Lew, Keyes is not alone in being upset with Ron Paul. Another big Kristol fan, self-described neoconservative historian James Hitchcock, has with fervid ire launched repeated attacks on The Wanderer (the oldest national Catholic weekly in the country). Hitchcock was most baleful (and disingenuous) when dumping on us for supporting Ron Paul. Hitchcock was livid because Dr. Paul wants to reverse Roe v. Wade and return the abortion issue to the states, as the Constitution requires.
The Wanderer’s other sins? We had “abandoned” the pro-life cause because we warned that Bush was delivering the country into the hands of tyrants—from both parties—who would never lift a finger to help the pro-life cause (but they would perpetuate Bush’s wars). Of course we were right, and when the dust settled after Obama was elected, Hitchcock’s journal finally allowed us a response.
Sherlock Holmes once said, “Watson, when I say you are instructive, I mean I learn from your mistakes.” Hitchcock’s intemperate tirades are indeed instructive—they reflect the profound political confusion now regnant among “pro-family” types, whatever their party affiliation. While an increasing number of realists recognize that Bush must be acknowledged as a pathogenic albatross, diehards like Hitchcock cling to Bush-worship and condemn all critics as traitors to the cause.
That division is reflected in polls appearing after the 2008 election. They indicated that, while the number of self-identified Republicans had tanked, a slight majority of those still willing to identify with the GOP still had a favorable opinion of Bush. If they are indeed the bulk of the GOP’s future primary voters, then Obama need not fear: they will never be able to resuscitate the cadaver.
8:25 am on October 4, 2009
