Books – “Liberty and Tyranny”

It’s not often that a book of political philosophy leaps to the top of the bestseller list.  Mark Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto is an exception, for good reason.

Written in the form of a philosophical treatise, but in an easily readable style, Liberty and Tyranny explores what conservatives (or Levin’s view of conservatives) believe – and why.  If Locke and Burke had possessed Levin’s stylistic abilities, the Second Treatise of Government and Reflections on the Revolution in France would still be at the top of the perennial best seller list.

True to his Reaganite roots, Levin’s definition of conservatism is one that emphasizes a Burkean view of ordered liberty:

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Morning Line – March 3, 2009

Delaware -

Bill Colley over at WGMD has a great post on the current state of the Sussex County GOP.  The Sussex GOP needs to learn that elitism is as bad as anti-intellectualism (no I’m not calling them smart) and Bill needs to learn to insert a line break here and there.

Sussex County crying the budget blues.

Delaware Libertarian wants TARP money for the NBA.

Interesting take on the bank bailout from DelawareLiberal.  While I’m sure we won’t agree on the solution, we do agree on at least this part of the problem.

DelawareLiberal keeps hoping for a GOP meltdown.  Keep hoping.  We survived 1958 … 1964 … 1974 … We’ll survive 2008 too.

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Truth Never Dies

I frequently make the comment to friends that the wisdom of Barry Goldwater’s landmark book, Conscience of a Conservative, is as true today as it was almost 50 years ago. Simply substitute Islamist for communist, or Jihadists for Soviets in the last chapter and little has changed.

Yesterday a friend sent me this cartoon and it it reminded me of another classic – James Burnham’s Suicide of the West: The Destiny and Meaning of Liberalism. Truth never dies, just as cowards, in the sheep’s clothing of peacemakers, will always seek to appease our enemies.

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Book Review – UPSTREAM: The Ascendance of American Conservatism

Over the past decade or so, multiple histories of American Conservatism have appeared on the shelves of our local bookstores. Al Regnery’s Upstream: The Ascendance of American Conservatism is the latest, and by far the best. Regnery delivers a history that is not only readable, but delivers the right mix of intellectual and political history. As we have seen during six years when the White House and both houses of Congress were dominated by those that called themselves “conservative”, getting the right mix is important to both the nation and the GOP (which claims to be the “conservative” party).

That singular blend of Lockean liberalism, inherent belief in limited government, fierce defense of a free market (versus crony capitalism), along with a healthy dollup of Edmund Burke’s respect for tradition are what have melded into a uniquely American conservatism. Regnery is in a unique position to lay out the rich tapestry of the American conservative movement since 1945. Extensively researched, Upstream benefits not only from the author’s diligence but from his advantageous (and almost singular) perspective.

Regnery’s father was Henry Regnery. Without his publishing company, and William F. Buckley’s National Review, it is fair to say that the modern conservative movement would not have developed into what we know today. The author had the privilege of observing, and studying, first hand, the men and women who made the ascendance of American conservatism possible. Regnery is in the position to offer firsthand knowledge, with enough detachment that we needn’t search for a personal agenda. While many writers in this position would be tempted to crowd the book with personal anecdotes, Regnery only does so to make a point. Read more

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