
 |
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon With its colorful cache of purples and oranges and reds, COLLARD GREEN SLAW is a marvelous mood booster --- not to mention just downright delish
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
April 10, 2008
/ 5 Nissan 5768
Crab-Antics Conservatives
By
Bob Tyrrell
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The other day, I was beholding Fox News' beauteous Martha MacCallum on her TV salon, "The Live Desk," when a smudge darkened my otherwise sunny afternoon.
Linda Chavez, that perennial conservative talking head, was being interviewed about American politics, when, all of a sudden, she did something quite jarring. She referred to conservative activist Grover Norquist in chill terms, suggesting that this grover norquist is an obscure figure somewhere out on the margins of politics. Her condescension further suggested that Chavez does not approve of this fellow, norquist. Frankly, I was embarrassed for her. Does Chavez not realize that GROVER NORQUIST is a major player in American politics and one of the giants of contemporary American conservatism? My guess is that the beauteous Martha knows as much. So do the politically knowledgeable members of "The Live Desk's" audience.
Whatever is this conservative talking head's problem? It appears she is another of those ambitious conservatives who suffer an anthropological condition known by those who study marginalized or emerging Third World communities as "crab antics." The term is used in certain Caribbean societies where high achievers are always in danger of being pulled back by their less successful neighbors. They suffer the trials of the lead crab attempting to escape from a bucket of crabs that is tipping over. There are still many conservatives who attempt to pull back high-achieving conservatives in the hope that this will win them favor with liberals. Thus, we see the likes of Chavez attempting to diminish the likes of Norquist.
Yet Norquist's achievements cannot be diminished easily. His Americans for Tax Reform has helped to make tax cutting a major element in modern American politics, and tax cutting has engendered nearly three decades of pretty steady economic growth. Since the middle of the 19th century, the longest period of economic expansion had been 57 months. Then came Ronald Reagan with an expansion of 92 months, then Bill Clinton with 102 months, and now George W. Bush with an expansion in the mid-70s somewhere. Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge," with which he besieges candidates and elected officials, has kept tax cutting a winning issue for Republicans.
Now two former Bush speechwriters, David Frum and Michael Gerson, have come along and prescribed Big Government for what supposedly ails modern American conservatism. Norquist has a better idea, namely keeping the conservative movement the dominant political force since the Reagan administration true to its principles, foremost of which is limited government. He knows that Big Government is an inefficient tool for reform and a threat to personal liberty. What is more, Big Government still is viewed with suspicion by a majority of Americans.
In a terrific new book, Norquist explains how conservatism can remain dominant. He identifies the voting blocs that have made conservatism a powerful and salutary force in modern politics: anti-tax activists, gun-rights defenders, home-schoolers, religious conservatives, and members of the investor class. He calls them members of the Leave Us Alone Coalition and names his book "Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government's Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives." Contrary to Frum and Gerson, who believe Americans have tired of opposing limited government, Norquist cites trends that suggest this coalition has a long life ahead.
He notes that the investor class is growing, as is the number of conservative people of faith. Red states are becoming more populous, while blue states are losing population. The home-schooling movement is growing, and thanks to conservative organizers on campus, ever-larger numbers of well-trained conservative activists are graduating from college and continuing their political activism after graduation. He thinks the conservative young are more effective than their liberal peers. He believes public policies in our growing economy are expanding the size of the investor class, one policy being the growing number of individual retirement accounts. Finally, Norquist believes that the liberals, who he says compose the Takings Coalition, have few policies that are attractive to the American majority or capable of solving the problems they supposedly address.
To those who think the conservative moment has passed, may I introduce Grover Norquist?
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Bob Tyrrell is editor in chief of The American Spectator. Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2008, Creators Syndicate
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|