So basically, in an attempt to sway independent minded centrists, conservatives repaint neo-cons as centrists... uhmmm.. no Sam, the center doesn't agree.
http://www.modernwhig.org/issues.html The Modern Whig Party is centrist in belief and policy... there is very little in common with the neo-cons. On Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 9:33 AM, Sam <[email protected]> wrote: > > Neo-conservatives: The True Centrists > http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/10/neoconservatives_the_true_cent.html > > The large majority of the neo-conservative movement has always been > reluctant to self-identify as such. From neo-conservative founding > father Nathan Glazer's "indifference" to the label to leader of the > younger generation Max Boot's ambivalent admission that the term is > "not entirely worthless," attempting to find a reputed > neo-conservative who would self-identify as one has been an elusive > quest. Indeed, the very thought of spending a significant amount of > time self-identifying at all is (rightfully) disdained by those of the > neo-conservative persuasion as pretentious navel-gazing [1]. > > No matter the reluctance of neo-conservatives to engage in this type > of egotism, the fact remains that there does exist a movement of > intellectuals who share similar commitments to a strong national > defense and a recoupling of politics with traditional morality. And, > for better or for worse, the world knows this movement as > neo-conservatism. > > But what the world generally fails to recognize is that this > philosophy has made the neo-conservatives, the only real moderates in > American politics and political philosophy, the eternal purveyors of > centrist common sense. > > Admittedly, anyone paying attention to the mainstream media for at > least the past decade will be aghast at this contention. By now, it is > considered common knowledge that the first neo-conservatives were > self-imposed exiles from the left wing reconciled to -- if not > completely avid supporters of -- New-Deal social welfare programs. > This is standard and uncontroversial historical fact. > > But according to both the contemporary left and the newly emergent > right, it is also considered ancient history. "Liberal" blogger M.J. > Rosenberg wrote that the neo-conservatives "have evolved into > right-wingers on everything." Similarly, since his coming "up from > [neo-]conservatism," Michael Lind has written articles in which he > argues with bombast that the "paleo-liberalism" of the original > neo-conservatives has evolved into a "militaristic and imperial right > with no precedents in American culture or political history ... > mingled with the far-right Likud strain of Zionism." Whew. > > Similarly, from the paleo-conservative and libertarian right, one can > find statements like Thomas E. Woods' that neo-conservatism is "merely > a variety of leftism," and that articles by prominent > neo-conservatives are identical to those one would find published by > the liberal New York Times. Other stalwarts like Pat Buchanan and Ron > Paul always make it a point to mention that some of the original > neo-conservatives were > socialists-so-watch-out-because-they-are-still-part-of-an-evil-communist-takeover-of-America. > Cue scary music. > > And of course, the farther to the right or left the conspiracy > theorists shift, the more they agree on the tired old canard that all > of the neo-conservatives' philosophical ideas, policy points, and > political influence is aimed at one thing and one thing only: > protecting Israel and oppressing Palestinians at the expense of > American interests. > > In 2003, responding to articles by prominent neo-conservatives, > including one in Commentary, one author wrote that the > neoconservatives "harbor a passionate attachment to a nation not their > own, that causes them to subordinate the interests of their own > country." More recently, responding to another article by a prominent > neo-conservative in Commentary, another author wrote, "As for the > evidence of dual loyalty, there's been plenty of evidence of that from > the Commentary crowd in recent months. In sum, there are more than a > few Jewish neoconservatives ... who seem to be putting their extreme > and questionable version of Israel's national security, above that of > the United States." The first quote was by The American conservative > founder Pat Buchanan. The second was by left-wing Time columnist Joe > Klein. Had attribution of the quotes been switched between the > authors, would anyone have been able to tell? > > But what kind of "anti-Americanism" do the neo-conservatives allegedly > promote? Are those affiliated with the neo-conservative movement > far-right imperialistic militarists or far-left Trotskyite > interlopers? The answer, of course, is neither. It is an unfortunate > reality that while most neo-conservatives are aware of the ideological > shifts that have taken place in the United States throughout history, > their critics are most assuredly not. Since the days when the founders > of The Public Interest and Commentary first used their publications to > work out the neo-conservative ideology, the neo-conservatives' views > have tracked moderate American sensibilities and common