The Death of Conservatism

The heartless, spiritually bankrupt intellectual frauds who openly court -- and are disturbingly non-judgmental of -- the most intolerant loathsome elements of the political landscape (who for some unconscionable reason have been consulted about virtually everything our government has been doing or undoing for the past six plus agonizing years) -- these are the fruits of a particular strain of conservative idealogues with a shared affinity for the Hobbesian view of humanity, which postulates that people are essentially evil and the role of the ruling class, the government, was to have a standing army and police presence and little else. Essentially that the "people" were totally on their own, frontier-style with no public services, healthcare, college grants, headstart, maintenance of roads and bridges, public defenders, job training programs, Medicare, Medicaid; you get the picture.

Also violently opposed to the Jeffersonian assertion that people were basically good and part of a government's function is to engender the conditions where life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are possible through education, hard work and a sense of community, whereas conservatives have only contempt for the notion of a fair playing field.

Conservatism is in its last throes if you will, twisting in the wind, dying like communism did because neither philosophy works by definition -- they both operate from the fraudulent premise built around contempt for and control of the people.

In the coming months and years history will not absolve them. These multimillionaire radio and television personalities who stoke and taunt "Joe Sixpack" with cleverly and sometimes not-so hate speech, railing about the danger of gays taking over and turning everything and everyone gay; Hollywood liberals seem to be among the most evil people since Sodom and Gomorrah, African-Americans are attacked in veiled terms that are usually not as veiled as they think, playing on people's fear of losing their job, demonizing foreigners seemingly from everywhere, scoffing at the notion that there is no class system in this country. All the while looking down on rubes and suckers who vote against things that are in their self interest and very survival to help further a cynical, mean-spirited political movement that has become a dangerous parody of the most astoundingly inept, impotent bully wannabes who can count among them physical and intellectual cowards who knowingly and smugly perpetrate lies that have literally cost untold lives.
How did this legendarily generous and open nation become fearful, distrustful, anxious and worried about our families, our country, our future?

We must resist being manipulated into thinking that a so-called "war on terror" is "winnable"; this is as patently impossible as trying to empty a river with your hat. Terrorism is a tactic, not a country -- there always were terrorists and will always be. This is not a war that can be "won" in the conventional sense -- that is clearly an impossibility. Recent events have shown that good police work can do more than an ill-conceived war that has become a recruiting tool. The sooner it ends, the recruits diminish and the police, with the federal government's support, can do what they are trained to do.

The Department of Homeland Security was a totally unnecessary boondoggle that is redundant and sadly ludicrous because it is now known that prior to 9/11, all the information we needed to anticipate and probably prevent the attack was in existence but not shared by different agencies because of turf battles and rivalries for funding and boys with secrets out of control and not sharing because it's their secrets.

As we continue to watch conservatism devour itself we can all hope that in the end, Jefferson's dream of fair governance can be realized before it is too late.

To be continued

-- Richard Belzer

Comments

[lovethesinner]

The really sad thing is that everything that had been achieved in the fifty years from the end of WWII till Clinton was undone by Bush and his phoney war, in these last few years. America was certainly not loved, but, it looked as if the crazies were mostly being ignored. Then, the blow-job, the hanging chads, and the next thing you know, we're all wondering if we still live in the same country we were born in.

We're not, and it's anybodys guess if we can ever go home again.

[GhostofBillHicks]

Hear,Hear
Mr.Belzer your correct,I couldn't agree more.If I was a "true" conservative,say like Goldwater was.I would be mad as hell at these zealots.
Glad your here on HuffPo,hope to see more of you.
Thanks,man

[frankifrost]

Belzer,
As usual, you are the only one who has the curiosity and courage necessary when addressing the major issues of our time and place.
All others are blinded by their particular, personal fear.
If they ever took the time to make a "gut" check, they would come to the realization that "bias" is symptomatic of fear.
The fearless (as yourself) take no sides, have no affiliations, but instead follow
non-partisan logic to its ulimate conclusion.
Thank you, now and in the future.
FF

[dow2200]

Barry Goldwater would turn in his grave at the scum that call themselves "conservative" these days. Forget "Neo-con". The Project for a New American Century, Fox News, and the Bush Administration are Fascist to the core. Coulter, Hannity, and the Percocet King: their propagandists of hate and fear. The N.R.A. used to say we needed our guns to defend America against some future totalitarian govt. With the Patriot and Military Commissions Act, government torture, and rigged elections, the future is now. Lock and load.

