(cross-posted at
Deny My Freedom)
Yoss posted earlier this week about the end of modern conservatism. He presents a good analysis, and it provides a lot of evidence that the modern conservative movement is nearing its demise. This isn't to say that conservatism isn't at an end, but I think we are beginning to see its philosophy, along with the Republican Party, take on more water with each passing week. You know the boat's going to go under; it's only a question of how short it will be.
The end of modern conservatism is in the air. For all its problems, American society is finally beginning to awaken to the fact that the GOP is not what they advertise themselves to be. Criticism of the war in Iraq is no longer something that has to be done in the hidden depths of the Internet; it is now fairly accepted conventional wisdom that our venture into the Middle East has been a total failure. I went to dinner with my family the other day, and I overheard someone speaking about their views on a variety of topics. While he may have gotten numerous other things wrong, his disgust for what we were doing overseas was evident. The fact that neoconservative foreign policy - one that advocates pre-emptive intervention, particularly in the Middle East - clashes with the isolationist tendencies of traditional conservatives has made many people rethink the concept of spreading freedom, something that the Bush administration wielded to great effect shortly after the September 11 attacks.
The end of modern conservatism isn't going quietly. It has always been a loud movement, whether it be the proclamations from Ronald Reagan on 'welfare queens' to Newt Gingrich's bombast. Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter may have been fresh in the 1990s, when seemingly everyone hated Bill Clinton for anything he did. But everything that these 'new' conservatives railed against - particularly the atmosphere of Washington - is now the most accurate description of these people. Indeed, our airwaves are filled with people spewing bile that was unheard of in earlier times. Their attacks on Democratic politicians have grown old and tired, so now they've turned the attacks to us, the resurgent grassroots movement of the Democratic Party. At this point, they seem willing to grasp at anything possible to attack us with. It's no longer policies or politicians they release their hatred on...it's normal people like myself and the rest of the blogosphere. Attacking the electorate is akin to Jimmy Carter's 'malaise' misstatement.
The modern conservative movement, in whole, has exposed itself to be a fraud of epic proportions. Its true self was exposed under Nixon, but the happy face of Ronald Reagan obscured all of it. Conservatives have never been about small government. What the Bush administration has shown quite well is that they are about maintaining power, regardless of what the their constituents may believe. In effect, the strict father model that George Lakoff discusses reveals this quite clearly; it is not an overbearing parent that will afford their children any sort of latitude. Most people don't like strict fathers, and what we see today is a rebellion against the parenthood of the Republican Party.
When you go out, you see more bumper stickers for peace. You don't see Republicans touting their credentials. You don't hear people saying that what is going on in this country is common sense. It's insanity. But more importantly, the sound and the fury coming from the other side signifies nothing - except the death of a conservative movement that was nothing more than a sham. It's the end of an era that could not come soon enough, and come November, we will officially turn the tide.