sense. > > For instance, the anticommunism of the neo-conservatives was the exact > anticommunism of the American population throughout the Cold War. > Between 1948 and the end of the Cold War, eight of the eleven > presidential elections saw the election or reelection of aggressively > anti-communist presidents. Seven of these elections resulted in > presidents who used military or paramilitary force to contain and roll > back communist regimes throughout the world. > > Although the neo-conservatives' anticommunism was staunch and > uncompromising, this mainstream sentiment was never allowed to > degenerate into conspiracy theories or authoritarian impulses. Irving > Kristol was one of the first from the right to emphatically denounce > Senator Joseph McCarthy as a "vulgar demagogue." While Senator > McCarthy and the John Birch Society supported "counter-subversive > anti-communism," neo-conservative founder Norman Podhoretz argued for > "responsible anti-communism." The former focused on uncovering > domestic communist conspiracies and traitors, some of whom were > figments of these crusaders' imaginations, while the latter promoted > the fight against communism-in-general while refraining from > witch-hunts and accusations of treason against political enemies. > > The same pattern of responsible, moderate ideology can be seen in the > neo-conservatism of today. The far left advocates an immediate end to > all American wars, regardless of the military and political realities > or the consequences for innocent civilians. The left is even more > extreme in its support for American acceptance of the authority of the > United Nations over U.S. decisions to engage in military actions. The > neo-conservatives, on the other hand, encourage a policy of continuing > the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as long as is necessary to stabilize > these regions in order to protect the lives of innocent human beings. > And as opposed to completely submitting to the authority of the United > Nations, neo-conservatives recognize that some decisions are too > important to be in the hands of the United Nations. > > At the same time, far-right theorists advocate slashing the military > budget, removing most or all of our military bases throughout the > world, and removing ourselves completely from international > organizations. Neo-conservatives recognize that military spending is > only 4% of the U.S.'s GDP, which is bordering on the lowest in > history. They argue that having military bases worldwide ensures that > the United States can respond instantaneously to any situation > anywhere on the planet that could potentially harm Americans. And it > goes without saying that neo-conservatives are dedicated to > international cooperation with the numerous multilateral treaty > organizations and U.N. organizations which have proved to be both fair > and honest. > > Domestic policy provides an even starker picture. For example, the > modern left supports national universal health care, repeal of Don't > Ask, Don't Tell, and more government regulation of the market and the > Federal Reserve. Alternatively, the ascendant old right supports a > repeal of national universal health care and the drastic reduction or > elimination of Medicare and Medicaid, a morals-based continuation of > Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and near-complete deregulation of the market > including the eventual abolition of the Federal Reserve. > > Neo-conservatives manage to take a stance somewhere in between these > two extreme views. Neo-conservatives generally support the repeal of > universal health care but the continuation of reformed versions of > Medicare and Medicaid, a Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy based on the > military's assessment of the policy's impact on national security, and > gradually decreased and reformed government regulation of the market > and money supply. > > Thus, between the far left and far right views that are increasingly > being mainstreamed by large segments of the political spectrum, > neo-conservatives inhabit the same commonsense political worldview as > they always have since the 1960s. Journalists are quick to point out > that there are only "a few hundred" neo-conservatives, but that their > influence on American policy greatly exceeds their numbers. The > hostile left and right wings have attributed this influence to the > Machiavellian machinations of the neo-conservatives, who are somehow > always crouched, waiting in the darkness for the proper moment to > seize power for their own nefarious ends. > > Not only is this Manchurian Candidate scenario silly, but it flies in > the face of Occam's centuries-old razor by ignoring the most likely > explanation for neo-conservatives' influence: The American people > listen to neoconservatives because their ideas are sensible. They are > moderate yet consistent, grounded yet flexible, traditional yet > creative. > > Neo-conservatism is the very last bastion -- the final defender -- of > that uniquely American quality beloved by people of all political and > philosophical stripes: common sense. > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:329755 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
