Former DIA intelligence analyst Pat Lang joins the list of those seeing a possibly permanent fracturing of the current Republican coalition of the Christian Right, the super-rich and the "neoconservatives" out to liberate the Middle East through bombs, bullets and war.
Lang writes (The end of the Conservative Dream? Sic Semper Tyrannis blog 10/09/05):
The reaction on the Right to the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers has made it clear how fragile the coalition of factions that ruled the US for the last five years really was.
-Evangelical Christians who are focused on moral issues.
-Movement Conservatives intent on fiscal restraint, federalism and a restricted role for the federal courts.
-Neoconservatives obsessed with foreign policy and "national greatness."
The alliance of these groups has proven unstable. This was pathetically clear today [Sunday] on the weekly TV talkathon in the statements made by representatives of these groups. The level of abandonment of Bush by those who have been his faithful "friends" was striking. Statements were made that essentially imdicate that he is believed to be "unreliable" and "untrustworthy." One should not want to hear that said about a US president, any president. National polls indicate that such sentiment is spreading. ...
In any event, the conservative coalition is badly split. Considering the multitude of crises faced by the Republican Party, it will be very hard to put that coalition together again.
As pleasant as they sounds to Jacksonian ears, I think it's very premature. As the legal pressures mount on Bush and his cronies, they will almost certainly try to wrap themselves in the mantle of fighting terrorism and attempt to rally support by playing on jingoism, nativism and just plain old white racism.
And where are the activist groups in that coalition going to go? Those who believe that the highest duty of government is to free the wealthy from the burden of paying taxes to support their country are not going to see the Democrats as more likely to achieve that for them. James Dobson is not going to endorse Hillary Clinton for President. Richard Perle is not going to become the foreign policy adviser to John Kerry or Howard Dean.
Maybe that's why Pat Lang put a question mark after the title of his post.
1 comment:
I agree with your skepticism, and I truly hope we are both wrong.
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