Conservative Zombies

Zombie: in voodoo, a dead body supposedly brought back to life again without a soul

The next time I hear or read about the “Buckley rule” I’m going to spit. I’m always amazed at the number of conservatives like Bill Buckley or Barry Goldwater, now safely dead, who are being resurrected by the members of the MSM any time Conservatives do something of which Liberals disapprove.

Buckley, barely two years dead, was a favorite punching bag of the Left who loved to make fun of his use of big words, his defense of Joe McCarthy, and cite with glee his original objection to civil right laws which they attribute to racism. But suddenly, the “Buckley rule” is supposed to be the guiding light of Conservatives. The Buckley rule is (in the words of Charles Krauthammer):

support the most conservative candidate who is electable.

 That means that Conservatives are supposed to take one for the team and should have nominated Mike Castle – the RINO establishment candidate who was supposed to be a shoo-in. A funny thing happened to the shoo-in, he could not get the Republican Senatorial nomination in Delaware.

In case anyone needs reminding, Buckley should be celebrated for not following the Buckley rule. He ran for Mayor of New York to take votes away from Republican John Lindsay, supported Democrat Joe Lieberman when he ran against Republican Lowell Weicker and led a successful campaign to unseat Republican Charles Goodell in favor of brother Jim Buckley running on the Conservative party ticket. In the last two instances, the insurgent won. There are no final electoral decisions until the votes are counted.

I have a great deal of respect for Krauthammer but he’s no movement Conservative. He’s a thoughtful pragmatist who’s very worried about the ability of a radical like Barack Obama to change America fundamentally from a free-enterprise republic to and all-encompassing corporatist state with leaders who don’t like America. In First Lady Michelle Obama’s immortal words, she has never been proud of America in her adult life until now.

Of course for Democrats in and out of the media the references to the Buckley Rule are self-serving, which is not surprising. In a time of particular political turmoil where all the energy seems to be on the Right, the Left is concerned that the tsunami has so far hit only Liberal Republicans. The real concern is how badly the Left will be hurt in November. It is useful for Democrats to be able to co-opt members of the Republican Party whose only quibble with the Democrats’ agenda is the price tag, not the issues themselves.

Make no mistake, the Tea Party movement, despite the rhetoric about deficits, is fundamentally about the role of government. If the government can be transformed from the all-encompassing omnipresent Big Brother to a government of limited powers envisioned by the founders, the deficits will recede.

The Buckley rule is a useful rule of thumb for ordinary times. But just as the constitution is not a suicide pact, the Buckley rule should not bind us in extraordinary times; just as it did not bind William F. Buckley, Jr. All we have to do is help O’Donnell win. The process is already started; she’s raised nearly $2 million via small contributions from all around the country in less than a week. Go HERE to contribute. And while giving, let’s help Sean Bielat retire Barney Frank.

UPDATE:  thanks for the link Jeff