Bush followers are not conservatives.

[Cassandra]

http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/01/bush-followers-are-not-conservatives.html

"The NSA scandal ought to make it impossible for any intellectually honest conservatives to continue to support this Administration. It is a scandal in which the Administration has trampled on two bedrock conservative principles -- an unintrusive Federal Government and adherence to the rule of law. Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter, one of the few mainstream journalists who has both recognized and articulated that the NSA scandal constitutes a genuine crisis in our government, explained in his column this week:


But "Snoopgate" is already creating new fissures on the right. The NSA story is an acid test of whether one is a traditional Barry Goldwater conservative, who believes in limited government, or a modern Richard Nixon conservative, who believes in authority.


This is exactly right. Under the Bush Administration, the term "conservative" long ago ceased to signify a political ideology and has instead become a personality cult. As Alter says, the conservatism of Bush followers is first and foremost about a belief in authority – the authority of George Bush. Literally, what now determines whether one is a "conservative" is the fealty one demonstrates to George Bush, the Leader and Commander-in-Chief."

This is an very good blog; if you haven't added it to your daily routine yet, do so.

[maxsolomon]

1. an "intellectually honest conservative"

is an oxymoron.

what the hell is an "honest critic", anyway?

[SteppingRazor]

5. I disagree. There is such a thing as an "intellectually honest" con...

Pat Buchanan's a fairly good example, though not always.

American conservatism is pretty easy to pin down, at least on paper:

Economics -- Fiscal responsibility (balanced budgets, etc)
Domestic policy -- so-called "traditional" values (anti-gay marrige, etc.)
Foreign policy -- the avoidance of foreign entanglements (conservative, isolationist opposition to both world wars is a good example)


There ARE conservatives who stick to these principles -- like I said, Buchanan's a pretty good example most of the time -- but they are certainly in the extreme minority these days.

[maxsolomon]

9. the only conservative i ever agree partially with

is Pat Buchanan.

[C_U_L8R]

2. Weasels

Now conservatives are trying to disown their own mess ????
True weasels.... and a good sign that the "conservative revolution"
is going down in utter scandal and ruin.

[Cassandra]

3. He's trying to make the point...

that what passes for conservatism these days is the cult of Bush. If there are any authentic conservatives still around, they'd better wake up now. This is what you get when you sell your principles for power.

[opihimoimoi]

4. Germany 1934

[Lexingtonian]

6. the Right has never believed that the rule of law applies to themselves

-anywhere or at any time in world history. Rule of law is by the weak for the weak.

It's always sadly ridiculous that conservatives have no actual understanding of history.

[orwell]

7. The "personality cult" observation...

...is true of all political movements as they enter the decline phase. It was true of the so-called "liberalism" of the late 60's early 70's. What were once bedrock beliefs give ground to political expediency and corruption. This is why all fanaticism consumes itself eventually.

It is starting to happen on the "Religious Right" as well. The wild card is that CrimoCons have the power, as they sit at the wheel of the permanent war state, to take everyone with them as they "Thelma and Louise" off the cliff.

[Cassandra]

8. I always wonder what the cultists will do after ....

Bush's term is up but I think they would say that Bush should be president for life. How quickly and easily they can flush the Constitution down the toilet.