Musings from Brian J. Noggle

Hugh Hewitt Excludes Me

Hugh Hewitt, responding to something by Andrew Sullivan that I haven't and won't read, says there's no conservative crack-up occurring:

On this side, Andrew, the ABC polling team, Charles Fried and --sort of-- William F. Buckley and some additional, talented essayists. On the other side --my side-- the president, all of the leadership of the GOP in the House and the Senate, every possible GOP presidential candidate who has spoken on the issue, all but Boortz of the vaunted "Republican noise machine," and the rank and file.

Hewitt enumerates a large number of elected leaders and the only voters he names are the rank and file. That is, the dyed-on-the-sheep conservatives.

However, those elected leaders didn't get elected by just the rank and file. Bush was elected with a coalition of moral/religious conservatives, libertarian-conservatives, and hawkish Democrats. During the election season, I was pleased with how inclusive the Republican electorate was becoming. Now, after the election, it's condensing to its rank and file "Hewitt's side" is sacrificing government constraint and government fiscal discipline to legislate its morality.

Now that Hewitt and his side have gotten my libertarianesque vote in the election cycle, they're ready to excommunicate me from the Republican orgy. I, and some of the others not on Hewitt's side, will remember this next election cycle. When a third party candidate comes along with just enough strength to draw our protest votes and the Clintonocracy is restored to the throne, will Hewitt's side learn its lesson?

Probably not. But the last time we had a Republican legislature and a Clinton presidency, it worked out to the best for domestic policy. The Republicans wouldn't give Clinton what he wanted, and Clinton could veto what Hewitt's side wanted. Of course, the United States lost ground in foreign policy and international safety, but perhaps we need to toggle between good domestic policy and good foreign policy every decade or so to keep the republic as healthy as possible.

Which, unfortunately, seems only to be heroic measures at the end of the republic's life.

- posted by Brian J. @ 7:20 AM