This past weekend was the annual pow-wow of conservatives from across the nation, CPAC. Thursday opened with a bang, as Marco Rubio, Jim DeMint, Liz Cheney, Dick Cheney, Scott Brown, Mitt Romney, and John Boehner all made an appearance, followed by Tim Palwenty, Bill Bennett, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and other conservative luminaries Friday and Saturday.
Overall, a great experience. With liberalism beating a hasty retreat, these leaders are ready to lead the conservative movement to victory at the polls this November.
But all is not well in the fight over the soul of the conservative movement. The straw poll results and keynote speaker brought this conflict to light.
First, we have to understand that the passion of Ron Paul supporters remains undiminished since 2008. So, yes, he won 31% of the straw poll, but that’s mostly because the Campaign for Liberty was out in force and every single one of them (probably) completed a ballot. His supporters like to point to these trivial victories to say Paul is gaining momentum, but at the convention, one could tell most conservatives’ hearts are not with him.
The selection of Glenn Beck as the keynote speaker to end CPAC was, for me, a huge mistake. I understand that people like Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck have their place: they can excite crowds and energize the base, but they cannot, and should not, be the standard-bearers of the cause. People like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck represent a virulent strain of anti-intellectualism in the conservative movement, which is anathema not only to the heart of conservatism, but also, really, to its continued existence.
Personal experiences are important in shaping one’s political beliefs, yet a political philosophy needs a far stronger foundation. Historically, we have benefited from the men and women who have pondered and wrestled with perennial political problems and molded conservatism as we know it today. Palin and Beck would break with that tradition and be content with sloganeering with little thought to the underpinnings of their ideas.
True, Beck is splashed across the news as the modern manifestation of conservatism, but we need to look to the rising intellectual powerhouses that have continued the tradition started by Burke and carried through the centuries with Kirk, Buckley, and other greats. We can look to the likes of Robert P. George or more thoughtful commentators like Jonah Goldberg. But to make Glenn Beck the leader of the conservative movement would sound the death knell of conservatism in America.