Nasty Neoconservatives

Frederick R Smith has moved to Frederick R. Smith Speaks (substack.com)

The following treatise, written by this author in 2004, is a reality check for today’s dystopian news. Putting aside the incredible rhetoric surrounding the existing Administration, the term “draining the swamp” certainly means the neo-cons.

The most important precept of our Constitutional Republic is a limited government. This should be the platform of any organized party and it is well known that the Democrats are the champions of big government. So, what has happened to the Grand Old Party (GOP)? It is no longer the home to true conservatives; it is now the place for neoconservatives, people who have a love affair with the overarching government.

The neoconservatives have overtaken the GOP and they claim to be in tune with the Constitution. The reality is that they are not in tune; in fact, they are just as bad as the Democrats but worse. At least the Democrats are open about their socialism. Sad to say, but it no longer matters which party is in power as expanded government programs continue to be spawn year in and year out. Same old thing but packaged for the party currently in power. In the case of the Republicans, it is private enterprises working for the government to administer government programs. They claim to make government smaller by giving federal work to private enterprise.

For the true conservatives, who are classical liberals, it is important that we know the roots of this problem. Once found, we can work together to expose the duplicitous demagogues that have completely succeeded in changing our nation into a socialist unit of the new world order. We need to alert the people how wrong it is for the no-conservatives and the democrats to usurp our founding precepts. We need in a peaceful and positive way to inform the people to think about such things as the notion of a strong central government, forced redistribution of wealth, policing of the world, and direct government grants to entities such as the Palestine Liberation Organization. If most people continue to accept the half-truths and deceptions coming from the mainstream, there is little hope.

It is imperative that we provide to the people an alternative that builds on the concepts of life, liberty, and property. This alternative is not really an alternative but a return to the uniquely qualified precepts of limited government, which assures liberty, but with self-imposed social mores. The one problem that we must confront is the groups that are in tune with the aforementioned (but with a missing element – morals). It is here that liberty becomes dangerous, as radicals tend to attract groups such as the Libertarian and Green Parties.

Despite the canard of the Clinton administration that there was a “budget surplus,” for decades the national debt has been growing and continues to rise at an alarming rate. At the same time, the federal government continues to grow. This is no coincidence.

So how do we pay for the copious and never-ending “social needs” and other nefarious programs? How about taxes and deficit spending! The government can go deeper and deeper into debt and print new “fiat money” bills or create new “electronic money” to take care of all those needs, real and perceived. So, what is backing our “money” – nothing but “faith in the government.” Eventually, this “faith” of the people will have a rude awaking to reality when this Ponzi scheme collapses. The national debt is increasing at a rate greater than half-trillion dollars per year; recently Congress increased the debt limit increased by an astounding $984 billion dollars. Total U.S. government obligations are $43 trillion, while the total net worth of the U.S. households are just over $40 trillion. [1].

Before getting to the core of the neoconservative problem, it is important to mention that there are indeed true conservatives in society who honestly believe in limited government coupled with mores. Unfortunately, the machine portrays these fine men and women as “radical right-wingers,” or simply ignored. The quintessential example is Rep. Ron Paul from Texas. How many people have ever heard of this exemplary man who follows the Constitution to the core? It is virtually impossible to find any news clips or writings about Mr. Paul in the mainstream.

Congress and the administration continue to take on new commitments such as foreign aid, education, and medicine. The most troubling is the debasing of our military by making it a virtual “meals on wheels” around the world. It is no wonder that the rest of the world hates us as we have over 150,000 troops in over 120 nations around the world. Any talk about bringing our troops home to defend our nation brings on the clarion call of both the liberals and neo-conservatives. Ready aim fire - “isolationist.” Xenophobia is another one.

So where did all this start? Enter one Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) the Italian political theorist who authored the book “The Prince” which describes how a ruler achieves power by deception. While Machiavellian politics has been around for centuries, this philosophy was anchored to the neoconservatives through Professor Leo Strauss’ “Thoughts on Machiavelli.” This book, first published in 1969, and republished in 1995, is a creed that praises Machiavelli. The movers and shakers in the neoconservative camp studied under Strauss and many more ascribe to this philosophy. In 1983, Irving Kristol, father of Bill Kristol, jump-started the Machiavellian movement in his book “Reflections of a Neoconservative.” In this book, Kristol also defends the traditional liberal position on welfare. [2]

More recently, Michael Ledeen, another neoconservative philosopher king, in his 1999 book “Machiavelli on Modern Leadership” continued the Machiavellian march.  The subtitle of this book says it all “Why Machiavelli’s iron rules are as timely and important today as five centuries ago.” This book was passed out to Members of Congress attending a political strategy meeting shortly after its publication. Amazingly, Ledeen calls Pearl Harbor a “lucky” event. The Project for a New American Century, as recently as September 2000, likewise, foresaw “a Pearl Harbor event” that would galvanize the American people to support their ambitious plans to ensure political and economic domination of the world, while strangling any potential “rival.” [3]

Neoconservatives have a penchant for many of the same things as many liberals. They love big government, the welfare state, and the reduction of privacy in the name of security. They tout The American Empire and believe that neutrality in foreign affairs is foolish. Neoconservatives adore the Department of Education (no child left behind). Both the Republicans and Democrats support the huge commitment to a new prescription drug program, but this will add more bureaucracy. While some may get a break, we all will pay eventually for higher costs due to the government meddling in health care.

The neoconservatives have many instruments at their disposal such as The National Review, The Weekly Standard, The Public Interest, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, and the New York Post. In addition to publications, multiple think tanks and projects promote their agenda. A product of the Bradley Foundation, American Enterprise Institute led the neoconservative charge, but the real push for war came from the Project for a New American Century another organization helped by the Bradley Foundation. [4]

Some of my conservative friends will not like this but Rupert Murdock also plays a role in promoting neoconservative views through his News Corporation (Fox News Network, [5] the New York Post and Weekly Standard). While Saddam Hussein is (was?) indeed a despot, I continue to have mixed feelings about our raid into Iraq in 2003. [6] However, I detest the people like Ted Kennedy who exploit the war which sends the wrong message to the enemies of our troops. There are many more examples of despots around the world and we did not act in those cases. How about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and China? The neoconservative ideology is a far cry for our Founding Fathers who advocated no entangling alliances. Neutrality is the proper goal of American foreign policy.

What is most disturbing is a new trend by the neo-conservative camp. Because just a few in the neo-conservative camp are Jewish, there is the canard now floating around that those who are exposing these Machiavellian politics are anti-Semitic! This is a brilliant method by the neoconservatives to defeat any attempt to expose their true agenda. Nevertheless, to expose the nasty Machiavellian programs of these people has absolutely nothing to do with anti-Semitism.

The bottom line: it is time to be frank and understand that neoconservatism is not the philosophy of free markets and it (along with certain liberals) espouses a foreign policy that creates the very hatred that we must deal with.

Notes:

1. The Truth About Neoconservatism by Rep. Ron Paul, MD in the US House of Representatives, July 2003.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Some will argue that Fox is conservative but how conservative can it be when it produces some of the most sexually explicit and demonic entertainment shows on television?
6. This author has mixed feelings with respect to the 2003 Iraq (undeclared) war but not for the same reason as the “peace” protesters who were the darlings of the media. These people were unknowing tools of international Communism, which seemed to be against the war, but their real goal is to bring down the United States. Just the opposite, I believe in a strong military, principally through a Navy, to protect our nation. We need to support our troops and allow then to win the ultimate battle and get the job one in Iraq.