Interesting times in conservative commentary. First, I read George Will's column in which he, in his typically roundabout way, questions the credentials of the Republican VP nominee.
Then today, I read David Brooks's column in which he takes the gloves off and gives Sarah Palin two black eyes.
Sarah Palin has many virtues. If you wanted someone to destroy a corrupt establishment, she’d be your woman. But the constructive act of governance is another matter. She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness.
Color me befuddled. Here are a couple of heavy hitters in conservative commentary bashing the sacred cow of the newly reborn GOP. What gives?
Coming at the same time that Karl Rove all but calls John McCain a liar, I can't help but think that something is afoot.
I can't quite put my finger on it yet, but I will say that if I was a movement conservative, I would not want to be inheriting what Bush is leaving in his wake. The best bet, for long-term conservative strategy, would be to let the Democrats pick up the tanking economy and the expanding military excursions. Spend 4 years as the opposition party, which has always been the GOP's strongest position, and run a strong "reform" ticket in 2012 that will promise to return us to the golden days of yore (another GOP standard).
Could it be that the conservatives, seeing McCain's poll numbers inch up following the nominating conventions, are trying to put a damper on the unanticipated rally? Perhaps it's nothing. Perhaps it's just that these fellows suddenly prefer the Democratic ticket to the Republican. Whatever it is, though, McCain must be reeling.
4 comments:
Of course, Sarah Palin is a libertarian Republican. She was criticized in her previous runs by Conservatives, as well, like in her run for Lt. Gov. in 2004, and for Gov. in the GOP primary against the old guard social Conservative Frank Murkowski-ites. They even started a whisper campaign that Palin was a "closet libertarian," based on the fact that she had attended a couple Libertarian Party meetings in Anchorage.
What's the surprise here? Many Conservatives, most especially Elitist Conservatives like Will, have been suspicious of libertarians in the GOP for a longtime.
They've even tried to kick us out of the Big Tent. But no more. Now one of our libertarians is the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party.
Too bad George Will!
The conservatives you mentioned are clearly in the top 5%—but not the top .5%—of the country financially. And I wonder if they haven't looked at the current economic situation and fully realized in their heart of hearts that they'd be much better off financially under an Obama administration than under a McCain administration.
Eric: Sarah Palin as libertarian? That's a new one on me, and I don't think that's supported by her record. I know, I know, Radley Balko wrote on Hit & Run that libertarians could do worse. But even that endorsement was pretty weak, and supporting jury nullification and opposing Real ID hardly make up for the lobby induced $27 million in federal earmarks. Sarah Palin is no Ron Paul.
Scott: Well, you know what they say, if you want to live like a Republican, vote Democrat.
I'll just leave this here.
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