The Bourgie Conservatives have declared Charles Johnson an Apostate of Conservatism.
I think it is instructive to consider that Johnson’s initial break with conservatism came over IDT/Creationism.
My conservatism fractured over Bush’s lies about stem cell research during his veto of the stem cell expansion bill, and John Cole’s fracture point was Schiavo….all three issues of conservative dogma vs established science.
On Schiavo–
Political fact: the Republican-dominated congress of the time passed a law giving federal courts jurisdiction in the Schiavo case. This law arguably violated a) the constitutional prohibition on ex post facto legislation and bills of attainder, b) the jurisdiction of the State of Florida and the Florida court system, c) the rights of Michael Schiavo, and d) the autonomy of Terry Schiavo, insofar as it thwarted her wishes as determined by the courts. At the same time, many legislators and activists (some influenced by a heavily edited video) argued, against all the medical evidence, that Terry Schiavo had not suffered irreversible brain damage.
The actions of the Republican Congress in the Schiavo case violated almost every conservative tenet, from respect for the constitution (section 9 and amendment 1), respect for the rule of law and the courts, respect for the scientific and medical truth, respect for limits on government, particularly the limit on responding to popular appeals with force majeure, respect for individual autonomy, and, not least, respect for the privacy of a family. This case did crystallize a growing alienation from the Republican Party felt by many people, and thus, it seems to me, should count as a major disaster (and blunder) by the conservative movement. It seems to me that a rational and politically effective assessment would recognize that, possibly even learn from it, and move on. Instead, it seems to me, some contributors here find it necessary to redefine the issue, from the factual question of whether the courts correctly determined the expressed wishes of Terry Schiavo not to undergo medical intervention to keep her alive in an irreversible vegetative state, to the philosophical question of whether her condition cancelled her essential humanity. That discussion may have some interest, but it certainly doesn’t reflect what I and my sources remember about the controversy at the time.
Conservatism vs science is an obsolete argument in the 21st century.
The Tyranny of the Stupid is ending…..only 6% of American scientists are republican.
Unless conservatism can end its war on science, it will simply have to give up on the votes of the college-educated, like it has given up on the votes of blacks.
