Friday, September 06, 2013

The Trotskyites Return Home

"Truth is not mean.  It's the truth." ---Breitbart

Over at the American Conservative, Kelley Vlahos writes that the “Neocons are back,” and they’re flocking to the left over the matter of Syria. Kelley’s correct—the neocon hold on the Republican Party has slipped, giving way to a rejuvenated non-interventionist vanguard.

Kelley traces an excellent history of the movement’s contemporary manifestation, beginning with Bill Kristol’s “now defunct” Project for a New American Century. However—and I imagine Kelley would agree—a lengthier look back at the movement shows its home on the left offers a comfortably collectivist fit, having emerged from the Soviet-side of the political spectrum.

Yup.  That showed up in the Rove/Kristol-inspired Big Gummint of GWBush, too--not to mention the Iraq problem, which was another "we can get every country to be peaceful democratic types if we stomp the crap out of them with the military." 

Yah, that worked real well.

So in a twist on the old saw, the Neocons now effectively argue that 'stomping really works; it just hasn't been done correctly yet.'

Trotskyism hasn't been done "correctly" yet, either.  Maybe Billy Kristol should start his own country and try it there, eh?

9 comments:

Art Deco said...

Irving Kristol and Seymour Martin Lipset were members of a Trotskyist discussion circle at City College of New York ca. 1939. It really has no relevance whatsoever to any political issue bruited about in the last forty years.

Dad29 said...

You're wrong.

As you bend the twig, so grows the tree. Billy Kristol (and others) were raised in a home with the weltanschauung of socialism, which demands cognescenti to "lead."

And the fruits of that atmosphere hang from the tree of Billy and all his similarly-raised pals.

You claim that there is NO 'political issue' recently bruited which was affected by this?

"Compassionate" conservatism, No Child Left Behind, the unconscionable bailout of the banks and Detroit....not to mention military adventurism in the name of "planting democracy."

None, eh?

Art Deco said...

You're making an idiot out of yourself.

Irving Kristol had a long history as a mainstream (center-left, then center-right) political journalist. No one remotely familiar with the content of The Public Interest or his newspaper columns would go on this way.

Anonymous said...

I had unprotected, penetrative anal intercourse with a Chinaman named Fong in an Art Deco hotel.

Dad29 said...

AD, you could teach the course on jackassery.

Back to the top: Billy Kristol is a warmonger. That character flaw follows from his utterly discredited idea that the US can "impose" democracy anywhere it wants through military force.

THAT inanity flows from the Trotskyite dreams which at one time were regnant in Irving's mind.

Those socialist/communist beliefs flow from a seriously flawed view of the human condition--one which happens to be merely materialistic; which utterly fails to recognize (among other signs) the book of Genesis.

Irving may well have repented. But the dream lives on in Billy and Perlstein, as the linked article states.

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget Billy Crystal played a gay man in a TV show called Soap.

We used to hold Soap watcing parties as we did coke and poppers. It made the post-show orgy that more awesome. It's a miracle I never caught the bug back then. Then again, it's less likely to catch HIV when you are penetrating rather than receiving.

Anonymous said...

The book of Genesis is laced with bullshit. A fairy tale. We don't need leadership who believes in the tooth fairy.

Anonymous said...

Are you making anti-homosexual remarks? I can have you prosecuted for homophobia.

Tim Morrissey said...

Extra points for use of the wonderful German word "weltanschauung".