Podhoretz the Poseur

Legal Insurrection paid a little attention to Podhoretz, who has now joined the Pragmatist gang.

The most passionately anti-Obama Republican politicians and activists consider themselves the truest and purest of conservatives, and often unleash their scorn and fury on others who also call themselves conservative but differ on strategy and tactics.

But in the realm of philosophy, “conservatism” from Thomas Hobbes onward is a worldview dedicated to order and tradition and the proposition that disorder is dangerous and deadly....

...Thus, it is the opposite of “conservative” to embrace chaos instead of order. It is the opposite of “conservative” to embrace crisis rather than accept unpleasant realities.

And yet, over the past week, that is exactly what many conservatives have done. They have violated fundamental conservative precepts.

It is not likely that Podhoretz is ignorant of Burke.  More likely he just conveniently "forgot" him.

Here's what Burke had to say about Podhoretz's faux-Conservative, Hobbes (interpolated with a favorable citation of Babbitt):

With Hobbes, this negation of morality enters English political thought, and we continue to suffer from it poison.

In other words, Podhoretz 1) cites a despicable little disciple of Machiavelli; 2)  calls him a "Conservative"; and 3) uses him to accuse Conservatives of betraying principles.

Podhoretz ought to know about 'betraying principles.'  He does it himself.