CF's blog

I saw this video on YouTube. As far as I know, it is authentic. My apologies to Mr. Colmes if it's not:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thmueS0ngAs

In a piece available as of Friday (August 8), liberal former Democratic presidential nominee (1972) and U.S. Senator (South Dakota) George McGovern weighs in on a proposal before the adjouned Congress to change various rules regarding the governance of labor unions. Interestingly, however, the former senator opposes the measure about which both Mr. Henke and Mr. Dayton have written and likewise oppose as presented. Perhaps this is an issue which Republican candidates in congressional races should address more generally as the autumn campaign season approaches.

In an "Ideas and Trends" piece appearing in the New York Times today (July 20), Patricia Cohen reports on matters germane to the very essence of TheNextRight; the evolution of American conservatism in the era after George W. Bush. Some familiar names appear, such as that of David Frum, Christopher DeMuth, and Grand New Party authors Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam. Ms. Cohen aptly describes the issues faced by the conservative movement going forward:

Today, all of these policy cooks — as well as others who sit in nearby offices — are pushing wildly different ideas about which direction the party should take. A.E.I., like so many other bastions of the intellectual right, has returned to the kitchen to whip up a fresh menu of possibilities for disaffected conservatives looking for solutions to emerging problems like energy, the environment and immigration, as well as a way to comfortably fit these new ideas into a conservative ideological framework.

Ms. Cohen even quotes Mr. DeMuth as aptly saying:

We’ve been extremely discouraged by the policy trajectory of the Bush administration, with big increases in unfunded entitlements, big increases in deficit spending, considerable growth in government regulation

Indeed, the ideas piece linked to above goes on to note the division apparent on the Right on even such questions as the legacy and relevance (or lack thereof) of President Reagan to the future and success of conservatism. But, even as the NY Times piece notes, this debate will continue well beyond November 4:

Election day would seem to be the pivotal moment in this debate. Adam Bellow, a conservative book editor, recently argued that “the G.O.P. will not be revived through the efforts of intellectuals but by a talented politician who can build a new majority coalition. When that happens, as eventually it will, the intellectuals will be there to translate his or her political instincts into a new conservative ideology.” But as Ramesh Ponnuru, a senior editor at National Review, long a flagship of the right, said: “Whether or not McCain wins, there is going to be a lot of rethinking among conservatives.”

Emphasis mine. Do we yet know the identity of such a politician, or has such a figure yet to emerge? Discuss.  

A piece by Reid Wilson today at RealClearPolitics attempts to demonstrate that the Democratic Party is building up membership in the center and on the right. But, if 2006 showed anything, it's that the Democratic tent is not big enough to house contrasting views. Liberal activists are still trying to drive out Joe Lieberman.

While it is disappointing to see the GOP reach into New England weakening, I don't think that the problem is mainly that the Party is becoming more conservative. Indeed, the current administration has done more to expand the size and scope of government than several of his predecessors. Take, for example, the doubling of the size of the federal Department of Education and creation of a whole new cabinet department (Homeland Security) by this administration. This does not even mention the Medicare Prescription Drug plan, or McCain Feingold. 

Rather, the problem for the GOP is two-fold: the war, and forgetting he successes of the Gingrich Revolution. On the war, John McCain has credibility and may well win the election. But, on conservative values of low spending, low taxes, free enterprise, and smaller government, the GOP may still lose even if it wins. Fortunately, as the national Democratic Party continues to outdo the GOP in expansion of government and excessive spending, any upsurge of comservative Democrats will be temporary. Even with that, however, the party needs to revive the brand and reinvigorate conservative governance. How soon the RNC figures this out, time will only tell. 

Mike Allen reported in the Politico today that Barack Obama may be changing positions on yet another issue; Iraq. Nonetheless, what is telling about this revelation isn't Obama's lack of honesty, but rather an acknowledgement from his campaign that Iraq may not be the disaster many Democrats claim it to be.

Of course, the Obama spin machine, as quoted in the article, is claiming that Obama has maintained a consistent position on Iraq. As usual, the facts say otherwise. In more than one debate during the primary season, Obama pledged to begin withdrawing from Iraq "from day one".

Now that Obama may be coming around on Iraq, or is doing so for the time being, the question should be asked whether or not the antiwar Left will stand behind a candidate whose campaign seemingly now advocates a position on Iraq not far off from that of John McCain.