It seems everyone wanted to be on the side of progress in the Seventies, but today everyone’s a Burkean.  Gay marriage advocates, Barack Obama supporters, and defenders of the welfare state all identifiy themselves as the rightful heirs of Edmund Burke, the grandfather of conservative philosophy.  This is a strange development.  Burke and the conservatism he preached have long been relegated … [Read More]

For those who haven’t been keeping up with Caledonian affairs, Scottish independence has been brought onto the agenda by the victory of the anti-unionist, pro-independence Scottish National Party in the general election for the Scottish Parliament last year. The SNP victory comes after about half a century of solid domination of Scottish politics by the Labour party (now in regional opposition … [Read More]

On the question of conservatism, one can count on two things: First, that at any moment, some opinion-monger or other is holding forth on the nature of conservatism, and, second, that nearly everything he is saying is unedifying. Conservatism as conventionally understood is either vacuous (“conservatives respect tradition—except when they don’t”), asinine (“conservatives resist change”), or imperceptible (“conservatism is no more … [Read More]

I support Ron Paul, and I intend to vote for him in the Illinois primary.  But I had a little different reaction from Justin’s when I watched the clip of the congressman commenting on the Huckster’s Christmas ad.  My friend and colleague Aaron Wolf is right: “That was not a wise comment by Ron Paul.” In fact, the congressman seems tired … [Read More]

Over at Townhall.com late last night, Michael Medved slipped in some Thanksgiving Eve—well, “thoughts” would be too strong a word: “The Thanksgiving holiday provides an opportunity to refocus on the motivations of early New England settlers, who crossed the ocean not to escape the Old World, but to change it by the force of their example.” Really?  I’m not a particular … [Read More]

I interrupt my friendly criticism of Mr. LaTulippe’s article to bring you the breaking news: Pat Robertson Backs Giuliani’s Bid Robertson’s remarks on why he would be willing to endorse a man who stands for everything Robertson claims to stand against are revealing: Robertson said he was willing to overlook Giulani’s pro-abortion rights stance because he takes him at his word … [Read More]

While I cannot (by which I do not mean “will not,” but truly cannot) endorse the opening paragraph of Kevin Michael Derby’s “The Silence of Father Neuhaus,” the rest of the piece is excellent, and even the fulsome praise in Mr. Derby’s first paragraph serves a rhetorical purpose, heightening the effect of the criticism throughout the rest of the piece.  Mr. … [Read More]

Sam Brownback is out, but he’s not down.  In a move clearly calculated to maintain his viability as a vice-presidential candidate, he met with Rudy Giuliani on Thursday in Brownback’s Senate office. As Daniel Larison points out, Brownback stopped short of endorsing Giuliani, but declared that he is now “much more comfortable” with Giuliani’s position on abortion.  Daniel seems to think … [Read More]

Robert Novak might not be able to distinguish Thomas Fleming from Thomas Fleming (as the howler in his latest book shows), and he might benefit from a remedial course in journalistic ethics (as the Valerie Plame outing, among other incidents, indicates), but he’s generally pretty savvy when it comes to electoral politics.  So I’m discussing his latest column today not simply … [Read More]

In 2004, His Eminence Raymond Burke, archbishop of St. Louis, received a standing ovation from the denizens of St. Blog’s Parish, that loose collection of conservative Catholic bloggers, when he declared that pro-choice Catholic politicians such as John Kerry should be denied Communion for the sake of their souls.  Archbishop Burke was rightly hailed as courageous, and St. Blog’s parishioners defended … [Read More]