Sorry Mushy Moderates, Scott Brown Really Is a Mainstream Conservative
As the special election in Massachusetts grows nigh, the Mushy Moderates of the commentariat have sallied forth to claim that Scott Brown, today’s conservative darling, is really no conservative at all. Clutching this Boris Shor, PhD piece to their breasts, David Frum and Rick Moran are claiming a certain large measure of triumph in their courageous pragmatism and vindication of their criticism for how conservatives treated Dede Scozzafava in the NY-23 race just a few months ago.
You remember Scozzafava, don’t you? She was the on again, off again Republican the RNC decided to back in the race to replace the departed John McHugh. Scozzafava, who supported the Stimulus Bill, “card check”, and government-run health care, drew the immediate white-hot ire of conservatives who wondered how in the world the GOP could dump a million dollars into her campaign. Not only did she side with the Democrats on the three most visible and critical issues before Congress at the time but she also had proven that she would ditch her Republican status and ally herself with ACORN’s conjoined twin at the drop of a hat to win an election.
As well, her stance on contentious social issues were, well, pretty aggressive. She was not merely pro-choice, but a proud recipient of Planned Parenthood’s most prestigious award, named after an infamous eugenicist. She supported public funding for abortions, a position that even a significant block of Congressional Democrats don’t hold.
Contrast her to Brown, who is pro-choice but doesn’t seek the approval of Planned Parenthood, leaves more than ample room for those who are pro-life, and supports reasonable restrictions on abortion. Brown did indeed support Mass Care, the state experiment in government-run health care, but strongly opposes both the substance of Obamacare and the manner in which it was built. His concern with MassCare is about reducing cost and, so far as I have seen, he hasn’t closed his mind to the possibility that he may well be wrong. He does not favor gay marriage, but believes that decision should be made by each state, using the democratic process and not the court. Brown supports lower taxes, lower spending, and a smaller, more effective national government that does what it is supposed to do and doesn’t concern itself primarily with giving politicians levers of power over our lives. In other words, Scott Brown is as mainstream as a conservative can possibly be. He is a perfect example of “Big Tent Conservatism”, unlike Scozzafava, who was a walking, talking example of closed-minded petulance and elitist entitlement.
More importantly, Scott Brown is who he says he is. He doesn’t dissemble, even when his political stances put him at odds with would-be supporters. This is, from what I’ve seen, his most appealing trait and the thing that is drawing such strong support from conservatives who will no doubt disagree with him on many issues when he is elected to the Senate. We know where he stands, so we know where we can support him and where we will have to work to change his mind. No one can expect every conservative to agree with them all the time. The most you can ever ask of anyone is that they are honest and open about where they stand and that they’re willing to give your argument a fair shake. Scott Brown certainly seems to be one of those people.
Frum, Moran, and Shor miss the entire point of Brown’s campaign. In their eagerness to push everyone close to a squishy center where principles aren’t worth more than the votes they can buy, they all overlook that Brown is, in every way that really matters, right smack in the middle of the conservative mainstream, both in temperament and on the issues. I do agree with them that more Republican politicians emulate Brown, but I suspect that iff we all get our wish, I’ll be the only one happy about it in the end.
Other Posts of Interest:
- On Specter, Lieberman, Moderates, and Principle
- I’ll Take My Pizza with Extra Grassroots Uprising, Please
- It’s Time for John McCain to Put Up or Shut Up on Earmarks
Category: Conservatism, The Republican Minority
Good job. I don't know that I'd go so far as to call Brown a conservative, but I do believe he fits squarely within the moderate wing of the Republican Party. You are 100% correct in distinguishing him from Dede Scozzafava, who was an absolute train wreck in every conceivable way.
I would call him, in the words of Fred Thompson, a Big Magnet conservative. He draws people to him. I've always hated that Big Tent reference because it's allowed the GOP to try to be all things to all people by abandoning Reagan principles to accommodate all sorts of beliefs.
No, we don't want the progressives in the GOP. Please, go find your home with the rest of the moonbats in the Democrat Party.
I like that term. Perhaps it's one we conservatives should use more.