The Old George Will Was Correcter

We mentioned a couple of days ago that George Will had predicted a Romney victory.

Maybe he should have recalled his 1976 scrivenings.

If nature is not as bountiful, or men’s capacities as equal, as once was assumed, then equality must be forced on men. That is a paralyzing thought for liberals, whose philosophy derives its name from the word liberty.

Conservatives are comparably disarrayed. True conservatives distrust and try to modulate social forces that work against the conservation of traditional values. But for a century, the dominant conservatism has uncritically worshiped the most transforming force, the dynamism of the American economy. No coherent conservatism can be based solely on commercialism, but this conservatism has been consistently ardent only about economic growth, and hence about economies of scale, and social mobility. These take a severe toll against small towns, small enterprises, family farms, local governments, craftsmanship, environmental values, a sense of community, and other aspects of humane living.--quoted at RedState

That is, more or less, the distillation of Conservative political thought since Edmund Burke.  Obviously, we once again distinguish "Conservative" from "Republican."  (For that matter, Burke was not the first to voice it, but let's not quibble.)

Oh, by the way, just for Margaret Farrow and her followers:

...in four years let’s not go with the “he’s the most electable” argument. The most electable usually aren’t.

Thanks for Tommy, Margaret!  /sarcasm