Bainbridge on Sullivan
I’m not sure a journalist who’s British, gay, and a dissident Catholic, and who supported John Kerry in the last election would be our first choice (or 100th) as a go-to-guy on defining the proper bounds and content of American conservatism.
Bam! Pow! Thwap!
Update: I should add, to paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, that there’s nothing wrong with being British, gay, or a dissident Catholic. (The Kerry thing is another matter.)
The GOP is the BIG TENT PARTY now; therefore there’s going to be more intra-party debate in the GOP than in the Democrat Party. DO NOT CONFUSE THAT FOR FAULT-LINES! It is vitality, not morbidity!
And let’s face it: listening to Rice and Schwarzeneggar and Pawlenty and Santorum debate each other is ALWAYS GOING TO BE A LOT more interesting than listening to Sharpton and Kucinich and Kerry debate Hillary!
more here:
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2005/03/bush-single-issue-polling-and-mythical.html
I agree conservatism in the GOP combines people from various camps who are united in some areas less so in others, but are willing to tolerate those differences. There are certainly some key differences between social conservatives and social liberals in the party, but those have been there for years. It is just the Schiavo case has sort of made the difference a public matter, where generally the debate isn’t so public.
The DNC on the other hand ostracizes and slams anyone who slightly steps outside the partyline.
I still think within a year, the Schiavo matter will be forgotten, except for a few people. The American attention span just isn’t that long, and I don’t know that either party will want to bring this one back out into open debate.
Ah, I love it when they start to turn on each other.