Thought Theater

Conservative Buchanan On The Neocons Demise genre: Just Jihad & Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

I've never been fond of Pat Buchanan but I've found that at least I can respect his ability to remain true to his conservative ideology...a far more consistent position that our President and his neocon supporters. In reality, Buchanan is more aligned with the senior George Bush...who appears to have had a fifteen year advantage on his son when it comes to being able to grasp the realities in the Middle East. Buchanan makes clear his displeasure with the current President and the neocon mentality in an article that can be found at Real Clear Politics.

The Democrats are determined to make the election of 2006 a referendum on Bush and the war in Iraq. And, as of now, that is how history will likely record it.

But beneath the surface of the national election, a different plebiscite is being held, within the conservative movement, on the ideology George Bush imposed on Ronald Reagan's party.

Wherever "conservatives" stand -- whether Old Right or neocon, supply-sider or deficit hawk, America First or global democrat, Big Government or small government -- the returns of Bush's policies are largely in and the outcome unlikely to change. And this is why Bush and the GOP are in trouble, and neoconservatism is in the dock.

The Bush democracy campaign brought stunning electoral gains for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Moqtada al-Sadr in Iraq. Our ally Hamid Kharzai is today little more than mayor of Kabul, as the Taliban roam the southeast and coalition casualties reach the highest levels since liberation, five years ago.

North Korea and Iran remain defiant on their nuclear programs. Vladimir Putin is befriending every regime at odds with Bush, from Tehran to Damascus to Caracas. Neocon meddling in The Bear's backyard has gotten us bit.

It is hard to envision a clearer analysis of the failed Bush foreign policy. Nonetheless, the Bush administration seems prepared to push forward with their current endeavors while they are also rumored to be toying with other preemptive interventions. While the President claims to have a vision for a democratized Middle East, his view seems to be wholly hidden from the vast majority of voters as well as longstanding GOP conservatives. The current trending seems to indicate that the Bush effort is achieving an outcome that is the mirror opposite of the stated goal.