That's kind of sad, because "neoconservative" is actually a useful word. The essential distinction of neoconservatism is its Wilsonian legacy. The idea of actively spreading liberal democracy is not a conservative one. Conservatives tend much more toward a Jacksonian view of foreign policy. In this sense, one could well call Cheney a "neoconservative" not because Cheney is new to conservativism but because he adheres to a distinct political view labeled "neoconservatism".
If President Bush is re-elected, I predict that this Wilsonian tendency will be a major fault line in the 2008 Republican primaries.
Neo-Con when used in (continental) Europe or by the left in the UK is a by-word for sinister Jew. I just love calling them out on it...and most of the time if you do the person using the term will admit he/she means Jew.
Funny how that sneaks across the atlantic when you least expect it... and funny how most of the people who have picked up its usage haven't picked up on the meaning....
Seems like just about anytime the Left talk about someone who doesn't toe their party line 100% it's "...in a sinister, evil, sneering, smearing, bigoted fashion".
When I'm asked where I am on the political spectrum, I generally try to say I'm a classical liberal. That means liberal in the original meaning of the word, not the "liberalism" that was hijacked by the socialist left in the 20th century.
To understand what I mean, I recommend Hayek's essay, "Why I am not a conservative".
I believe in liberty, not license.
I believe that government is insituted among people to protect unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that we are endowed by the Supreme Judge of the Universe with those rights.
That's more or less me too, PPO, although I'm not a real believer in "natural law" or a "Supreme judge of the universe." But it's a minor issue; the classical values have been with us at least since the ancient Greeks first formulated them. Just embracing them is enough to get you branded a "right winger" (or a closet right winger) by the moonbat brigade.
Dick Cheney is much more "neocon" than traditional conservative. A traditional conservative does not believe in an agressive, interventionist foreign policy, nor do they believe in budget deficits. He is also a founding member of PNAC. I don't think any of those other guys you mentioned are Neocons.
Dean wrote:
"That's more or less me too, PPO, although I'm not a real believer in "natural law" or a "Supreme judge of the universe." But it's a minor issue; the classical values have been with us at least since the ancient Greeks first formulated them. Just embracing them is enough to get you branded a "right winger" (or a closet right winger) by the moonbat brigade."
Did I hear somebody mention Classical Values? Meet another true classical liberal, a defender of freedom, a lover of the ancient Greeks and Romans, my friend Eric Scheie.
PPO or 11372 wrote:
"I believe that government is insituted among people to protect unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that we are endowed by the Supreme Judge of the Universe with those rights."
That is what I believe also, including a Supreme Judge of the Universe. Hail to all the Gods and the Goddesses!
I'm not Jewish enough to be a Neo-Con, but I support Israel 100% and I agree with the goals of the Evil Neo-Con Zionist Imperialist Straussian Conspiracy. I'm also not man enough to be a man's man nor woman enough to be a Lesbian, but I admire the Evil Perverted Homosexual Lifestyle and Agenda, and so in that sense I am a Homo-Con ? proudly.
Dean is a true liberal. I am only a liberal in the sense that I defend complete freedom of thought, expression, and association, including for those I hate and despise. I am not liberal any more than that, because I do indeed hate and despise those who denounce my freedoms and my values. I am intolerant, dogmatic, and selfish ? proudly
I am a conservative in that I believe that freedom ultimately presupposes a transcendent and eternal order of values, an axiological, metaphysical, and theological foundation. That freedom and that foundation of freedom has found its highest expression in the High Culture of the West and in the greatest nation of the West, the United States of America.
I am a Right-Wing Extremist ? Extremely Right. I am not of the Left, for ever since 9/11/2001, I have found that the Left is on the side of entropy.
Left or Right, I am above all else an Individualist. Polytheistic Godliness, Selfishness, Sexiness.
If President Bush is re-elected, I predict that this Wilsonian tendency will be a major fault line in the 2008 Republican primaries.
To understand what I mean, I recommend Hayek's essay, "Why I am not a conservative".
I believe in liberty, not license.
I believe that government is insituted among people to protect unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that we are endowed by the Supreme Judge of the Universe with those rights.
If I call myself a "redneck" and you try to smear me with it, I will just sit back and smile.
So it is with the Neocons, I believe.
Here is a great, non-partisan definition of who they are:
http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/neocon/neocon101.html
Dick Cheney is much more "neocon" than traditional conservative. A traditional conservative does not believe in an agressive, interventionist foreign policy, nor do they believe in budget deficits. He is also a founding member of PNAC. I don't think any of those other guys you mentioned are Neocons.
It is a slur, and in fact is almost always used as a slur today. Indeed, it is an increasingly reliable marker for a bigot.
"That's more or less me too, PPO, although I'm not a real believer in "natural law" or a "Supreme judge of the universe." But it's a minor issue; the classical values have been with us at least since the ancient Greeks first formulated them. Just embracing them is enough to get you branded a "right winger" (or a closet right winger) by the moonbat brigade."
Did I hear somebody mention Classical Values? Meet another true classical liberal, a defender of freedom, a lover of the ancient Greeks and Romans, my friend Eric Scheie.
PPO or 11372 wrote:
"I believe that government is insituted among people to protect unalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that we are endowed by the Supreme Judge of the Universe with those rights."
That is what I believe also, including a Supreme Judge of the Universe. Hail to all the Gods and the Goddesses!
I'm not Jewish enough to be a Neo-Con, but I support Israel 100% and I agree with the goals of the Evil Neo-Con Zionist Imperialist Straussian Conspiracy. I'm also not man enough to be a man's man nor woman enough to be a Lesbian, but I admire the Evil Perverted Homosexual Lifestyle and Agenda, and so in that sense I am a Homo-Con ? proudly.
Dean is a true liberal. I am only a liberal in the sense that I defend complete freedom of thought, expression, and association, including for those I hate and despise. I am not liberal any more than that, because I do indeed hate and despise those who denounce my freedoms and my values. I am intolerant, dogmatic, and selfish ? proudly
I am a conservative in that I believe that freedom ultimately presupposes a transcendent and eternal order of values, an axiological, metaphysical, and theological foundation. That freedom and that foundation of freedom has found its highest expression in the High Culture of the West and in the greatest nation of the West, the United States of America.
I am a Right-Wing Extremist ? Extremely Right. I am not of the Left, for ever since 9/11/2001, I have found that the Left is on the side of entropy.
Left or Right, I am above all else an Individualist. Polytheistic Godliness, Selfishness, Sexiness.