The curious beginnings of movement conservatism

Movement conservatism is a potent political force. As the chief political ideologies of Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, George H.W. Bush, and his baby boy Dubya, it has acted as the leading beacon of policy for the Republican party since the late 70s.

As a hard-left leaning liberal and passionate progressive, naturally I have been in complete disagreement with the various policies of the movement, namely, extreme tax cuts on the rich, ballooning budget deficits, high military build-up during peace-times, and a conscious effort to destruct the welfare state FDR worked so hard to construct.

But beyond the policy (which, obviously, sucks for about 99.9% of the American population), there is the true beginnings of the movement, which should trouble any self-respectful member of democracy and abolish any notions that George W. Bush is not a "true conservative."

Take, for example, William F. Buckley, the ostentatious and elitist founder of the movement. The creator of the conservative excrement The National Review, Buckley praised, among other things, Francisco Franco and his brutal takeover of Spain (in which he took over a democratically elected government), the right of white southerners to suppress blacks, or, inferior citizens, from voting, and, in the 80s when the AIDS epidemic broke out, Buckley supported tattooing homosexuals with the disease on both their arms and behind to "warn" others of the disease.

Add to that the movement's poster child, Barry Goldwater, who was an ardent anti-unionist and blatant supporter of McCarthyism, and you have the makings of the Bush administration: racist, homophobic, secretive, anti-democratic, anti-union, and shamelessly fear-mongering.

No wonder the politics of the movement have always sucked.