Posted on 04/17/2012 6:59:17 PM PDT by WPaCon
Will the American coalition of interests and groups c alled conservative fall apart a few months from now when President Reagan leaves office? Will there succeed to power in Washington a very different coalition, made up of extreme liberals, black radicals, and militant feminists? Is the conservative movemen t in the United States, which began to take form forty years ago, enervated and disheartened, plodding down the road to Avernus?
Nay, not so. The political and social attitudes that we call conservative are deeply rooted among Americans, and the leaders of both great political parties are thoroughly aware of that popular attitude. The amusing post-convention attempt to represent Governor Dukakis as a prudent conservative, and Senator Bentsen as the Old Gentleman with the Black Stock, is sufficient illustra t ion of the realism that has descended upon the Democratic party; while that party's platform, accepted by delegates best classified as ritualistically liberal, is an endeavor to assure the voting public that Democrats, too, are attached to the Permanent T h ings. Far from entering upon an era of political innovation, we Americans may look upon the spectacle of two parties professedly conservative. It does not necessarily follow that either party must be intelligently conservative: my present point is merely that our principal public men today have come to recognize the great strength of what I call Popular Conservatism.
(Excerpt) Read more at heritage.org ...
I'll later post his speeches on neoconservatives.
Here are links to the threads with his lectures on cultural conservatives and libertarians:
coalition of interests and groups called conservative
There’s your problem right there. “Conservatives” got so balled up with interests they forgot principles.
I have posted many threads on Kirk's thoughts, views and writings.
I am unable to find that well of hopefulness and confidence that Kirk could always bring forth in me from this piece from almost a generation ago.
I think our citizenry has not been taught properly, been shown right examples or been counseled by honest media for the last forty years and that now the majority is formed with a nature I do not recognize.
We couldn't even field a conservative candidate of stature and skill in a primary shaping a challenge to a failed leftist fraud. I have not despaired but I am resigned that only Divine intervention can right this without a horrible period and price to be endured.
Resigned? You would prefer it if humans could figure it out without Him?
That first line was positively prophetic! Maybe it didn’t happen overnight...but look at where we are at this moment. Bookmarked for later reading. THank you for that post!
Resigned or affirmed, I’ve accepted that those are the only two paths that lay ahead. I do trust in the Lord. But I don’t have much trust in man.
Blame BUSH 1 for the end of actual Conservatism and turning the Reagan movement into some bastard form of Conservative, one filled with leftist infiltrators and crappy magazines like Nat Review, Daily Standard plus crappy think tanks full of interventionist....there are damn few Conservatives now.
ALL the DC parasite quickly figured out how much Reagan and Gingrich cost them....and have log rolled any Constitutional conservative since.
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