A couple of days ago I read this column by John Derbyshire for National Review Online, which he wrote little over a week ago. In it, the conservative columnist endorses Ron Paul, arguing that the time has come for Libertarianism to be implemented.

One of the main reasons that Derbyshire endorses Paul is that the government has become increasingly bigger, with even the Vice President having a gigantic staff. In fact, Dick Cheney’s staff is so big that Derbyshire decided that it would be useful for him to do some research as to find out how many advisers and staff Cheney exactly has. Soon, however, he ran into a brick wall. There is, Derbyshire writes, simply no way to find out how big Cheney’s staff exactly is. (more…)

An interesting column, by E.J. Dionne Jr., appeared in today’s Washington Post. Mr. Dionne writes:

“Let’s grow up, conservatives!”

Barry M. Goldwater’s declaration at the 1960 Republican National Convention was designed to quell a rebellion against Richard M. Nixon, whom conservatives saw as selling out to liberals on various platform planks. Goldwater’s next line was uncannily prophetic: “If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work.” Forty-seven years later, the conservatives whose cause Goldwater championed still dominate the Republican Party.

The Democratic Party’s progressive wing, furious at what it sees as the capitulation of its congressional leaders to President Bush on the Iraq war, should remember this history. The decision to drop withdrawal timelines from the Iraq supplemental appropriations bill is not a decisive defeat. It is a temporary setback in a much longer struggle for minds and votes that the administration’s critics are actually winning…

Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said recently that no one remembers how long it took to reverse the direction of American policy in Vietnam. Obey is hunkered down for a lengthy struggle.

In a divided system, democracy can be frustratingly slow. But it usually works. Critics of the war should spend less time mourning the setbacks of May and begin organizing for a showdown in September. They would profit from taking Barry Goldwater’s long view.

Irony at its finest: ‘liberals’ looking at Barry Goldwater for inspiration.

There is a lot of truth to what Dionne is saying though: the Democrats caved in this time, but that doesn’t mean that the progressive movement has lost or will lose in the end. If I were a member of the progressive movement, I would use this as a means to re-energize the base, I would look at the bigger picture (battles like this take years), I would reward those politicians who did what the progressive movement wanted, and I would try to put pressure on those who didn’t do what the pm wanted, as to make sure that they will do what it wants next time (coming September).

There is only one problem: I believe that Americans are, culturally, more conservative than progressive. Therefore, a conservative movement can be successful, whereas a progressive movement cannot, at least not in the truly long run. They might win some battles, but they won’t win the war, so to speak.

Andrew Sullivan published a good post March 29 in which he fisks David Brooks’ column of that same day. It is a good read about conservatism, what conservatives should emphasize etc.

Moneyquote:

I’m a small government Goldwater conservative, but I think compulsory high school education is worth the trade-off of freedom. I think universal healthcare insurance is an infringement of liberty, but since we have committed to providing emergency healthcare for all, it’s a trade-off worth making for fiscal and moral reasons. Small government conservatives don’t want to abandon government. We want it small - but strong and focused on what government really ought to do. And we have learned from experience that the bigger government is, the less effective it often is; and the more confusing and massive it is, the less accountable it is.

H/t Pete Abel

The Conscience of a Conservative is one of the most (politically) inspiring books I have ever had the pleasure to read. Barry Goldwater describes the conservative ideology almost perfectly. He doesn’t just describe what policies conservatives favor, instead he emphasizes and explains the reasons behind conservative policies.

The edition I read, Regnery Publishing, Inc., 1990, has a foreword by Patrick J. Buchanan. In this foreword, Buchanan describes the importance of Goldwater’s conservative manifest: he describes the impact this little book had on him and like minded college students, how it made them politically engaged, how this led to a pure conservative movement in the GOP that would, 20 years after the appearance of The Conscience of a Conservative, lead to the conservative Reagan Revolution which would change America (and the world).
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I’m currently reading Barry Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative (which I received from a reader who appreciated my blogging. To that reader: thank you very much, it’s a great gift). When I finish it, I intend to write a long post on it, probably a review with some thoughts of my own on conservatism added (to it). For now, I will keep it short: it’s, thus far, an incredibly inspiring book. Goldwater seems to capture the soul of conservative liberalism perfectly.

Just to make you look forward to my upcoming post, here’s a quote from The Conscience of a Conservative. Barry Goldwater on the duty of the government: “Thus, for the American Conservative, there is no difficulty in identifying the day’s overriding political challenge: it is to preserve and extend freedom.“

A brief clip from Goldwater’s famous speech at the Republican National Convention in 1964:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GITwqqE72N8]

“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the persuit of justice is no virtue”.