agree re. second-generation hackery (wasn't billy kristol - irving's son, not the comedian - quayle's chief of staff)...
as for conservatism, there has always been a strain (in fact, the original variant, traced to plato) that has stressed authority, although i guess fewer of these folks today would accept that their view is authoritarian, while this tradition may have have more resonance in continental europe, one can see u.s. traces of it - to varying degrees - in likes of russell kirk, robert nisbet, richard weaver, clinton rossiter (not to mention john adams, alexander hamilton, john c calhoun)...
this brand of conservatism's attitude re. the state is rooted in its view that authority is rooted in nature of society and all social institutions (family/ parents, school/teacher, work/employer, society/government), in some ways citizens are seen as children within the family: in need of guidance and discipline, citizens must be taught awareness of duties and obligations, public order and moral fabric of society must be upheld by clear and enforceable set of rules/regulations, etc, etc, etc... mh