Must read: The Howling Wilderness of Pseudoconservatism [View All]

[JHB]

A must-read article by a Northern Virginia based defense analyst.

I will now attempt to describe the most salient characteristics of the modern pseudoconservative landscape. It is important to keep in mind that these characteristics are not present in all pseudoconservatives all the time; a "pure" specimen who showed all eight traits all the time would be suitable for a museum, or a lunatic asylum.

But it bears noting just how distant the traits of the pseudoconservative are from the principles of limited government, constitutionalism, and traditional foreign policy.

Pseudoconservatism: a Psychopathology

1. Leader worship: let's put Ronald Reagan on Mount Rushmore!

A good friend and long-time Republican put it this way: "Your average enthusiastic movement conservative is basically so adolescent and emotionally fragile that he does not see political activity as a contest of principles. He needs a white knight who comes riding in on a horse in order to redeem America."

The truth of his observation is illustrated by the fact that precisely when many of Ronald Reagan's principles are being abandoned, his deification is reaching its zenith.
-------much more---------
http://www.d-n-i.net/fcs/comments/c507.htm