As usual, the best discussion on THE FILIBUSTER is Pete’s, especially when supplemented by our most thoughtful threaders.
I agree that it was A WORK OF GENIUS by a very able politician contending for the soul of the REPUBLICAN PARTY.
The “neocons” from McCain to Graham to Bill Kristol are failing to get any traction by dismissing it as either WACKO or just IRRESPONSIBLE.
It might well have been some kind of GAME CHANGER or PARADIGM SHIFT. But even with Pete’s help, I’m not sure what to think about it.
I certainly agree with Pete that LIBERTARIANISM—some combination of the Rands (Paul and Ayn)—isn’t the ticket to Republican victory. But I also agree that Rand did touch a nerve that connects PARANOIA (or deep suspicion that’s wholly justified?) about BIG DOMESTIC GOVERNMENT with paranoia about BIG (IMPERIAL) FOREIGN POLICY. The power of that connection, of course, is why Democrats didn’t get behind AND didn’t diss the FILIBUSTER.
The subtextual Randian allegation is something like the Obama Administration is an unconstitutional combination of “neocon” foreign policy and run-amok socialism. Who can deny that the point of view of THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVES was mainstreamed a bit? Who can deny that there was no effective resistance from either party to Rand’s eloquent grandstanding?
All in all, it still wasn’t a bad couple of days for THE PRESIDENT. He can take the hit of being open to choosing PRUDENCE (or necessity) over abstract constitutional principle. He can even say that he doesn’t even really disagree with Rand Paul and that he would never do any of the evildoing things the senator said he had in mind. Meanwhile, the Republicans are now closer to lacking a foreign-policy consensus or orientation. And the field is left more open for the president’s second-term evolution away from continuity with Bush’s policies.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
