Hutton: Blair and the US hard right

[H. Curtiss Leung]

It's OK if you don't know anything about it, but it's pretty superficial.
First of all, it portrays US conservatism as monolithic, which it isn't.
The bellicose internationalism of US conservatism comes from the neo-cons,
who first gained real prominence under Reagan; older conservate factions are
isolationist, eg, Pat Buchanan et al.  The racism of its electoral strategy 
is also older and imported from previous generations of Southern Dems.  The
Xtian right, who make common cause with the neo-cons, is actually pretty 
anti-Catholic.  OTOH, Libertarians can run to strong secularism.

That itself is a superficial glance at the conservative coalition, but here's
what I think is remarkable about it: it's a coalition of factions that 
one would think would be at each other's throats, but aren't.  I think the
Reagan years were the high-point of the coalition, but despite a Republican
return to the White House in the person of Bush the Younger, it's hasn't
been the same since.  But it's still remarkably cohesive.

Curtiss, waiting for the more detailed followups.


> 
> >The rise and rise of American conservatism is neither well documented nor 
> >well understood in Britain
> 
> http://www.observer.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,925856,00.html
> 
> Will Hutton is a particularly interesting progressive liberal strategic 
> political economist.
> 
> Is his analysis of the American right correct?
>