Pat Buchanan, voice of reason??

[SanFranciscoDemocrat]

In the May 10, 2004 issue of "The American Conservative", in "Fallujah: High Tide of Empire?", Pat Buchanan takes on the neocons and Bush's fantasy of forced democracy.

http://www.amconmag.com/2004_05_10/buchanan.html

I consider Buchanan pretty much a raving lunatic, but he has some credibility on the right, and I'm heartened to see him make his case, even if it is based upon his isolationist philosophy.

An excerpt:

Empire requires an unshakeable belief in the superiority of one’s own race, religion, and civilization and an iron resolve to fight to impose that faith and civilization upon other peoples.

We are not that kind of people. Never have been. Americans, who preach the equality of all races, creeds, and cultures, are, de facto, poor imperialists. When we attempt an imperial role as in the Philippines or Iraq, we invariably fall into squabbling over whether a republic should be imposing its ideology on another nation. A crusade for democracy is a contradiction in terms.

While it would be nice if Brazil, Bangladesh, and Burundi all embraced democracy, why should we fight them if they don’t, and why should our soldiers die to restore democracy should they lose it? Why is that our problem, if they are not threatening us?

[phillybri]

1. Pat Buchanan said this?

"Empire requires an unshakeable belief in the superiority of one’s own race, religion, and civilization and an iron resolve to fight to impose that faith and civilization upon other peoples.

We are not that kind of people. "

This sounds like the kind of thing that would be right up his alley!

[lovedems]

2. I heard him the other day saying that when Iraq holds elections,

you will have people campaigning on "I will get the Americans out". He said that we should leave now because once they are elected, we will be forced out or their constituents will then get angry.

[opihimoimoi]

4. Too Late, they angry/pissed already. The torture story was the killer.

Al Qaida got free recruiting material comps of photos.

[lovedems]

8. Yes, it was before this scandal broke. eom

[demosincebirth]

10. Free elections in Iraq will...

only bring to power, religious fanatics. In that case, who is better... Saddam or the above?

[patrice]

3. George Will is also writing serious criticism of neocons lately.

I've actually started reading him, can't usually endure his pure bile.

[Book Lover]

5. As horrible as Pat is

he is a true conservative, unwilling to engage the "outside world," for good or ill. Might be nice to push a "Pat for Prez" internet campaign so as to draw off votes from * from true conservatives.... Oh! but that would be a dirty trick....

[zonmoy]

16. Which is what we need to do

if our opponents no longer play by the rules then we will lose if we do play by them.

[stellanoir]

6. Yah know. . .

Pat's been strangely making a lot more sense lately. You have to consider that he must have been unbelievably humbled after Watergate. He sounds a lot more Libertarian that Republican lately. Find it somewhat curious. . .

[SanFranciscoDemocrat]

7. Conservatives devour neocons, film at 11?

I have to admit to a bit of schaedenfreude watching Will, Buchanan, et al turn on the neocons. I actually have a lot of respect for a truly conservative agenda. What the neocons are practicing and preaching is by no means conservative, it is radical and destructive and, I believe, fundamentally unamerican. If this is pointed out by people on the right as well as those of us on the left, maybe more people will listen.

[patrice]

9. I actually respect real Conservatives too, like my good marriage

between two HONEST people that has lasted 30 years because our opposites complement one another.

[Wetzelbill]

12. reply to # 7 and # 9

Yeah, Conservatism and Liberalism should complement, not oppose each other. I can respect true Conservatives, and in truth, you can work with a true Conservative to achieve common ground. It's only when the nuts like Colter, Rush, DeLay and the like come out spewing vitriol that things get truly ugly.

[Wetzelbill]

11. he does make sense sometimes....

Pat is nothing if not candid.

[Castor Troy]

15. Far from a libertarian

Pat is not exactly a libertarian. He just thinks we shouldn't be trying to impose our will on the world. I agree.

[nightperson]

13. Reason or no reason,

I think he is a consistently entertaining writer, a good "stylist". He has a sense of humor and I think accepts that much of America considers him as far out as as Tim Leary. There are a lot of dull and interchangeable writers out there on both the left and right, but I always check out his weekly hand-chopping alliteration about Bush being "feckless in his failure to face down Ariel Sharon". No wonder Goldwater, Nixon, and Reagan employed him as a speech writer and Reagan made him Communications Director.

[quispquake]

18. Hunter Thompson always enjoyed hanging with Pat...

...when he was Nixon's speechwriter, he & Thompson would go out drinking and have some pretty interesting conversations...I don't agree with 85% of Pat's opinions, but I do agree that he's a unique individual...

[Sivafae]

14. I have to agree

I have been reading him for a while and his viewpoints on Iraq are actually quite sound, which to me is trippy.

[Reverend_Smitty]

17. He was on Randi Rhodes

a few weeks ago and I wasn't disgusted by him. Now only if he wasn't completely homophobic, xenophobic and every other kind of phobic, I might actually like the guy

[yellowcanine]

20. Buchanan can seem reasonable but!!!!!

Some of his reasons are highly suspect. He essentially is an old fashioned isolationist bolstered by some anti Israeli (if not anti-Jewish - it is sometimes hard to tell) bias. He opposed the first Iraq war because he thought it was an Israeli conspiracy, for example. I haven't paid enough attention to his rants this time around but I suspect that his views haven't changed much. He is also somewhat bigoted against persons of non-European descent - not so much a racial bigotry as a cultural bigotry. Essentially he believes that America is the highest representation of Western Civilization and that dilution of our culture by non-Europeans will destroy our American brand of Western Civilization.

[Hand]

19. Yep, it's come to that...

A foaming-at-the-mouth anti-Semite paleocon is actually more reasonable than the entire executive branch... and most of the legislative branch as well. And don't get me started on the judicial branch...

This is utterly bizarre.

:scared: