JPod – Even in the early pages I get the sense that Rod was asking himself something like “What will Jonah say about this?” And I do like his effort to conjure some of the Old Right (though we can have an argument about whether Russell Kirk is really a good representative of the Old Right as Rod seems to be suggesting. I’ve always read Old Right to describe 1930s conservatism, not 1950s conservatism). But if you read the CCblog or Rod’s introduction, you will find several examples of Crunchy Con being used synonymously with Old Right, which simply strikes me as an unsustainable position — no matter which Old Right you have in mind. My guess is that Russell Kirk put on a tie before he brushed his teeth in the morning. From my reading, Caleb Stegall seems to understand that putting a “hippie gloss” (his words) on traditional conservatism is more of a distraction than a contribution. After all, hippieness is often just simply another form of consumerism with political pretension.
Also, just as a point of clarification, what exactly do you mean when you say the Old Right believed in “repugnant” anti-republicanism? I’m not saying I disagree but small “r” republican can mean different things to different people, including among members of the Old Right.