The American Conservative Catches Fire!

Daniel McCarthy over at The American Conservative, a centre-right magazine fighting  ideological rigidity in the 21st century Republican Party, argues that the GOP may no longer be a national party:

 Because conservatives over-identify with the GOP, and the GOP’s identity is determined by factional and regional ideologies, the result is that conservatives take their definition of conservatism from the party and that definition is more regional- and interest-based than philosophical. This accounts for the spectacle of the GOP periodically getting worked up about “big government” while in fact expanding government — welfare state, warfare state, banning internet gambling, you name it — whenever it’s in power. The blue state/red state psychological divide is more fundamental to the party’s understanding of the world than is any consistent view of the proper extent and uses of government.

The words I bolded help me to grasp the quasi-tribal mindset that allows a group of people to have supported the spend-but-don't-tax financial madness of Bush/Cheney for EIGHT long years but then launch a mad Tea-Party the second Obama took the Oath of Office.

But maybe that's just me.


Update here's Red State man himslef Erick, Ericskon on Romney ten months ago:

    Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is a man devoid of any principles other than getting himself elected. As much as the American public does not like Barack Obama, they loath a man so fueled with ambition that he will say or do anything to get himself elected. Mitt Romney is that man.
    I’ve been reading the 200 pages of single spaced opposition research from the John McCain campaign on Mitt Romney. There is no issue I can find on which Mitt Romney has not taken both sides. He is neither liberal nor conservative. He is simply unprincipled. The man has no core beliefs other than in himself.

Now here is Erickson today gamely wrestling with skull-crushing levels of cognitive dissonance:

The staggering irony is that those of us who did not want Romney are now the ones defending him to the hilt while the elitist jerks are distancing themselves from Romney as quickly as possible — both upset at what their media friends tell them is to come and upset that Mitt Romney might not actually listen to their sweet whispers as much as they originally presumed.
Mitt Romney can win. He needs to hone his message.

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If you haven't read that same magazine's 'The Revolt of the Rich', you're missing a fascinating piece that should make a few Best-of-the -year lists.