Conservative Donnybrook

 The more avid readers of the Donnybrook will notice that I have recently been playing a bit of devil’s advocate, questioning the Ron Paul Revolution’s dedication to social conservatism.  I feel that I owe all six of those readers an explanation.

Some months ago I joined the Yahoo! paleolibertarian group, the description of which was careful to remind me that “This is no cult, and there’s no regimented party line.”  Not being a fan of either cults or regimented party lines, I thought this might be a nice fit for me, especially seeing that at the time I was intoxicated by the wit and wisdom of Joe Sobran.  The group basically worked as follows: news stories were exchanged via email, usually with a little quip or anectode putting the world on notice of the sender’s infinite intelligence; others would reply to said email with their own quips and anecdotes until the story would eventually lose steam and dissipate; and in this way the gospel of Paul was spread. Continue Reading »

What, me worry? What do you mean “judgment”? We’re concerned about results. “…The overwhelming record is a record of great success.” It’s not like I was vetting the guy for chief of one of the biggest police departments… well, okay, I like to tie up loose ends, but I ain’t fanatical or anything.

This (among many, many disturbing aspects of Hizzoner’s career) will probably turn out to have legs.

I’d like to mention a terrific little book I’ve recently read called “Conservatism in America.” It’s written by Paul Gottfried, a fixture of the various paleo fever swamps of the web such as LewRockwell.com, VDARE, and Taki’s Top Drawer. If a study whose subject matter encompasses Joseph de Maistre, German historicism, Harry Jaffa, Bill Buckley, FOX News, and Sean Hannity appeals to you, then you, too, will find this book to be a rollicking good time! (Okay, that might be overstating things a bit.)

(Incidentally, Gottfried, who coined the term “paleoconservative,” also penned the entry on paleoconservatism for the excellent American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia, which, if you don’t own already, you should buy immediately!) Continue Reading »

In an alcohol-fueled telephone conversation with Karl some weeks back an interesting question was raised (by Karl): are Ron Paul’s socially conservative views regarding issues like marriage and abortion morally authentic or are they merely the tangential result of his constitutionalism?  More appropriately, is this a question of ends and means?

I’m simply throwing it out there for discussion, as I am still uncertain.