Objectivist John Lewis, writing at Principles in Practice, the blog of The Objective Standard:
Conservatives have created a fantasy world of appearance, designed to expropriate the programs of the left while wearing the clothing of American freedom. In the end, the idea of a true alternative to the welfare state and military defeat is hacked up and re-stitched into a chimera. The fact that the left has become a cesspool of nihilism does not change the nature of the conservative reaction, or make this package-deal any real alternative.In my view, if our choice is between two forms of welfare redistribution and military timidity, we would be best off with a president who openly espouses these ideas, and makes no claims to support the opposite. This would not lead to better policies, but it would result in clarity, a point of focus for an opposition, and a better chance for a true alternative to take hold.
Suppose that Gore had been elected in the fall of 2000. The 9/11 attacks would have occurred, but there would have been no confusion about what caused them: democratic weakness, not Republican "offense." Gore would have been forced to look strong, in the face of Republican opposition. Welfare-state spending would be blamed on Democratic welfare-statism, not the Republican "free market." Persecution of businessmen would be blamed on Elliot Spitzer, not the "pro-business" philosophy of Alberto Gonzales.
This is creating quite a debate among Objectivists, because Robert Tracinski of The Intellectual Activist advocates voting for Republicans. I'm a registered Republican and have been for over twenty-five years, but I'm with Peikoff and Lewis on this one. In this context, I'd also recommend C. Bradley Thompson's article, "The Decline and Fall of American Conservatism."
Posted by Craig Ceely at October 29, 2006 03:00 PM