The other impending struggle
Paul at Powerline is thinking beyond this election, and the potential fight within the Republican Party over the less-than-conservative legacy of the Bush Administration.
While I agree a scuffle is imminent, and I agree that it will not be over foreign policy, Paul doesn't seem to notice Michelle Malkin's six-ton elephant sitting in his living room. In these days of war and terrorism, not many people are talking about the neoconservative predisposition to open borders, so Paul poses his ideas on the supposition (I presume) that neocons have no serious domestic policy, and will go along with the stronger candidate in a domestic social-policy fight in 2008. I don't think so - the neocons have their own agenda, and they're going to champion it just as much as the other conservative factions will.
If the Democrats are defeated this year (as I expect they will be), expect the traditional lines of what constitutes "liberal" and "conservative" to blur, transform, and recrystalize into a new paradigm. While we can speculate what the structure of that paradigm will be, its actual component parts are anyone's guess, but I think you can bet that immigration will become a major part of the debate. This will not only redefine the conservative movement, but the composition of the two parties as well.
One last word about Paul's "wise" choice for 2008: Dick Cheney. Don't bother. Not only do I believe him when he says "no", but the man is a Silent. America's next President will be another Boomer, as they all will be for the forseeable future of this Crisis period.
UPDATE: The talk about a "fight for the soul of the party" has been going on about the Republicans for weeks, and now it's the other side's turn. It hasn't yet occurred to anyone in the MSM that if both parties have this kind of a fight at the same time, they might not all go home with the date that brung'em to the last dance. Keep your seatbelts on, it'll be a bumpy ride. (stovepipe hattip: Allah.) [Just trying it out for size, Rick. Not sure I like it, but I can be corny, too. :-) - Chris]
Comments
I agree about Cheney. He is going to step out of politics by '08, and possibly sooner. As for who will replace him, I am uncertain.
Concerning the re-alingment in politics, specifically that of the GOP, I agree that such a re-alingment is in order. It started on 9/12, and will likely take a decade or more to develop.
Posted by: FH | October 10, 2004 06:00 PM