Pat Buchanan: Conservatives Have Lost Cultural War

[Dr Ron]

From Light Up The Darkness:

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/?view=plink&id=905

In an interview with the Washington Times, Pat Buchanan virtually announces that liberals have won the culture war--and he is right. While I disagree with Buchanan on many issues, I have often found him to be an astute commentator on current politics. Prior to the 2004 elections, Buchanan was interpreting the campaign in terms of the culture war before other journalists were talking about effect of "moral values" post-election.

In recognizing that conservatives have lost the culture war, Buchanan looks beyond the short term gains of the 2004 election and realizes that overall the majority of voters do not share their values. While Buchanan will not understand it in these terms, they were fighting against the overall trend of history since the late 1700's, which has been towards greater freedom.

Here's some of Buchanan's comments:

"The conservative movement has passed into history. It doesn't exist anymore as a unifying force. There are still a lot of people who are conservative, but the movement is now broken up, crumbled, dismantled."

There are "a lot of people who call themselves conservative but who, on many issues, I just don't consider as conservative. They are big-government people."

"I was a conservative in the Nixon White House, but there was no question that it was not a conservative White House," he says. "Nixon referred to conservatives as 'they.' He used to ask me, 'What do they want?' One time he said, 'Buchanan, you have to give the nuts 20 percent of what they want.'"

He suggests that in some respects, traditionalists might be fighting for a lost cause. "We say we won a great victory by defeating gay marriage in 11 state-ballot referenda in November," he says. "But I think in the long run, that will be seen as a victory in defense of a citadel that eventually fell."

As he later says, "I can't say we won the cultural war, and it's more likely we lost it."

The evidence? He says it was all over the tube, in prime time, at last year's Republican National Convention, which featured California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York Gov. George E. Pataki and former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, all social liberals.

"They are indifferent to those moral issues because they see them-- and correctly--as no longer popular, no longer the majority positions that they used to be," he says. "They say, 'Let's put those off the table and focus on the issues where we still have a majority--strong national defense and cutting taxes.' "

[Quixote1818]

1. I sure hope he is right nt

[caligirl]

2. watch them go back to the old 9/11 "we are the ones keeping you

safe' mantra.

[Ripley]

3. That's crap.

He names the big blue states Calif and NY to list "social liberal" repubs. Big deal. They're pro-choice only because they'd never have a chance at those positions as repukes if they were socially conservative.

If we won the war, how come Gay Marriage and even Civil Unions are not allowed? How come the roll-backs continue on abortion? How come hate crimes are escalating at the same time hate crime laws are being rescinded? How come conservative religious pundits are given face-time on MSM on a daily basis? How come "liberal" shows are being shut down (Bill Moyer's, stupid kid show with lesbian maple tree farmers, etc.)?

This is just another diversion.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

4. The last gasp of the social regressives....

As painful as it is to be part of this history, I also believe that this is the last, desperate days of these people. Look at how rabid they are despite their current power positions...because they are so insecure. Hopefully it will end in 06...08 at the latest. The more they keep pushing their intrusive policymaking into private lives, the sooner it will end.

[sui generis]

5. simple minded and not a student of history

"Conservative" used to mean fiscally conservative when referring to a political ideology. It had nothing to do with social conservatism, and worse, southern Democrats and Republicans were actually swapped on the idea of cultural liberalism, compared to socially "liberal" democrats and socially "conservative" republicans today.

The problem with our political process for racists, bigots, and other social conservatives was that the democratic party became more inclusive of minorities after the 50's and early 60's and the freaks left in droves to go join the republican party.

And good riddance - they said that back then too.

There have always been pendulum swings of cultural liberalism throughout history, punctuated by economic cycles and wars, and crackdowns on "dangerous" ideologies, usually surrounding one or another issue of personal freedom.

This is just the latest, however I can't help but think that technology and communications will inevitably lead to greater social liberalism because we break down the barriers of xenophobia when we can talk to anyone anywhere in the world, and translate our emails and web pages into many of the world's languages at the touch of a button (although some of those translations are more likely to cause a war than to stop it), and when we see depictions of other people's suffering, joys, tragedies, and basic human similarities.

[blm]

7. Your reply is a great addition to the original post.

Valuable perspective.

[quiet.american]

6. Will never understand "strong on national defense."

Will never understand how anyone could think the Republicans are strong on national security when the Towers came down on their watch and their idea of national security is Romper Room color-coded alerts, giving billions to Halliburton with both hands, and seeing no problem with letting Shrub ride his tricycle while everyone is being told the sky is falling.

[atommom]

8. His own branch of conservatives may well have lost the culture war,

but the neocons are still going strong.

[gratuitous]

9. No Pat, when Nixon was asking you what "they" think

He was talking about the looney tunes, nutjob right. Your function in the Nixon White House was to be their mouthpiece, their liaison. And that wing of the conservative party is doing just fine right now.

[stevietheman]

10. I'm wondering...

if Buchanan is just now beginning the Huffington Process (TM). :)

[Lexingtonian]

11. he's quite right

His side has lost that war. Their side is in retreat on all cultural issues and social policies. Right now their hopes rest on holding a line against gay marriage- with gay marriage legalization not even considered a realistic possibility by its proponents or its opponents ten years ago. That's how much things have changed. The death penalty, banning abortion, segregationism by race and religion and gender, the privilege of 'Christians' and whites and straight men...all that crap is in unstoppable decline, out of what little rationale there was to them.

The GOP is returning to being a plain party of the wealthier old men, with their hatred of others of their ilk and their economic conservatism.