How Bill Kristol Closed the Conservative Mind
He established himself as the GOP's hawkish gatekeeper and waged war on the antiwar right.
By JACK HUNTER
December 18, 2018
When The American Conservative launched in 2002, co-founder Pat Buchanan explained why it was needed: “there is no doubt the neocons have come to define the conservative movement, which bothers me. They do not represent traditional conservatism.”
“Commentary, National Review and The Weekly Standard are nearly interchangeable in terms of foreign policy and empire,” said Buchanan. “It’s all degenerating into outright imperialism.”
“This is not conservatism,” he insisted.
Buchanan was right, of course. What was considered “conservative” back then was almost exclusively neoconservatism in all its pro-war, big government glory. Support for the invasion of Iraq and George W. Bush were strict litmus tests. White House speechwriter David Frum even attempted to cast out the small minority of conservatives and libertarians who questioned the neocon status quo.
For anyone who opposed the war—and especially dissenters on the Right—there would be no mercy. Bill Kristol never had any intention of showing any.
When it was announced that The Weekly Standard would shut down last week, many journalists and politicos lamented its end, and understandably so. The neoconservative flagship that Kristol founded and led for most of its existence was hailed as a “jewel of American conservatism” and a home for “solid reporting and strong writing.” Its demise represented a “closing of the conservative mind.”
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