Marty, the article I referred to was the cover story of the New York Times Magazine, Oct. 11. The cover says "The Scolds", the interior title is "Going down Screaming". Author is Andrew Sullivan, supposedly English and conservative, he states early in the article that he thinks Clinton should resign. Though I don't much like Clinton, I disagree on resignation, I think the English tend to extrapolate too much from their parliamentary system into ours. Plus, if the Republicans bring Clinton down, I'm sure they'll go for Gore next, and who comes after that?
The people named in the article as at the forefront of this particular conservative variant are Kenneth Starr, Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, Trent Lott, David Frum, William Kristol, and Robert Bork. Kristol is listed as a main intellectual influence, through the Weekly Standard. I don't know anything about Neuhaus and Frum. I assumed Bork was originally sort of Libertarian, but his "Gomorrah" book clearly positioned him in the middle of the moral Right guard. By the way, "Clinton is Caligula" is due to Dwight, not anybody listed above. They're a little more subtle.
As I said, before I read this article, I thought that the RR position was still somewhat fringe for conservatives / Republicans. Now, I don't know. Here's Sullivan's conclusion:
In the past, conservatives have rightly been praised for what they haven't done as for what they have. Maybe today's conservative generation, poised on the brink of unprecedented power, will heed that lesson. But maybe, God help us, they won't.
And the lead letter in responses to that article, printed today:
The greatest value of Andrew Sullivan's article, I believe, is its refutation of the common misconception that the conservative moralists are just a fringe bunch, with little, if any, power. By explaining how the Christian right influences America's policies on the United Nations, China and ambassadorships, Sullivan brilliantly explodes this myth.
I hope Sullivan got it wrong, Marty. I'd imagine others here have different hopes. |
