Posted on 06/10/2006 1:19:53 PM PDT by CWOJackson
Actually had you read the article your would have known that buchanan is a central figure in it...and Frum does an outstanding job exposing the soul of the paleocon soul.
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NR Goes to War
http://toryanarchist.wordpress.com/2006/06/09/nr-goes-to-war/
That's the title of Neal Freeman's article in the June 2006 American Spectator. It's well worth picking up. Freeman, a longstanding member of NR's board of directors, believed all along that the Iraq War was unwise and made the case to his fellow board members. You can guess how well that went down. (He also argued that the magazine should print an apology, to Robert Novak at least, for David Frum's "Unpatriotic Conservatives" hit piece — "As America went to war," Freeman writes, "NR gave its warm endorsement to the invasion but then — rather than rallying reluctant conservatives to the flag and cause — it turned abruptly to the settling of intramural scores.")
In our final meeting before the balloon went up in Iraq, I pleaded with my NR colleagues to reconsider their drum-beating for war. I rehearsed my old arguments and added the prudential point that we should husband our resources to meet the real threats in Iran and North Korea. I thought then and I think today that if NR had opposed the invasion it could have made a decisive difference within the conservative movement and, radiating its influence outward, across the larger political community. There were no takers for my brief. For all involved, I suspect, that last pre-war evening was difficult. I probably pushed too hard against the carefully tended fences of collegiatility. In an overwrought phrase that I regretted instantly, I characterized the decision to invade Iraq as "stupid, dangerous, and hubristic." (I recall the phrase only because it was tossed back at me repeatedly in the early months of the war, as if it had been memorialized on a plaque in the Hall of Crazy Sayings.)
The Frumpurge, where NR tried to do to antiwar conservatives what it had long ago done to the Randians and Birchers, was just about the last straw.
I continued to attend board functions, holding a grin-and-bear-it pose as the editors reported, early on, how swimmingly the Iraq campaign was going and then, in a later analysis, how Rumsfeld's inept tactics were botching Wolfowitz's brilliant strategy.I hung in there because I had enjoyed a great run with the magazine. Hell, Bill and our little gang had repainted the map of the known world. I had deep reserves of affection for hte magazine and for my band of brothers and I just dind't have it in me to tell Bill I was quitting.
When Buckley himself stepped down as owner, however, Freeman followed him out the door.
"His blog has become a secular version of the Phelps church"
Wow, you really pegged it.
If Phelps comes to my town, I'm going to make a response sign that says
"GOD HATES EXTREMISTS"
Ping!
LOL! It's so easy to spot the paleocons....they're always so Frum-pie.
I'd have to agree. What this vein of political thought on the American Right is is truly European conservatism. This is where right-wing collectivism (and all of its gross ills) comes into play.
This is deeper than it appears on a prima facie basis, therefore I recommend a good reading of Why I Am Not A Conservative by F.A. Hayek to truly understand this phenomenon.
Your #38 is simply outstanding!
PING for later.
David Frum is pro-abortion and has continually defended large-government policies. I'll take my definitions on the word "conservative" elsewhere, thanks.
I'll accept his definition of Paleocon as it stands...he hit the nail on the head there.
The whole neo-con/paleocon thing is all screwed up anyway. I've been accused of being both at different times. A point could be made that neither neos OR paleos are even conservative, as both believe in growing government to achieve their goals.
I can't recall the title on the other one (it was fairly recent) but it did give a simple litmus test to identify Paleocons that is quite accurate: just look for the "conservative" that is always angry, mad and loud.
Seems pretty accurate to me.
Uh oh! That's starting to sound a lot like me. Add sarcastic, drop-dead good looking, and fond of posting jokes about breasts and you've got good ol' jmc813. :-)
Now there is your latent LP leanings showing through. A honest conservative (I almost wrote real or true) would NEVER "joke" about breasts. That like joking about national security.
The owner of this website is a "Keyester".
Hey now! I'm small-l all the way. You do have a point though. I don't think the nanny staters would appreciate the time I spend on threads dealing with Katherine Harris, Anna Kournakova and the Bush twins either.
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