Posted by
Crispian on Monday, September 07, 2009 12:39:35 PM
The term "neoconservative" has been thrown around as an insult for years by people who probably don't know what it means. They heard the word on the news, used against George Bush, and though it must mean "stupid."
Wikipedia defines it this way: "Neoconservatism is a political philosophy that emerged in the United States of America, and which supports using American economic and military power to bring liberalism, democracy, and human rights to other countries."
Barack Obama and many others on the left have long called the efforts in Afghanistan the 'good war.' Obama has increased troops there and will probably do so again in the near future. Conservative George Will recently wrote a column arguing that we should get out of Afghanistan because it has no strategic importance, is no longer a base of operations for al Qaeda, and we should not be invested in trying to create a lasting democracy in another nation. Meanwhile Obama fights the opium trade and works to support the Afghan government.
The Obama administration has decided to sanction Honduras after the nation ousted former President Zelaya. The Honduran Supreme Court ruled that Zelaya violated their constitution by trying to extend his term, the Congress voted for his removal by a large margin, and the military was ordered to arrest him. Zelaya was exiled (without trial) and the Congress voted for a new President. The Obama administration claim the sanctions are being used to support democracy. Of course, Honduras is still a democracy, operating under the same constitution, with an elected Congress, and a new president. That hasn't impeded liberals from pretending to be experts on Honduran law, delving into legal texts to support their position that his removal was not legal under their laws.
The ultimate point is that the Obama administration is neoconservative. Liberals criticized Bush for his alleged neoconservatism but they do not dare use the word now. They dare not believe that the margin of "change" is much smaller than they think. They dare not believe that their own political discourses are no better informed or expressed than the 'unwashed masses' who speak against Obama's health care plan at town hall meetings. Obama is a neoconservative, that is one reason George Will's column has inspired such a debate amongst conservatives.