Dissent of the Day

A reader writes:

As a former editor of a campus conservative newspaper, I feel particularly sad when I see comments like those of George Will describing what conservatism "means."  The problem is that there is a difference between normative conservatism -- what conservatism should be about -- and positive conservatism, or a description of what conservatism actually is today.  The conservatism of Ron Paul, or George Will, or Andrew Sullivan, while an admirable thing, has almost nothing whatsoever to do with conservatism as it has actually been practiced in this country for many decades.  To be "conservative" in America today is to believe in state power -- something that would have repelled Barry Goldwater.  To be "conservative" in America today is to believe in Wilsonian foreign activism -- something that would have repelled Robert Taft.  To be conservative today is to believe in Federal laws about "morals" issues instead of state-by-state federalism on issues not related to "interstate commerce."  Conservatism today is all about cultural affinity as opposed to ideology.  It is about comfort.  Comfort with people, and comfort with received notions of what America is supposed to "represent."

The notion that conservatism is somehow a "temperament" as opposed to an ideology is true today, but in a different way than the past.  Conservatism has become something tribal --  It is not about anything in particular anymore.