One of Many Reasons Conservatism is Now Insane

…is because this (uttered in 2005) is still Received Conservative Wisdom:

Where would the world be if Americans did not live out their proclivity to consume everything that looks good, feels good, sounds good, tastes good? We provide a service for the rest of the world. If we were running a current account surplus or trade surplus, what would happen to economic growth worldwide and what would be the economic consequences? So I think we are doing our duty there.

I’ll bet that, simple-minded person that you are, you thought “conservatism” had something to do with, you know, *conserving*. Conserving resources. Husbanding our ability to accomplish what *can* be accomplished prudently and not running off on insane crusades to create utopia. Using what we have wisely and not pissing it away on our pleasures so that our kids have something.

Nope. Spend! Live beyond your means! Consume! Consume “everything that looks good, feels good, sounds good, tastes good?” Surplus bad! Debt good! Freedom through nation building! Lies will establish truth! Freedom through a State Empowered to Torture whoever the Dear Leader wishes. Poor people should bail out World Historically Irresponsible Rich People! Don’t listen to the testimony of the Great Tradition, listen to Talk Radio! Our duty is to be indebted to the fabulously wealthy and powerful.

Conservatives have wandered off, babbling these things to themselves, and have managed to not only involve us in a disastrous war (whose outcome remains in doubt the moment we leave the area) while completely wrecking the economy and while completely ceding the field to the somewhat more functional Dems, who at present are repeating to themselves many of the same mantras, as well as “Killing babies will make them more wanted and loved”.

Oh, sure, now that “conservatives” ahve destroyed themselves they are suddenly Born Again as the supposed Frugal Party (much as they are suddenly concerned about human rights abuses). But from

Dubya’s remarks that our patriotic duty in the Epic World Historical Struggle Against Islamofascism is to go shopping

to

Cheney’s “Deficits don’t matter” (all while he was lying about there being absolutely no doubt about WMDs in Iraq)

to

Rush Limbaugh’s latest pleas of pity and compassion for execs who piss away bailout money on million dollar bathrooms and self-indulgent retreats (“They’re helping the economy! They should be treated like *royalty*!”) these guys made it clear that brain-dead, eat-our-young consumerism was their watchword.

At least the Dems are honest and own the name “Liberal”. What’s the sense of Conservatives who are enemies of conserving?

I remember once that Dale Ahlquist once remarked to me that future generations will look back on our time and say, “That is an idea so stupid, it could only have been taken seriously in the late 20th and early 21st century.”

HT: Dreher