Jeb Bush – Don’t Become “Democrat-Lite”

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has some sage words of advice for the GOP -

Gov. Bush is correct.  As someone who stood on firm conservative principles and still won two terms as governor of a “purple” state, Jeb Bush (unlike his older brother) is living proof that a politician can hold to principle and still be successful.

For any Republican interested in winning elections, you should not only read the linked to article, but listen to him as well.  Bush is 100% correct that we need to push policy rather than partisanship; ideas rather than ideology.

For those of you who may believe that true conservatives like Jeb Bush or Mickey Edwards aren’t red enough meat for you – welcome to the wilderness.  It’s going to be a long, cold winter.

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Fusionism Re-examined

Mark Newgent’s excellent piece in the Baltimore Examiner has much to recommend it. However, my friend and Red Maryland colleague misses one leg from the current conservative stool.

Newgent references the fusionism concept pioneered by Frank Meyer when he was with William Buckley’s National Review. At the time Meyer formulated his notion of fusionism, there were basically three disparate groups in the then nascent conservative movement – libertarians, traditionalists, and anti-communists.

Meyer’s concept was basically one of pragmatism. The three groups had much in common. By emphasizing commonalities and agreeing to disagree – civilly – on other issues, the three groups stood a much greater chance of policy and electoral success than if they remained three separate and quaint intellectual groups. (For a better understanding of this history I recommend the well researched and highly readable “Upstream: The Ascendance of American Conservatism” by Al Regnery or the excellent, if somewhat dry, “The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945” by George Nash)

During Meyer’s time there were no “social conservatives”. First of all, the hot-button issues that rile today’s social conservatives did not even exist. Roe v Wade was years away; birth control was still illegal in states like Connecticut. No one discussed being gay, much less allowing homosexuals to marry. If there was a discussion of a “right to die” it was carried on at home, certainly not in the public square. To a certain extent, “Traditionalists” were the “social conservatives” of their day. However, the issues were different and today we call those same people “paleo-conservatives”. Read more

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