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13 Jun 2008 03:42 pm

Conservatism Across The Pond

Greenwald compares Tories to Republicans:

The contrast between the British Right and the American Right could not be more glaring. The former is at least mildly faithful to the principles they espouse, while the latter has morphed completely into an authoritarian, government-power-worshiping faction that thinks it’s waging war against — to use Antonin Scalia’s politicized term — “radical Islamists,” but which is only at war with its own claimed principles and the principles on which the country was founded.

In fact, of course, the Tories are divided over such matters as detention without charge for 42 days. But the strain of liberal conservatism - which I take to be rooted in the Whig, Edmund Burke and updated by bohemian Michael Oakeshott - is still alive and kicking. I have a feeling - a very strong feeling - that if a Democratic president had claimed and asserted the war powers that Bush has, the Republicans would also have exhibited a strong liberal conservative strain. Can you imagine if Clinton had simply waived the FISA law and tapped phones without a warrant? Or detained people without charges for years on end? Bob Barr would be the Republican nominee by now.

(hat tip: John Schwenkler)

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