One of the most perversely clueless commentators in mainstream journalism is E. J. Dionne of the Washington Post. From time to time he takes it upon himself to write about conservatives and conservatism -- always an interesting venture because he knows absolutely nothing about either subject and his columns are therefore revealing of just how distorted is the view from the belly of the liberal beast.
In his latest effort [here] Dionne argues that the unpopularity of George Bush is causing a crisis within modern conservatism -- one that will bring about the long anticipated [by liberals] collapse of the movement.
You can get away with that sort of silliness if your audience consists only of like-minded liberals, but any competent observer of current politics knows that Dionne has things precisely reversed. It was not Bush's unpopularity that caused a conservative crack-up -- it was division within the conservative movement that caused large numbers of people within the movement to repudiate the President and drive his polls into the basement. The Democrat win last fall did not represent the judgment of the American people at large -- it reflected the fact that many conservatives stayed away from the polls in order to administer a "thumping" to the Party's leadership. And, despite liberal campaign rhetoric to the contrary, movement conservatives never embraced Bush as completely as Dionne assumes, they were alway suspicious of his "compassionate conservatism" and have been railing for years against many of Bush's policies and appointments. Their support for this administration was always partial and conditional. It is only liberals like Dionne who would identify Bush as a champion of movement conservatism.
