By the way the Intercollegiate Studies Institute is hosting an Edmund Burke Revival Conference at the Russell Kirk Center in Mecosta, Michigan around Halloween. It will feature real conservatives such as Dr. George H. Nash and Dr. Peter J. Stanlis as well as Dr. Ian Crowe of the Edmund Burke Society of America. I would say patroning this event and investing in the programs at the Russell Kirk Center, ISI, and the Edmund Burke Society make more sense than supporting the Edmund Burke Institute.

And do not forget that ISI publishes the traditionalist journal, Studies in Burke and His Time.

http://www.edmundburkeinstitute.org/staff.htm

Jeffrey T. Kuhner, Grace Vuoto, Loredana Vuoto. These three are also 60 percent of the speech-writing firm Eloquence:

http://eloquencellc.com/writer.html

Jeffrey Kuhner is the President of EBI, with Grace Vuoto as the Executive Director. Loredana Vuoto on the other hand is the President of their Eloquence firm. It is nice to see that they take turns with the top titles.

Speech writing is a cousin to prostitution: you push for someone else’s opinions, as long as he pays. Those who pay can then take credit for something they didn’t write, getting pats on the shoulder for their brilliant defense of the cause. Speech writers are the perfect symbol of the rot in today’s dishonest politics, where everything is just a costly show.

From the Eloquence website:

“At Eloquence, no event is too small. Whether you need to deliver a three-minute speech or an hour-long address, we can spellbind your audience.”

“Choose your preferred medium and desired topic and we will deliver outstanding results.”

“In business, there is no room for second best. Let Eloquence take you to the top.”

“Whether you are proposing to a loved one, making a toast at a wedding or giving an eulogy, Eloquence will set the proper tone for your intended audience.”

Isn’t that nice. Just pay, and you can get the right manipulation of your voters, your colleagues or your girlfriend. This blatant harpooning of all integrity may be eloquent – but it is not conservative.

There are universal conservative principles which may be realised in different and peculiar ways depending on the situation, but only within adherence to their principles. If supporting strict constructionism has no, or loses its, connection to a conservative vision of society (immaterial moral values, patriotism, authority & hierarchy, maintenance of social order, etc.), promoting the Constitution in and of itself, then it is a dogmatic liberal, not a conservative, position.

However, if it should be expanded explicitly to mean conservatives should support classical liberal principles dogmatically even if it means thrashing established traditions and institutions, then it is problematic.

Nothing changes. Just the names.