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Saturday, March 14, 2009
Mark Sanford and the Old Right r3volution
Reihan Salam has some interesting thoughts on The American Conservative cover story on South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, suggesting that a 2012 Sanford presidential campaign could be heir in many aspects to the 2008 Ron Paul campaign:
In a sense, a Sanford campaign would represent a bet that the Ron Paul movement is a real and enduring phenomenon, one that will have lasting consequences in Republican primary politics. As a governor and former congressman with a long track record of pressing for limited government, Sanford is a far more conventional choice. At the same time, Sanford seems to share many of Paul's radical instincts. Many of Paul's fans saw him as a Goldwater figure, a candidate who would lose but who would go on to revitalize a distinctive Old Right tradition that has mostly faded in American politics. Sanford could thus be the heir who broadens the appeal of that message, not unlike Ronald Reagan. Right now, this seems rather unlikely. But a lot can change over the next few years.
With his sweeping agenda, Barack Obama has, it often seems, single-handedly broadened America's ideological spectrum, shifting the political center to the left. It seems natural that this would lead to a reaction on the right.
Read the rest.
The diverse scattered libertarians and conservatives who fell into the loose grouping of the Old Right coalesced to a large degree during the years from the onset of the Great Depression until the attack on Pearl Harbor as a counter-reaction to FDR's increased taxation, new government programs of unprecendented intrusiveness, and creeping internationalism. If we expect much of the same type of policies from Obama, don't we also have reason to suspect that the reaction on the right in the coming years will resemble the reaction to Roosevelt? And might not the newfound anti-government flavour of the various populist bailout protests, within mainstream movement conservative outlets, and the united House Republicans be some indication of directions to come, at least throughout the Obama presidency?
Read some of my previous thoughts about the American Old Right tradition, of which Salam speaks, here and here.
(h/t Andrew Sullivan)
Posted by Kalim Kassam on March 14, 2009 | Permalink
Comments
They may well coalesce in the same way- but how successful were they in stopping Roosevelt's policies?
Posted by: jm | 2009-03-16 8:07:25 AM
2008 South Carolina Constitution
ARTICLE XV.
IMPEACHMENT
SECTION 1. Power of impeachment; vote required; suspension of officer impeached.
The House of Representatives alone shall have the power of impeachment in cases of serious crimes or serious misconduct in office by officials elected on a statewide basis, state judges, and such other state officers as may be designated by law. The affirmative vote of two-thirds of all members elected shall be required for an impeachment. Any officer impeached shall thereby be suspended from office until judgment in the case shall have been pronounced, and the office shall be filled during the trial in such manner as may be provided by law.
When the Governor is impeached, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or, if he be disqualified, the Senior Justice, shall preside, with a casting vote in all preliminary questions.
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/scconstitution/a15.htm
Posted by: anonymous | 2009-03-18 6:14:07 PM
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