Conservatism

Mr. Bush Neglects the Constitution

by Sheldon Richman February 7, 2003

It isn’t entirely encouraging that the top man of the political party theoretically dedicated to the Constitution, limited government, and individual liberty thinks the government he runs should cure AIDS in Africa, create a hydrogen-powered car, pay for retirees’ medicine, and provide mentors to troubled kids. Ominously, President Bush’s state ...

Suppose a Democrat Were in the White House

by Sheldon Richman January 8, 2003

It certainly is a good thing that we have a pro-capitalist Republican president in office. I can just imagine what a socialist-leaning Democrat would have done after the terrorist attacks on September 11. For example, I can just bet that a Democratic president would have pushed for government terrorism insurance. It would ...

The Other Terrorism Problem

by James Bovard June 1, 2002

A JUSTICE DEPARTMENT report observed, “The feature distinguishing police from all other groups in society is their authority to apply coercive force.” Americans are taught to view police as trustworthy symbols of authority. Programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) put “Officer Friendly” in classrooms in order to endear law enforcement to children at an early age. The ...

Bill O’Reilly and the Conservative War on Drugs

by Thomas L. Johnson June 1, 2002

BILL O’REILLY IS HOT. He is a broadcast journalist who has a very popular cable-news program on the Fox News Channel called The O’Reilly Factor, and a widely read book of the same title. His latest book, The No Spin Zone, has been number one on the nonfiction bestseller list for many weeks. O’Reilly is intelligent and loquacious and a ...

The War on Drugs and Police Funding

by Jacob G. Hornberger November 7, 2001

The following was published as a Capsule Commentary in the November 7, 2001 edition of the FFF Email Update. The October 14 issue of the Washington Post reported that Washington area police and sheriffs' departments garnered a bonanza of nearly $2.2 million last year from the war on drug's asset-forfeiture ...

What’s Wrong with Conservatives

by Sheldon Richman November 1, 2001

You want to know what’s wrong with conservatives? Here’s what’s wrong. Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas is widely regarded as the most conservative member of the United States Senate. He’s someone the national Democrats badly want to defeat next year in their bid to take firm control of that body. So what ...

The Conservative Descent into Moral Bankruptcy

by Jacob G. Hornberger October 1, 2001

Nineteen ninety and 1991 were critical years for conservatives, years that accelerated their decades-long descent into moral bankruptcy. The Berlin Wall came down in 1990, signaling the end of the Soviet Empire. The Persian Gulf War ended in 1991. It is impossible to overstate the radical nature of the philosophy ...

Jonah Goldberg and the Meaning of Rights

by Jacob G. Hornberger August 1, 2001

In his article “The Libertarian Lobe,” Jonah Goldberg expressed glee that he had trapped a young libertarian woman with what he calls his “tried-and-true trick question”: “I asked her something to the effect of: ‘Imagine a very close friend of yours were suicidal. She just broke up ...

Wrong Way to Go

by Sheldon Richman July 1, 2001

We’ve been had. By a Bush. Again. The tax cut is a joke. After all the blather about how the surplus belongs to us, not the government, the resulting tax-cut bill is minuscule, ultra-gradual, and now scheduled to expire in 10 years! Republican and Democrat members of Congress, ...

Free Markets Aren’t Conservative

by Sheldon Richman June 1, 2001

One of the great myths of the Industrial Age is that businessmen generally like free markets. That myth has deep implications and consequences. For example, someone who buys into it will tend to believe that proposals to deregulate markets are simply favors for special interests and inimical to the interests ...

Government as Parasite

by Sheldon Richman May 1, 2001

The Republicans still don’t get it. They say they want a tax cut because “the surplus is the people’s money,” but their heart isn’t in it. If they truly believed that, they wouldn’t quickly add that we need a tax cut to avert a recession. They supported the tax cut before ...

The Morality of the Welfare State

by Jacob G. Hornberger April 1, 2001

As a compassionate conservative, President Bush wants to give federal aid to faith-based organizations. His plan has drawn attacks from religious leaders on the right and civil libertarians on the left. Religious leaders object to Bush’s plan on the ground that it will lead to governmental interference with religious ...