Conservatism

Paul Jaskunas is to be commended for his critique of the shallow materialism of conservative individualism ("A false self-reliance," Aug. 24). Individual freedom narrowly conceived as egoistic self-interest, insatiable profiteering and idolatrous devotion to the so-called free market leads inexorably to a spiritual desert. It prevents any true flowering of the human personality, which is the essence of individual freedom. The deification of the market is especially dangerous in this era of giant corporations, which are global in scope and deeply authoritarian in character.

It seems Easter was a field day for attacking Dr. Ben Carson for his conservative views ("Ben Carson's biblically based conservatism," March 31.) Columnist Dan Rodricks claimed he was not surprised by Dr. Carson's equating gays with pedophiles and people who have sex with animals. Mr. Rodricks then delved into a 2008 radio interview for more dirt to support his critique of Dr. Carson's conservatism, showing how Dr. Carson used the Bible to support such things as corporal punishment by parents and as justification of a flat tax. Well perhaps more people need to be seeking answers in the Bible or in their faith.

The San Francisco Bay Area was holding vigils to commemorate the anniversary of the tragic 1989 earthquake, and the third anniversary of the 1987 Wall Street crash was ticking by. Cataclysmic times breed reflection and conservatism.Headquartered in a modern seven-story white concrete building just off Mariners Island Boulevard in this bedroom community of San Mateo, Calif. is a company that styles itself as a beacon for investment conservatism. The Franklin Group of mutual funds is the depository of more than $44 billion in assets of cautious folks who don't want financial surprises.

As you may have read, the Associated Press decided this week that its writers are permitted to use husband and wife for same-sex couples, in those jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal. Should you not have read about it, I commend to your attention a thoughtful op-ed article in the Los Angeles Times by Nathaniel Frank. It is not surprising that the AP should be squeamish about this. The Associated Press Stylebook took its sweet time to accept Ms. and gay for homosexual . Stylebooks, like those of the Associated Press and The New York Times are not comfortable in the vanguard.

THE 1980s were the decade of conservatism triumphant. It all began with Margaret Thatcher, who became British prime minister in May 1979, more than a year before Ronald Reagan was elected president. Now Thatcher has fallen, betrayed by her own party, after a record 11 1/2 years in office.There is a message here for Republicans in the United States, who are completing their 10th continuous year in office. It has to do with the limits of conservatism. Both the British Conservatives and the American Republicans came to power under the same circumstances -- a popular revolt against inflation, high taxes, big government and national decline.

Washington -- It is exquisite burlesque, Jerry Brown leading tattered remnants of America's hapless left into supporting conservatism's agenda.Conservatism has rhetorical and fiscal strategies for diminishing government power. One is to peel away government's authority by flaying it rhetorically as an incestuous jumble of corrupt elites incapable of empathy with ordinary people and incompetent at government's basic tasks -- budgeting, educating, maintaining public works. Mr. Brown's rhetoric abets this strategy.

Last week, I argued that President Bush's Iraq war has demolished the foundations upon which the Republican Party had, until 2006, built a national majority. Paradoxically, the war has nevertheless been a huge victory for conservatism. To explain this paradox, we begin with William F. Buckley's famous definition of conservatism as "to stand athwart history, yelling, `Stop!'" Setting aside the dismal implications of this mantra for conservatives - a life where change is inherently bad, new ideas and peoples are threatening, social and technological advances must be resisted, and the future always frightens - conservatism's first principle is that slower is better, particularly in matters of governance.

It was a good Fourth of July where I was - no Republicans or Democrats, just a crowd of sunburned people sitting on the grass, and a brass band played amid the smell of hot dogs. Clarence and Ralph, two World War II vets, described their European tour of 1944-45 from Normandy through the Hurtgen Forest, and it was duly noted that the Revolution was not going well in the summer of 1776 when Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and Hancock put their names to the Declaration of Independence, an act of treason and great bravado, and then the crowd stood and sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and discovered that, in the key of G, it is a fine piece of music and very singable.

THE STATUS QUO prevailed Tuesday among Carroll County voters, who seemed like most of the nation to prefer things politically much as they are. It was an election favoring conservatism with a small "c."Voters retained two different-thinking incumbents on the Carroll Board of Education, despite a well-financed, high-profile assault by an ultra-conservative tandem ticket.The 2-1 margin for Ann M. Ballard and Joseph D. Mish Jr. showed the electorate was largely unswayed by the challengers' ceaseless attacks on school budget priorities, administrative pay and student achievements.

