Do you want to know why the Christian conservatives eventually cracked-up the GOP coalition? Look no further than this:
Shocking as it might be to some, conservatism did not start with Ronald Reagan. There is a rich and varied library of postwar writing by men such as Russell Kirk, Richard Weaver and Robert Nisbet, who were part of the traditionalist conservative school. Traditionalist conservatives focused on questions of cultural and social health; libertarian conservatives were more concerned about the economy and the overweening state.
The two tribes sometimes fought bitterly, but they eventually reconciled and established what has been for nearly half a century a successful political partnership.
Times change. Today, the greatest threats to conservative interests come not from the Soviet Union or high taxes, but from too much individual freedom.
Imagine that. The Christian conservative movement thinks we have ‘too much individual freedom’. That might explain their muteness when George W. Bush’s administration began spying on us without warrants, detaining people without charging them, and torturing people in our custody. It helps explain why they applauded when Terri Schiavo became a political football and why they were unconcerned when the government began violating basic principles of open and transparent government.
After all, the real threat to ‘conservative interests’ is not too much government power, but too little. How could such a philosophy long co-exist with the libertarian and small government wings of the Republican Party?
The coalition has broken up, and I don’t think it will be put back together.
