservatives after a fashion, but not in the same way others had been. So those others became paleo-cons. When people use neo- or paleo- conservative as an ideological identifier, it's those groups they have in mind. It's perfectly possible to go from being a leftist to being a paleo-con, and there are second and third, maybe even fourth by now, generation neo-cons running around.

[Kevin Curry]

Legalize dope, enhance nanny government.

It's the socialist-libertarian way!

[dcwusmc]

Excellent points. And the very ones who want to destroy what's left of the Bill of Rights are the ones who call us "moral-liberals" who would PRESERVE and CONSERVE and RESTORE the Constitution in all its grand splendor. What do THEY wish to conserve? More of what has NEVER worked??????

[justshutupandtakeit]

That is hard to argue with but it is also true that very few understand just what the Nazi movement was all about and what its sources of motivation and power were.

Believe me it was not just german misery, nationalism and militarism. Nihilism was a part of it and that would not have been changed by a german victory. Nietzsche predicted the coming Age of Nihilism and he was completely right.

[dcwusmc]

IIRC, he did NOT get any fed help, including ROW. His secret was to build where people actually WERE, not artificially create towns that had never existed before. Sort of like someone's recent post regarding a contractor who had just built an apartment complex and wanted to know where to put the walkways. The owner told him to wait until people had worn paths and build the walkways where they were actually needed. Hill was like that, which is why HIS road worked!