Earlier this month, I attended the third National Conservatism Conference in Miami, Fla., hosted by the Edmund Burke Foundation. Yesterday, joined by Reason senior editor Stephanie Slade, I went on the Acton Unwind podcast, hosted by Eric Kohn and Dan Hugger of the Acton Institute, to discuss what I saw at the conference. Listen below, or at this link, which also contains shownotes that list articles referenced in the episode.
On the podcast, I focused on a piece written by David Brog, president of the Edmund Burke Foundation. Published before the conference, the piece mentioned, then allegedly dispelled, some myths about national conservatives (or “NatCons”), such as: they are isolationists; they oppose free markets; and they are just Trumpists. The rejoinders offered: NatCons offer a corrective to failed interventionist foreign policy, and favor strengthening alliances, such as our relationship with Ukraine, instead; NatCons “revere” the free market but understand that the national interest is paramount; many NatCons supported Trump but have time for any politician who supports their agenda.
There are NatCons who more or less embody these beliefs. But, as I detail on the podcast, there is no universal agreement about these things. Some NatCons, such as Chris DeMuth, favor Ukraine’s cause because it affirms the inviolability of national sovereignty, but others believe that the U.S. has no real stake in the conflict. Though free markets got some credit at NatCon3, there were a lot of “big buts” in the remarks of some speakers, who would make sure to note their belief in markets before qualifying said belief in such a way as to render it tenuous. And while Donald Trump did not appear at NatCon3 and several other politicians, such as Florida governor Ron DeSantis, did, Trump was identified in many panels as the biggest threat to what speakers called “the regime.” At the same time, DeSantis himself, in his speech, criticized the advice given to him by the White House at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and was introduced, with enthusiastic applause, as a future president. So things are more complicated than one might think.
I elaborate on these thoughts in the podcast, which is also replete with insights from the others who participated.