Exorcising Conservatism

A specter is haunting American Liberalism—the specter of conservative revival. This disagreeable poltergeist, long silent and docile, not only insists on knocking about in the attic, but of late has even begun making off with the young.

Refusing to believe that such a demon can exist, the shamans of the Left have resorted to two favorite incantations. The first is sympathetic, a formula of compassionate disappointment: “Yes, we really do need responsible conservatism today; unfortunately, this (i.e., any particular kind of conservatism) isn’t it.” The second states more directly what the Liberal really believes—that such things simply cannot be, “because the American tradition is Liberal.”

MS

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M. Stanton Evans

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A specter is haunting American Liberalism—the specter of conservative revival. This disagreeable poltergeist, long silent and docile, not only insists on knocking about in the attic, but of late has even begun making off with the young.

Refusing to believe that such a demon can exist, the shamans of the Left have resorted to two favorite incantations. The first is sympathetic, a formula of compassionate disappointment: “Yes, we really do need responsible conservatism today; unfortunately, this (i.e., any particular kind of conservatism) isn’t it.” The second states more directly what the Liberal really believes—that such things simply cannot be, “because the American tradition is Liberal.”