Comments on: The Conservative Overreach

By: Ames

Ames — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:20:02 +0000

Thanks for the compliments PC and Collin! I’ll have to answer the questions in a bit; busy here…

By: Radioactive afikomen

Radioactive afikomen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:49:47 +0000

Sorry for the wall-of-text look in my last comment there. I now know why commenters use frequent paragraph breaks.

By: Radioactive afikomen

Radioactive afikomen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:48:16 +0000

Hm. I don't think liberalism overreached itself, rather I think the public just grew tired of it. You have to remember that liberals won every major battle they fought: civil rights, women's rights (though some, me among them, would say this battle isn't nearly over), abortion (more states allowed abortion than banned it even before Roe v. Wade), regulation of the economy (funny, how very few people oppose the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is economic regulation incarnate), and, most recently, gay rights. I don't think liberals overreached. Rather, with all their major battles won, the only thing left is to endlessly extend the battlefields until they affect fewer and fewer people, until the public just can't be inspired to give a damn anymore. At which point, the public switches into "I don't give a damn" mode and vote conservative. (For a more adequate summation of the backlash against modern liberalism, see Zompists' excellent article, The Last Century—What Went Wrong, which I cannot recommend enough as an invaluable read).

By: Collin

Collin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:33:01 +0000

Nice post! You really got me thinking.

The overreach that the young Scalias saw in the judiciary prompted them to champion a limited “I just apply the laws,” stick-to-the-text philosophy. Its appeal lies in the idea that this branch of government had overstepped and needed to be more scrupulous. Sticking to the text in the courts, then, is the battle cry of conservatives.

I think it’s interesting to liken that to an Executive Branch overreach and to wonder what impact that will have on young liberal observers. The Executive has aggregated a huge amount of power to itself.

Do you think a new school of liberal aspiring politicians will adopt a “stick to the rules, stay within the lines” ethic for the Executive? And seek a balance of power that allots an ascendant position to the Congress?

Then, interestingly enough, the sort of textualist mindframe is a conservative thing in the Judiciary and a liberal thing in the Executive. Sounds weird but I can see it.

By: Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:22:16 +0000

Very good analysis Ames. I think I’m going to have to link to this one. The only thing I am going to take issue with is this statement:

Inter alia, we have the refusal to reauthorize the assault weapons ban (proving that knee-jerk, ideological reactions to anything with the words “gun control” trumps national security interests in Bush’s book)

Couple of questions, if you will indulge a friend…

1) Define assault weapon.

2) Do you think banning ‘assault weapons’ is enough?