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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 28, 2005
/ 25 Tishrei, 5766
How the conservatives crumble
By
Rod Dreher
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
William F. Buckley, American conservatism's gray eminence, was
recently asked by a writer for The New Yorker what he thought about
the state of the movement he helped found 50 years ago. Said Mr.
Buckley, "I'm not happy about it." More and more of us on the right
feel his pain.
Conservatism, said Buckley, is "to a considerable extent, the
acknowledgment of realities. And this is surreal."
He was talking about President Bush's grandiose wish to frog-march
liberal democracy around the globe, but he could have been speaking
of any number of unconservative things foisted upon the country by
an ostensibly conservative president and a compliant Republican
Congress.
American conservatism is in crisis at the moment because the bizarre
Harriet Miers nomination imposed a surreality check on the right,
forcing us to consider just how much nonsense we had gone along with
for the sake of party discipline.
Where to start? With the LBJ-level spending? The signing of the
McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill, which candidate Bush had
denounced as unconstitutional? The race-preferences sellout in the
University of Michigan cases?
There was also the cynical use of the federal marriage amendment,
which the administration dropped after turning out the social
conservative vote in 2004. And grass-roots conservatives cite the
president's intent to liberalize immigration policy with Mexico.
Then there is the Iraq quagmire, which, even if initially a worthy
cause, has become a rolling disaster.
On top of this came the Katrina debacle, which further damaged
conservatism's claim to competent governance.
Conservatives, consciously or not, looked the other way for far too
long, mostly because we felt it important to back the president in
wartime and because nothing was more important to the various tribes
of Red State Nation than recapturing the Supreme Court. For the
first time in a generation, a conservative Republican president and
a Republican majority in the Senate made that dream a real
possibility.
Whatever else Bush might fumble, we trusted him to get that right.
Instead, he gave us a crony pick of no special talents or
discernible vision, except for love of Our L-rd and George W. Bush,
and support for racial preferences. This is what we drank the Rovian
Kool-Aid for? The Miers selection was no isolated incident, but the
tipping point in a series of betrayals.
Can this marriage be saved? For Bush's sake, it had better be. His
approval rating is in the ditch, and most Americans are rightly
uneasy about the future. If special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald
delivers an indictment of Karl Rove this week, this presidency will
be close to flat lining with three years left to go.
Movement conservatives have issued a rude altar call to the
backslidden president. He has to replace Miers with a conservative
jurist of the first intellectual rank (Michael McConnell, say).
Result: a unified base, fired up to rally for battle behind the
president on this and other fronts.
He should also push Congress for big spending cuts. If framed
correctly as acts of courage and responsibility in the face of
mounting fiscal adversity they would signal bold leadership in
changed circumstances and remind conservatives what we are supposed
to be for.
He should also surprise us with a get-tough policy on illegal
immigration, including securing the southern border and imposing
tough penalties on businesses that employ illegals. This will make
his corporate backers and establishment elites howl, but would be
popular, as Americans even Democrats oppose by wide margins
policies coddling those in the country illegally.
Will the president do any of this? Well, what choice does he have?
Bush has alienated both a significant portion of his base and all of
his opposition, so he cannot hope to triangulate his way out of this
one. With his political blood in the water and toothsome challenges
making ever-tighter circles around his presidency, Bush should give
his mutinous mates a reason to toss him a life preserver.
Conservatism is in an unhappy place now, but the movement is still
bristling with intellectual ferment and ideological confidence and
is beginning to look past the Bush era to new leadership.
Truth to tell, Bush needs conservatives a lot more than
conservatives need him.
Back to basics, Bush. Show us some love.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
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Rod Dreher is assistant editorial page editor of the Dallas Morning News and author of the forthcoming "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum).
Comment by clicking here.
© 2005, The Dallas Morning News,
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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