A reader writes:
Did you see the slightly out-of-control Meet the Press roundtable today with Dana Priest, Bill Safire, Bill Bennett, and John Harwood about the SWIFT revelations?
Particularly interesting was the obvious contempt Safire had for Bennett, as the latter, the author of the ironically titled "America: the Last Best Hope," tried his damnedest to argue against the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision, saying that the decision was an abrogation of our elected officials' role in "keeping us safe." You could see in Safire's face, and in the way he moodily slumped in his chair as Bennett ranted, that he did not miss the ominous significance of Bennett's argument.
I'm hardly ideologically aligned with Safire on anything, but as a defender of the press, and as a defender of the greatness of our constitution, and the basis it provides for any current claim we might have to "exceptionalism," he will always have my vote.
Is it time to start calling Bennett and the NRO editors "fascist," or is that word still beyond the pale? Is there a better word? It's certainly not "conservative".
"Fascist" is beyond the pale. These people just prefer power and the illusion of security to freedom and the acceptance of some risk. Bennett always has. I've never felt that my conservatism and his version were compatible. I'm more of a Safire-Tierney type, in the NYT universe.