Dennis Durband 45

DENNIS DURBAND

Lists of ‘Influential’ Conservatives Reveal Basic Lack of Understanding of What Constitutes Conservatism

Dec. 3, 2007

Recently, a London newspaper ran a story listing the 25 most influential “conservatives” in America. The list was largely farce; many of the people on it are not even remotely close to being conservatives. What’s worse is that the article led to yet another list by John Hawkins, a Townhall.com columnist who runs the Right Wing News blog. This attempt, too (The 25 Most Influential People On The Right), was farce.

For instance, Hawkins listed President George W. Bush – a classic neocon – No. 1. Additional neocons, such as American Standard editor Bill Kristol, made the list. People like John McCain, who loathes conservatives, made the list. Bill O’Reilly, a self-described “independent” who doesn’t buy into conservative pillars like the right to life and opposition to homosexual activism, made the list. Libertarian Neil Boortz’s name was mentioned. Condi Rice is pro-choice.

Actual conservatives Pat Buchanan and Laura Ingraham, highly visible and influential, made the fringes, the honorable mention list.

After scanning through both of these shabby lists, I came to a firm decision. Some basics of conservatism are in order, and I am listing them here:

1) Recognition of the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death; abortion is unthinkable

2) less government

3) lower taxes

4) recognition of hetero marriage

5) recognition of parental rights

6) recognition of national sovereignty

7) conservative on social AND fiscal issues; anything less is not true conservatism

8) belief in the original intent of the U.S. Constitution and strict constructionist judges

9) children deserve to be raised by a mother and a father

10) opposes judicial activism

11) respect for the flag

12) recognition of the right to bear arms

13) approval of school choice, and with it, home schooling

14) belief that capitalism is superior to socialism and communism

15) opposition to fascism and totalitarianism

16) religious liberty

17) all men are created equal

18) recognition of the need for a strong national defense to deter foreign aggression against the U.S.

19) personal generosity and charitable giving (as opposed to forced and excessive taxation); the private and nonprofit sectors and churches are superior to government in administering aid to the needy efficiently and timely

20) freedom from excessive government regulations

21) love of country

This list is not exhaustive, but it sums up the stuff that conservatism is made of. This list of mine played well to the viewers on Townhall.com. One reader offered two additional tenets of conservatism:

· Deep belief in human dignity, absolute morality, meaningful life is derived from God.

· Deep belief that our rights are inalienable and are endowed by our Creator.

We were far from through with our examination of conservatism, however. An interview with conservative legend William F. Buckley soon appeared on the worldwide web. Asked for a concise definition of conservatism, Buckley answered:

Conservatism aims to maintain in working order the loyalties of the community to perceived truths and also to those truths which in their judgment have earned universal recognition.

Now this leaves room, of course, for deposition, and there is deposition -- the Civil War being the most monstrous account. But it also urges a kind of loyalty that breeds a devotion to those ideals sufficient to surmount the current crisis. When the Soviet Union challenged America and our set of loyalties, it did so at gunpoint. It became necessary at a certain point to show them our clenched fist and advise them that we were not going to deal lightly with our primal commitment to preserve those loyalties.

That’s the most general definition of conservatism.

Buckley added that conservatism is not a fixed and immutable body of dogma, but that it does have certain tenets that cannot be abandoned. To take a page out of former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s famous line about pornography, I recognize conservatism when I see it. One cannot dismiss any of several tenets of conservatism and constitute what it means to be conservative – though plenty of people try to do just that.

Part of being Republican causes some who do not accept conservatism at its core to masquerade as conservative. They view it as a wild card word that gains them acceptance in the club. These people can be found in every state. Among them are calculating Republican candidates for office.

As primaries and elections approach, weigh the candidates against the tenets and see how they stack up. Respectability requires that we support the real conservatives rather than get caught up in the “who can win” mania and support those who are foreign to our cause.

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