Who is in the Conservative Elite?
The “conservative opinion elite” is coming apart says Rick Perlstein in Newsweek.
But beneath the surface, some Republicans have been chafing at the ideological wages of right-wing populism. In intellectual circles, writers like David Brooks and Richard Brookhiser have argued for a conservatism inspired by Alexander Hamilton, the least democratic of the Founding Fathers, over one spiritually rooted in Thomas Jefferson, the most democratic…
Such discomfort has been dormant for some time. Under the influence of philosophical gurus like Leo Strauss and Irving Kristol, the sotto voce tradition arose of flattering the sort of voter who drove a pickup truck even if he wasn’t the sort you might want to socialize with…But Palin has raised the “class” question publicly among conservatives as seldom before.
For Perlstein, the “conservative opinion elite” is primarily populated by neoconservatives. But the timing of his piece couldn’t be any better for disproving his thesis that the “elites” are ditching Palin. This week’s Weekly Standard, the flagship neoconservative publication headed by Bill Kristol, devotes its cover story to defending Palin, who they argue has been the victim of unjustified media attacks. “She cannot be ignored,” the piece concludes, “Hurricane Sarah is about to descend on the Lower 48.”
Perhaps more revealing about the conservative landscape described by Perlstein, though, is that for the mainstream media elite, the Right consists of (neo)conservative elites and GOP activists of the talk shows. There isn’t room for thoughful traditional conservatives or libertarians (the latter apparently only consists of “nutty” tea party types).
An interesting post.
My contribution:
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/blog/stu/?p=648#comment-45110
However, has anybody noticed that there are really good arguments, sometimes, to “hate” the same people who “liberals also hate”? What mechanism is in place to see that Pat Buchanan, et al, are not coopted by the “astroturfers” (liberal sabateurs posing as “conservatives”)?
Sarah Palin isn’t an elite? How so? She was the governor of a state, reputably wealthy and university educated. Her elite credentials seem in order… maybe she just didn’t spend enough time rubbing shoulders with other, ‘real’ elites for the moniker to rub off.
The Weekly Standard may continue to defend Palin for their own reasons. My hunch is that they think they can use her to keep us flyover country yahoos on board with their neocon agenda. But Brookhiser really is an elitist snob. He can rest easy because us pickup truck drivers don’t want to socialize with him either.
CEK,
Sarah Palin went to college, but not to the “right” kind of college. She procured money, but didn’t distance herself from her blue-collar roots convincingly enough. The size of her family and her teen daughter’s choice to keep her baby raise suspicion that her pro-life position is a conviction rather than a stance, which could prove awkward for some other conservatives.
These are also the only things I like about her, by the way.
Peggy Noonan once gave an excellent analysis of Palin’s “fake” populism, stating that all through the election she was promoted by the conservative and Republican elites.
I don’t endorse populism (my reading of John Lukacs helped me to see the light), so the argument about elitism falls on deaf ears in this corner. Its not that elitism is bad it is a question of which elite is in power and right now the conservative movement is run by a neo-Jacobin elite. Honestly, if Burkeans and Kirkians ran the movement would there by any complaints?
Also, I don’t know if Brookhiser is a neoconservative, but I very much like his histories of Federalist figures like Hamilton and the Adams Family. Not being a Jeffersonian I have to say the elitism of High Federalism would be better for America than all this rampant populism and nationalism.
The reason Big Government is out of control and politcally the Right is in such sorry shape is because the “Conservative Elite” are nothing more than a bunch of shakedown artists and con men. For example, see this bombshell story by Mike Allen published yesterday on Politico: “Exclusive: Conservative group offers support for $2M” What the Keene and ACU were doing is the tip of the iceburg. If the media, including The American Conservative, looks into beltway conservative groups they will find cynicism and corruption galore.
sarah is not part of the elite because she cannot put a setence together and be coherent
sarah is not part of the elite because she cannot put a setence together and be coherent
Leaving your own grammar aside for a moment, how then do you explain Joe Biden’s membership in said elite if those are the criteria?
When conservatives start beating the Burke war drum, or the Kirk war drum, or the Buckley war drum, etc. and aggressively foray into liberal held territory, gimme a call. Until this happens, stick with the Palin war cry of, “You betcha,’” and all you are gonna get is a bunch of populist driven slack jawed goons who give you Pavlovian responses for treats. There are enough of those on the left we don’t need them on the right.
Wanna take back leadership of the country? Find someone who is serious about it and run them as a candidate. Not these caricatures of real life which conservatives and the GOP are offering.
And for Christ sakes give the neo-con garbage a rest. We already know they are Satan incarnate. Here is another thought, try spending your writing time counterattacking the left or educating the drooling masses on what conservatism really is. And please not a paleo redux either. I mean true and pure Burkean thought. Hell, I’ll even send you my copy of ‘Reflections’ so you can bone up.
Food for thought Mr. McCrary.