Conservative civil war?

Writing at his blog, Ron Lewenberg, normally a calm and even-tempered fellow, is aroused by the developing purge in conservative ranks which he compares to the French Terror:

First conservatives who oppose national dissolution via amnesty were branded racist and undocumented border defense volunteers were called vigilantes by President Bush. Then Conservatives who opposed Harriet E. Miers were called elitist and sexist for demanding competence, a track record, and clearly defined Constitutional Principles for a perspective member of our Judicial Oligarchy. Yesterday, bloggers including Michelle Malkin,were smeared by the Wall Street Journal for exploring the obvious implications of the Oklahoma University bombing.

And now, the National Center for Policy Analysis has canned Bruce Bartlett (discussed at VFR).

For years I have defended neoconservatives from the charges that they are neo-Jacobins, and I have given the mainstream conservative movement the benefit of the doubt on its uxorious behavior towards President Bush.
Thermidor has begun. Will the ACU be next to face the national razor?

A reader comments:

Regarding the recent outrage over the Bushists purging of conservative malcontents, people should have seen this coming. I find it absolutely delicious, because I spent so much of 2000 warning people that this was the Bush MO. Critics should go back and study his actions as governor. He did the exact same thing in Texas, purging the state Republican party of “haters” and “hardliners”. But I guess that all went down the memory hole, because victory über alles was the diktat in 2000 and 2004.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 19, 2005 01:25 AM | Send