Conservatism is like Latin, it's dead language

Alas, in the midst of the Schiavo mess, some on the Right have realized they may have, just a teensy-weensy bit, mortally wounded the principles of their ideology. From the Times:

"This is a clash between the social conservatives and the process conservatives, and I would count myself a process conservative," said David Davenport of the Hoover Institute, a conservative research organization. "When a case like this has been heard by 19 judges in six courts and it's been appealed to the Supreme Court three times, the process has worked - even if it hasn't given the result that the social conservatives want. For Congress to step in really is a violation of federalism."

Stephen Moore, a conservative advocate who is president of the Free Enterprise Fund, said: "I don't normally like to see the federal government intervening in a situation like this, which I think should be resolved ultimately by the family: I think states' rights should take precedence over federal intervention. A lot of conservatives are really struggling with this case."

Some more moderate Republicans are also uneasy. Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, the sole Republican to oppose the Schiavo bill in a voice vote in the Senate, said: "This senator has learned from many years you've got to separate your own emotions from the duty to support the Constitution of this country. These are fundamental principles of federalism."

Too bad for those fellows, they didn't realize they were watching the disintegration of their cause. "Conservative" no longer has any meaning in political discussion anymore. Those who claim to be it, rarely adhere to a set of principles about the limits of government, at least not when those principles get in their way.

It's not surprising really, Ronald Reagan probably genuinely believed in conservative governance, as did Goldwater, but the conservatives they led into the GOP upon desegregation were never really about limited government. These were southern "conservatives" who believed in a generally lassiez faire government with the ability to inflict great hardship on those who opposed the majority. They didn't see anything run with Bull Connor's hoses, or shutting down public schools, or even creating a whole separate beauracracy to implement segregation.

Initially these folks were attracted to limited government, because the government being limited was representative of a larger body which did not hold their views in the majority. But now as time has worn on, and admittedly conservatism has abandoned its overtly-racist stance, the descendants of the southern "conservative" have sought to utilize government power whenever it suits their purpose. Whether that be putting up a 10 commandments monument on public property or continuing to push a case that has spent 7 years in the courts on "due process" grounds.

So, conservatism is dead, it should no longer be used reflexively to describe those on the right. A new word is necessary. I would say it's "Delayism" but that's probably not going to get past the media.