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Substandard: the End of an Illusion

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Substandard: the End of an Illusion I once told Pat Buchanan that Bill and two television networks. Who Kristol had declared him political­ would listen to TWS's platitudes—as ly dead in the pages of TWS. "That poorly expressed as they are predict­ Substandard: The guy," Pat snorted, "he never gets any­ able—if the editors were not trotted thing right." Unlike the stopped clock out to tell their lies on FOX News? End of an Illusion that is correct twice a day, The Week­ The Weekly Standard did only two ly Standard's editors have never got things. On the positive side, it pro­ by Thomas Fleming anything right, from weapons of mass vided a living for writers who cannot destruction to the presidential aspi­ write and intellectuals who do not he sale of The Weekly Standard rations of Steve Forbes to "John Mc­ think, but it also contributed to the Tshould put paid to any lingering Cain's Moment," which Bill Kristol was senile dementia that has afflicted the illusion that the neoconservative em­ proclaiming last September. TWS has conservative mind since the election pire was anything but a Potemkin vil­ never contributed anything to Ameri­ of Ronald Reagan. Bill Kristol did lage. Allegedly, Rupert Murdoch sold can political commentary. When they not destroy conservatism all by him­ the magazine for one million dollars are right, it is because they are saying self His father was a much more de­ to Philip Anschutz, the billionaire what everyone else has been saying, structive force, but it would be a grave owner of Clarity Media Group, but and, when they are original or distinc­ mistake to attribute too much blame the price seems either much too high tive, they are wrong. to the Kristols and Podhoretzes. They or much too low. Too high, because But, as the Frum person declared in were welcomed with open arms by the only a fool would pay so much money a postmortem interview, TWS has in­ unprincipled leadership of the con­ for a property that does nothing but fluence. Doesitreally.r' Is it influence servative movement. Generally, para­ lose money without adding a glimmer to run after a parade, shouting, "Me sites do not destroy a healthy organ­ of insight to political discussion. Too too, me too!" and then claim not only ism. Of course, there were still good low, because if The Weekly Standard to lead the parade but to have started people working for Heritage in the actually did enjoy the influence that it.'' It would not be so bad if their plat­ I980's and writing iov National Re­ its editors have been so loudly and in­ itudinous conventional wisdom were view, but the lightning success of the sistently claiming, $50 million would at least some form of knee-jerk con­ neoconservative/3MftcA was as reveal­ not be nearly enough. For Anschutz, servatism or capitalist greed, but it is ing as Hitler's Anschluss (the annexa­ a million is the equivalent of the buck neither Bill's father, Irving (popularly tion of Austria that met with so little it takes to seal a contract. It's a rich known as "the godfather"), was famous resistance). man's walking-around money—in for giving "two cheers for capitalism." No one knows, exactly, what Philip other words, chump change. If you (They can't even be clever without Anschutz (no. 89 on the Forbes list of were to believe the neoconservatives. imitating someone—in this case E.M. the richest people in the universe) vidll The Weekly Standard has been the Forster.) But Irving's politics have on­ decide to do with The Weekly Standard, brains of the American Empire, but it ly evolved from his original Trotsky­ but whatever happens, he has already went on the block for a lousy million. ism to a cross between Swedish so­ done us a big favor in revealing the Some brains! Some empire! cialism and Taiwan's state capitalism. low, low price of the emperor's new Murdoch sank untold m^illions of Fred Barnes unwittingly spilled the clothes. Ever since Obama's election, his ill-gotten gains into TWS. I sup­ beans, as he so often does, when he the conservative chatter has been all pose that is the proper shorthand, called for big-government conserva­ about new ideas and new strategies, since "The Standard" properly means tism. Fred was not sufficiently acute but the very fact that they are saying \he Evening Standard. (It's funny that, to realize that he was uttering a contra­ this shows how bankrupt the conser­ for all its supposed influence, die mag­ diction in terms, and The Weekly Stan­ vatives really are. With this set of rook­ azine does not have a well-known ac­ dard's ideology is, at hest,New Repub­ ies heading for the showers, perhaps ronym or nickname.) Not long ago lic lite—an insipid brew that neither a few remaining veterans might come they were claiming a "grooving circu­ cheers nor inebriates. out of hiding and show us some of lation" of 60,000, and that may well be TWS's not-so-secret weapon was the stuff they had when they won the the case—though no one should ever neither its ideology nor its "writers," pennant in 1980. Perhaps, but prob­ accept anything an editor says about but Murdoch himself It's like the old ably not. circulation. In misleading advertising HennyYoungmanjoke about the man lingo that publishers love to use,TWS who crossed a lion wdth a parrot. Thomas Fleming is the editor snookers would-be advertisers with "What does he say.f"' q/'Chronicles. this classic canard: "More than 65,000 "I don't know, but when he talks I politically active Americans nation­ listen." wide receive the magazine each week." Not only is Murdoch a very powerful Note the key word receive, as opposed man, whose whims have to be catered to subscribe to OY pay for. to, but he also owns major newspapers 44/CHRONICLES LICENSED TO UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED STATE NULLIFICATION, SECESSION, AND THE HUMAN SCALE OF POLITICAL ORDER February 4-7y 2010 • Charleston^ South Carolina ames Madison, "the father of the Con­ TOPICS stitution," taught that, being a sovereign JpoUtical society, an American State has a • How did the central government, to "duty" to its citizens to block acts of the which were delegated only enumerated powers, become the greatest concentration central government judged to be uncon­ of financial and miHtary power in history? stitutional. Jefferson introduced the term nullification to describe this act and argued • Are State nullification and secession further that a State could lawfulh' secede constitutional? from the Union, • Fittccn states peacefully seceded from Over the last century, by incremental stops, the the Soviet Union ("the evil empire"). central government has broken free of what JCHIM-- I Tow did they do it? son called "the chains of the Constitution." Many Americans are reluctantly coming to the conclusion • Learn about the Second Vermont Re­ that the central government will not reform itself public, a serious secession movement in and perhaps (like an ever-growing cancer), is inca­ Vermont, and why thinkers as diverse as pable of doing so. Neither national political party George Kennan, John Kenneth Galbraith, is disposed to challenge the never-ending consoli­ and Walter Williams have supported it. dation of power to the center; neither party, for in­ stance, has asked whether Congress has any con­ stitutional authority at all to enact a nationalized • Ts Aristotle right that there is a human healthcare plan. scale to political order, as there is to all other things? If so, how big is too big? If some semblance of constitutional government is to be restored, change must come from the States themselves, acting in their sovereign capacity to SPEAKERS protect their citizens from runaway centralization. For the first time in over 140 years the doctrines of State nullification and secession have once again KENT MASTERSON BROWN • MARSHALL DEROSA ' entered public discourse. The aim of the conference THOMAS DILORENZO • PETER JONES • is to recover an understanding of this neglected YURI MALTSEV • DONALD LIVINGSTON • (Madisonian and Jeffersonian) part of our tradition THOMAS NAYLOR • LARRY REED • and to explore its intimations for today. KiRKPATRiCK SALE • CLYDE WILSON For more information, see the ad in next month's issue o/'Chronicles. The Abbeville Institute • 478 Burlington Rd., Atlanta, GA 30307 • (404) 377-0484 [email protected] • www, abbevilleinstitute. or<r LICENSED TO UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED In the Dark by George McCartney Aliens and Knaves Forty-five years ago, radio humorist lor and petty crime. The aliens are Jean Shepherd wondered why film­ seven-foot tall bipeds encased in exo- makers invariably portrayed alien skeletons, equipped with antennae invaders as intellectually light years along with other inscrutably disturb­ ahead of human beings. Wasn't it pos­ ing appendages, capable of leaping fif­ sible, he mused, that extraterrestrials teen feet off the ground from a stand­ might be a tad slow on the uptake, per­ still, and in possession of ray rifles haps even slovenly of habit? that instantly splatter their targets in­ At 30, director Neill Blomkamp to gobs of watery gelatin. Yet, despite seems far too young to be familiar these physical and technological ad­ District 9 with Shepherd, but his first feature vantages, they are so lacking in tacti­ Produced by Key Creatives fikn, the alien-invasion opus District 9, cal wherewithal that they have allowed and WingNutFUms nevertheless honors Shepherd's no­ mere humans to keep them corralled Directed and written by tion. Blomkamp's aliens are an en­ in their garbage-strewn district.
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