[kozy]

Richard, I agree with your article except I would say Conservatism is not dead -- it is very much alive. But RADICAL Conservatism, Bellicose conservatism, Autocratic self- rightious conservatism, Extremist nut-case religious conservatism, and Aristocratic conservatism hopefully are dead and buried forever. Sane Conservatism and sane Liberalism may live after the collapse of Neocon lunacy. There is reason for optimism.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Main Entry: con·ser·va·tism
Pronunciation: k&n-'s&r-v&-"ti-z&m
Function: noun
1 capitalized a : the principles and policies of a Conservative party b : the Conservative party
2 a : disposition in politics to preserve what is established b : a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change
3 : the tendency to prefer an existing or traditional situation to change

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I don't think that a conservative philosophy is necessarily antithetical to the Jeffersonian concept, matter of fact I think they can be complimentary.

I find fault with reckless liberalism, or change for the sake of change 'cause we're bored etc. That having been said, I think it's wrong to exclude the possibility of change for preference of that which once was but no longer serves the purpose, so to 'conservatism', let's add the term 'dysfunction':
---------------

Main Entry: dys·func·tion
Variant(s): also dis·func·tion /(")dis-'f­&[ng](k)-s­h&n/
Function: noun
1 : impaired or abnormal functioning
2 : abnormal or unhealthy interpersonal behavior or interaction within a group
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This speaks to the concept of representative government, namely that our elected representatives go to bat for the People's issues in Washington, re-presenting our views, problems, grievances, whathaveyou in congressional session for public review by all and sundry. That's their job. Not to be stooges for Big Bucks outfits with an agenda and an axe to grind, seeking a profit angle and using their influence to pursue such ends. Let's 'conserve' the concept of government where the Little Guy gets his 15 minutes in Congress even in the face of the Halliburtons and foreign interests who would bend our Congress to their murky and unclear purposes...

[castlerider]

This is not a war.
It's an Occupation.

We won the war in 2003. Since then, It's been Bush's baby. With everyone kowtowing to it.

Let's stop calling it a war; stop giving the dumbass right the undeserved Moral high ground. There's no surrender. There's no cut and run. We won. Mission Accomplished, and all that garbage.
Now, get out of Iraq.
And do it now.

[cuddletuffy]

this isn't the death of conservatism. conservatism was a mask for something as old as humanity - a rapacious desire to control everyone and everything, and a malignant fear that unless you own everything you have nothing. this won't end until our species does or we make transformations of consciousness on a mass scale.

look at what is happening now. the same forces that aligned themselves behind the, "conservative", movement are running to back the likes of clinton. the names will change, but the game will stay the same.

[Fredalicious]

Great essay Richard!

When liberals go ideological their heads tend to be in the sky, hoping for the best in humans.

When conservatives go ideological their heads tend to go up their asses, thinking everyone else out their is as insecure and hateful as they are.

[chaszz]

If you read Chomsky and see that even Carter and Clinton were involved in many of the murderous, repressive policies of the US government around the world, to maintain and deepen our control of the peoples and resources of the entire planet, you see that Bush-style conservatism is only the extreme case of a system that is evil and corrupt no matter which party is in power. What we at home call liberalism, when seen from outside our borders, is no less hegemonic and venal that the last six years of conservatism. How do you react to this comment??

[Pyrum]

You're just plain wrong. Conservatism lives and is making a strong comeback! http://www.ronpaul2008.com

[thedirtman]

Once upon a time there was a man named Rove. On examination of liberal philosophy and the good nature of its followers he noticed a hole. With the application of the current definition for political correctness there became a conceptual loss for what is "pale of mind". He decided that this hole could be exploited for his own benefit.

So Rove carefully planned a private war - a War on Intelligent Thought. All of the dimness of his own ideas and those that he surrounded himself with could be spun into light by casting hollow echoes of intelligence in forms such as petrifaction and stupefaction. Intelligent people could recast as arrogant and self-serving, placing their lives under a microscope to look for every opportunity for hypocritical charges. Science, in its entirety, could be replaced with industry-based research where the outcome of experiment must be compatible with corporate profits.

So Rove gained influence and successfully went about replacing Intelligent Thought in every aspect of life with what was traditionally called common stupidity.

Thus we now stand in the graveyard of intelligence observing the tombstones of our Constitution wondering who will lead us from here.

[NewArtz]

Conservativism, to me, has always meant what my 8th grade civics teacher told me: it means to conserve something from the past. It's obvious that the leftovers of culture which the present conservatives wish to save deserves only to be thrown in the trash. No wonder they voted for such a SPOILED child-man to be their leader.

[dax49]

bravo- thank God people are starting to tell the truth about what is going on in this country

[backhandpath]

Richard, conservatism may be dying but perchance you are the chosen one to put a stake through its heart?