Nice guys finish last. Real conservatives don’t even finish third. That’s the sad takeaway from the longest yet least eventful presidential campaign in American history. While the mainstream right continues its weeping and gnashing of teeth over John McCain’s loss, conservatives who prefer stronger stuff should be more disappointed by the third-party vote totals this year. Both the Libertarian Party and … [Read More]

It’s beginning to look a lot like 2000. A prominent conservative bolts the GOP and wins the presidential nomination of an established third party. Early on, the poll numbers are encouraging and the media coverage respectful. Soon, however, his insurgent campaign is lost in the shuffle of a competitive two-party race. There is even competition for the dissident Right’s support, as … [Read More]

In my recent piece on the return of the conservative Democrat, I observed, “It remains to be seen whether the Dixiecrat revival will last.” If Glenn Greenwald has his way, the answer will be no: If simply voting for more Democrats will achieve nothing in the way of meaningful change, what, if anything, will? At minimum, two steps are required to … [Read More]

Travis Childers may be an important part of the Democratic Party’s future. After GOP Congressman Roger Wicker of Mississippi was elevated to the upper chamber to replace outgoing Sen. Trent Lott, Childers ran for the open seat and won. This was the third consecutive special election victory for the Democrats in a Republican-leaning congressional district, making it all the more likely … [Read More]

Now that Hillary Clinton has mercifully pulled the plug on her presidential campaign, the talking heads are consumed with the idea of her accepting the vice-presidential slot. According to some polls, a majority of Democratic voters concur, pining for Hillary to join a “dream ticket.” For once, the chattering class and rank-and-file Democrats are right. Hillary Clinton should run for vice … [Read More]

Challenger Joe McLaughlin was half right in describing the stakes of the North Carolina 3rd Congressional District’s Republican primary: It was, as he told Congressional Quarterly, about the future of the Republican Party in his congressional district and beyond. But Congressman Walter Jones’s nearly 20-point margin of victory doesn’t signal the end of the party. It points the way out of … [Read More]

Before the Gravelanche, word began to circulate that another more promising major-party defector might seek the Libertarian presidential nomination: former Republican Congressman Bob Barr. Gravel may be a better showman and rapper but Barr stands a better chance of giving the grassroots movement started by Ron Paul a second act. In an interview with Antiwar Radio, Barr acknowledged there was a … [Read More]

During the 2006 elections, there was one candidate for office who excited disaffected conservatives more than any other. No, it wasn't a Republican like John Hostettler, Walter Jones, or even Ron Paul. It wasn't any of the candidates who took up the immigration-restrictionist banner while the Bush administration was pushing for amnesty. Instead the great paleoconservative hope was James Webb, … [Read More]

  This is the final installment in a four-part symposium on the Ron Paul movement. John Derbyshire, Justin Raimondo, and Paul Gottfried have made previous contributions.   A colleague, for whom paleoconservatism is as esoteric as paleontology, recently inquired into the mood of Ron Paul supporters: Do they view his campaign as a worthwhile endeavor, if not a success, or … [Read More]

By W. James Antle III Debating in Ronald Reagan’s shadow in Simi Valley, there were plenty of Republican presidential hopefuls willing to deviate on social issues like embryo-destructive stem-cell research, but only one dissenter on the Iraq War—ten-term Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. It’s a role Paul reprised this week in South Carolina and, with any luck, will throughout the 2008 … [Read More]