Another Conservative Split

Is conservatism about academic and professional excellence or is it about promoting a religious ideology, regardless of skills and ability? Under Bush, Cheney and Rove, it has become much more of the latter than the former. This email to Jonah Goldberg strikes me as rooted in the conservatism I used to know and support:

Call me an elitist, but if we are going to have devout Christians in the Justice department, I would prefer they went to Chicago or Stanford Law. I think there is something to be said about high LSAT scores and going to one of the best schools in the country. And I have never bought the canard that there are no conservatives at the best law schools. Robert, Alito, Scalia? Bill Maher had a great point on his show the other night. The lawyer Monica Goodling hired went to a real law school.

Of course, Mickey Kaus feels the need to defend the far-right. Mickey now spends his energies primarily defending the furthest extremes of right-wing culture. He's not pro-Christianist hacks, of course. He's just against anyone who might be against them. As a Democrat of course. A Tom-Tancredo-Ann-Coulter kind of Democrat.

Has anyone done a study on Hollywood Derangement Syndrome? It occurs when usually sensible people live and breathe among smug, sanctimonious, self-righteous Hollywood lefties ... and become defenders of Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales just to stay balanced. I can think of a few victims.