Pundit,
I don't know how many people are fans of the Right Wing Nuthouse, but Rick Moran is a pissy, authoritarian, bemoan-est at times. Nonetheless, you have to respect his honesty; usually he calls it like he sees it. (Rick open the damn comments up again, that was half the fun at NutHouse.)
His latest harangue, is defending Conservative Apostates like Peggy Noonan, Kathleen Parker, David Brooks, etc., but that is unimportant. Moran makes an excellent point about the populism in the “anti-intellectual” movement within the Conservative base, throwing around words like “elitist” or “snob” because of the lack of support for Governor Palin. Much like the Liberals are throwing around “racist” and “hate-monger” because you might condemn Obama.
We all get
a little frustrated and rant like crazy people, just look at some of our posts here concerning the Conservative movement. You would think we were trying to inspire some Right Wing version of the Che revolution. Not at all, we are just aggravated with the Republicans and their piss and moan me-first attitude, let the Left have controlling stock in that. We don’t want it.
Moran’s statements are very true, they are based on an identity crisis that Conservatives have been suffering for quite some time. Bare minimums for a person to be called a Conservative, you should be somewhat versed in your political thought and its application, there is more going on here than the 2nd Amendment, understand and interpret empirical data, but most of all be able to rely on common sense as the deciding factor concerning a decision.
That is the part most of the Left is missing, they tend to judge common sense and looking to the past for guidance as an antiquated novelty that has no room in a world of science and intellectualism. This factor is what people find distasteful about their movement; after all we used to be a nation of tradition and educated common sense.
It is truly a shame that nowadays that if you mention the name Russell Kirk, people will think you are talking about the captain of the Starship Enterprise, or Alexis De Tocqueville, they think you are mentioning the guy who won last year’s Tour du France, or that Lord Acton is some fancy new British made zit remover. We need a certain degree of city style intellectualism and educated thought combined with good old hometown common sense.
Look at a guy like Bobby Jindal, Republican Governor of Bayou Country and possible standard bearer for the Republicans, here is his bio, pay close attention to his education. Would you call him a snob or elitist because of his background or would you think he is a good ole Southern boy so he must be alright? So far he is demonstrating that is neither, but both. He found a balance.
Moran makes a really good point in his conclusion concerning the Conservative movement being in flux. He states,
"OmegaPundit"
His latest harangue, is defending Conservative Apostates like Peggy Noonan, Kathleen Parker, David Brooks, etc., but that is unimportant. Moran makes an excellent point about the populism in the “anti-intellectual” movement within the Conservative base, throwing around words like “elitist” or “snob” because of the lack of support for Governor Palin. Much like the Liberals are throwing around “racist” and “hate-monger” because you might condemn Obama.
We all get
a little frustrated and rant like crazy people, just look at some of our posts here concerning the Conservative movement. You would think we were trying to inspire some Right Wing version of the Che revolution. Not at all, we are just aggravated with the Republicans and their piss and moan me-first attitude, let the Left have controlling stock in that. We don’t want it.Moran’s statements are very true, they are based on an identity crisis that Conservatives have been suffering for quite some time. Bare minimums for a person to be called a Conservative, you should be somewhat versed in your political thought and its application, there is more going on here than the 2nd Amendment, understand and interpret empirical data, but most of all be able to rely on common sense as the deciding factor concerning a decision.
That is the part most of the Left is missing, they tend to judge common sense and looking to the past for guidance as an antiquated novelty that has no room in a world of science and intellectualism. This factor is what people find distasteful about their movement; after all we used to be a nation of tradition and educated common sense.
It is truly a shame that nowadays that if you mention the name Russell Kirk, people will think you are talking about the captain of the Starship Enterprise, or Alexis De Tocqueville, they think you are mentioning the guy who won last year’s Tour du France, or that Lord Acton is some fancy new British made zit remover. We need a certain degree of city style intellectualism and educated thought combined with good old hometown common sense.
Look at a guy like Bobby Jindal, Republican Governor of Bayou Country and possible standard bearer for the Republicans, here is his bio, pay close attention to his education. Would you call him a snob or elitist because of his background or would you think he is a good ole Southern boy so he must be alright? So far he is demonstrating that is neither, but both. He found a balance.
Moran makes a really good point in his conclusion concerning the Conservative movement being in flux. He states,
“I’ve got news for the anti-intellectuals. Conservatism is in flux. There is going to be a debate over where we go from here both ideologically and politically.Hell, conservatism being in flux is one of the reasons most of us are contributing here on Badlands, we want to affect some of that change, but in the right direction. I am a firm believer that when you are lost it is best to go back to where you started and take it from there, that is why you will see references amid our posts about Burke, Acton, Du Tocqueville, Whittaker Chambers, Fredrick Hayek, Kirk, etc. We aren’t trying to make cookie cutter Conservatism, what fun would that be? But this sorry excuse we have called a political philosophy is pathetic and needs a serious makeover. All we can do is start from the beginning, button up for a little while, and get over the growing pains. When it is time, the Conservatives will reemerge that is just the nature of politics.
If you want to be part of this debate, you better learn that not everyone agrees with what your idea of “conservatism” might be and that those who disagree with you are not “elitists” or “snobs” or “soft” or “squishy” but simply think differently than you. Will you engage in the debate and try to convince people that they are wrong and you are right? Or will you continue to ignorantly skewer people who, at bottom, want the same thing that you do; a healthy, vibrant conservative movement with room for many different points of view and a belief in its primacy as a way to live and govern.
"OmegaPundit"
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