PRESIDENT BUSH sincerely sees his push to change Social Security as compassionate conservatism. But conservatives ought to be troubled by the plan, which would let younger workers invest some Social Security assets via payroll taxes in corporate stocks and bonds, presumably through mutual funds. The proposal and its underlying assumptions breach rules that conservatives ought to hold dear. Among them: Keep business and politics separate. The world spent the 20th century learning the bad things that happen when the state owns the means of production.

I think I owe an apology to George W. Bush. William F. Buckley once noted that he was 19 when the Cold War began at the Yalta conference. The year the Berlin Wall came down, he became a senior citizen. In other words, he explained, anti-Communism was a defining feature of conservatism his entire adult life. Domestically, meanwhile, the right was largely a "leave me alone coalition": Religious and traditional conservatives, overtaxed businessmen, Western libertarians, and others fed up with government social engineering and economic folly.

Paul Jaskunas is to be commended for his critique of the shallow materialism of conservative individualism ("A false self-reliance," Aug. 24). Individual freedom narrowly conceived as egoistic self-interest, insatiable profiteering and idolatrous devotion to the so-called free market leads inexorably to a spiritual desert. It prevents any true flowering of the human personality, which is the essence of individual freedom. The deification of the market is especially dangerous in this era of giant corporations, which are global in scope and deeply authoritarian in character.

Thomas Schaller is to be commended for his commentary revealing a dark side behind the avuncular charm of Ron Paul ("Ron Paul disavows ... Ron Paul?" Dec. 28). As a progressive, I've long been skeptical (to put it mildly) of Dr. Paul's right-wing libertarianism, which prefers a rapacious market over community and an anarchic rugged individualism over social justice and human solidarity. A society is much more than a market, and the individual is a social being. Democracy is a kind of community.

"You woke thebears! Why did you do that?" That's from one of my favorite scenes in "Anchorman. " In the Oscar-robbed film, Ron Burgundy (played by Will Ferrell) loudly leaps into a bear pit to rescue his girlfriend and then falsely blames her for waking them up. Watching President Barack Obama these days reminds me of that scene. In March 2010, liberal columnist Peter Beinart argued that, for decades, Democratic politicians treated America's innate conservatism like a slumbering bear: If you make no sudden moves and talk quietly, you can get a lot done.

Last November, the American people sent a clear message to Washington: Government cannot solve all of our problems, and in order to get the economy moving again we must head in a new direction. I am humbled that the citizens of the 1st Congressional District overwhelmingly selected me to join 95 other new members on Capitol Hill to right the ship on jobs, to fix the deficit and to hold President Barack Obama accountable on the expansion of government. On our very first day, we adopted new House rules for the 112th Congress.

The ever-expanding power of the American political class has been sharply brought into focus because of the shrinking living standards of millions of the people they ostensibly represent. This contrast has set the stage for what The New York Times this week called "Rebellion on [the] Right." In a clear warning to the members of the "inner party," the essential newspaper of the ruling elite featured a lengthy front-page story on Tuesday by David Barstow, complete with a color photo of tea party activists in Sandpoint, Idaho.

The story in Washington is that President Barack Obama and the Democrats are reeling in the wake of two recent decisions. The first was a choice by the masses of Massachusetts: They sent Republican Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate in Ted Kennedy's former seat. The second was an edict by five Washington elites: In its 5-4 Citizens United ruling, the Supreme Court rescinded the long-standing prohibition against corporations using business income to make campaign contributions. A one-seat reduction in what was a 60-seat Democratic majority, coupled with a one-vote majority on a Supreme Court, have combined to end the Obama era and stifle the entire Democratic agenda.

Think back to the spring of 1968. The U.S. is mired in Vietnam. The country is in turmoil. The sitting Democratic president abruptly pulls out of his campaign for re-election, and the leading conservative columnist of the day neither gloats nor does a victory dance. It's nearly impossible to imagine this happening today. We could chalk this up to the deterioration of civic discourse and the rise in political polarization. But it's really part of a much more significant shift that has fractured the right side of the political spectrum.