‘Conservatives’

Republican Base Heavily White, Conservative, Religious

More than 6 in 10 Republicans today are white conservatives, while mostof the rest are whites with other ideological leanings; only 11% ofRepublicans are Hispanics, or are blacks or members of other races. Bycontrast, only 12% of Democrats are white conservatives, while abouthalf are white moderates or liberals and a third are nonwhite…more

Conservatives Are Single-Largest Ideological GroupThus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Pollsurveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% asmoderate, and 21% as liberal. This represents a slight increase forconservatism in the U.S. since 2008, returning it to a level last seenin 2004. The 21% calling themselves liberal is in line with findingsthroughout this decade, but is up from the 1990s…more

 What is a Neo-Conservative Anyway?

Neo conservatives are conservatives who are “new” (neo) to the conservative movement in some way. Usually, this comes as a result from the migration from the left of the political spectrum to the right, over the course of many years. Though every such neo conservative has an individual story to tell, there are several key events in recent American history that are often said to have prompted the shift.

Many of today’s most famous Neo cons are from Eastern European Jewish immigrant families, who were frequently on the edge of poverty. The Great Depression radicalized many immigrants, and introduced them to the new and revolutionary ideas of socialism and communism. The Soviet Union’s break with Stalinism in the 1950’s led to the rise of the so-called New Left in America, which popularized anti-Sovietism along with anti-capitalism. The New Left became very popular among the children of hardline Communist families.

Intellectually, Neo conservatives have been strongly influenced by a diverse range of thinkers from Max Shachtman’s version of Trotskyism (in the area of anti-Sovietism and international policy) to the elitist, neo-Platonic ideas of Leo Strauss.

Many critics charged that the Neo conservatives lost their raison d’étre following the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the 1990s, Neo conservatives were once again in the opposition side of the foreign policy establishment, railing against the post-Cold War foreign policy of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, which reduced military expenditures and was, in their view, insufficiently idealistic.

Neo conservatives perhaps are closer to the mainstream of the Republican Party today since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon than any competing faction, especially considering the nature of the Bush Doctrine and the preemptive war against Iraq. Nevertheless, many of the prominent people labeled as Neo conservatives are actually registered Democrats…more

2009-06-18