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The APSA Convention in Chicago
...I’ll be there tomrrow afternoon through Saturday night. On the shameless self-promotion front: I’ll be part of a roundtable on social conservatism Friday morning at 10:15 sponsored by Claremont. And I’ll give a paper on "Building Better Than They Knew Studies" at a panel on John Courtney Murray sponsored by the Catholic Social Scientists at 4:!5 Saturday afternoon. Copies of my new HOMELESS AND AT HOME IN AMERICA will be available the St. Augustine’s Press booth. And my STUCK WITH VIRTUE, ALIENS IN AMERICA, as well as the edition of Brownson with my book-length introduction, will be available at the ISI booth. ISI will also feature the new POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWER with the classic articles on post-Straussian studies by our friendly threaders Ralph Hancock and Paul Seaton, as well as an authoritative overview of Strauss’s theologico-political project by Florida’s theologian laureate, Marc Guerra.
If that weren’t enough, the new edition of my PERSPECTIVES ON POLITICAL SCIENCE just appeared in print. It has lots of good articles, including the penetrating comments Michael Zuckert gave on Tom Pangle’s Bible book at last year’s APSA and a fine article on Strauss’s utopianism by our own Ivan the K.
Posted by Peter Lawler | Link to this Entry | Comments [216] | 8/29/2007 8:51 PM
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A few thoughts about Larry Craig and social conservatism
Leaving aside what actually happened in the Minneapolis restroom (and other times in the past), Craig’s handling of the aftermath has been incredibly inept. It’s hard to imagine him winning reelection, and he shouldn’t try. For the good of his family, his state, and his party, he should announce that he won’t be seeking reelection. What I want to dwell on is the claim--made here, for example--that one can’t without hypocrisy be a social conservative (favoring traditional marriage) and have a questionable private life. Why not? Can’t I be a sinner and still condemn sin? Must I, because I’m a sinner, be easy on myself and others? Must I, because I’m a sinner, refuse to recognize sin for what it is? Of course, one could respond that the issue isn’t the condemnation of sin, it’s the refusal to admit one’s own guilt. A confessed philanderer could urge fidelity in marriage and chastity outside it (leaving the positions to stand on their own legs), without holding himself up as a paragon of virtue or an example to be imitated. The sin, then, is the hypocrisy, portraying oneself as an upholder of "family values," all the while--or at least episodically, lapses of judgment or self-control--violating the values one upholds in public. There is, it seems to me, a fine line here. Can’t I advocate a position without holding myself up as an examplary representative of it? Did Larry Craig ever explicitly say (I don’t know the answer to this question): "I’m the model everyone should be imitating; everyone should be like me"? Or did he just, in his public self-presentation, put his best foot forward? Don’t we all do that? Or should or must we begin every interaction with a comprehensive public confession of sin? Perhaps in our relentlessly confessional age, where no one’s privacy is respected, such a preliminary admission--full disclosure, as opposed to the "limited hang-out"--might be good policy. Perhaps the model should be the repentant and penitent sinner, the one who recognizes and acknowledges how far short he’s fallen. But must this always be done in public, not to mention in all its technicolor gory details? It’s one thing to do this before one’s friends and family, or before one’s church, quite another to do it in public, where it borders on the unseemly, not to say prurient. And, of course, however free one might then be to advocate for a position, it’s not clear that one can hold and win office after such a confession. It may in the end be easier to keep one’s mouth shut about social issues--the fervent hope of libertartians and other advocates of sexual freedom--in an effort (perhaps vain) to keep one’s reputation and life intact. I don’t mean in any of this to let "sinners" off the hook. And I think that people whose private lives can’t withstand close scrutiny ought to think twice before they become involved in public life. No one’s perfect. But it is in the end impossible to separate the message from the messenger. Those who take the former seriously ought to attend seriously to their own character as witnesses. Larry Craig shouldn’t have shut up. But he should have sought to be as beyond reproach as it’s possible for a fallible human being to be.
Posted by Joseph Knippenberg | Link to this Entry | Comments [391] | 8/29/2007 2:14 PM
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Electoral College Reform
Our friend Matt Franck examines, much more intelligently than his foil, the NYT (I don’t thereby mean to damn him with faint praise), the potential (and unintended) consequences of a proposal to allocate state electoral college votes by something other than a winner-take-all system. In so doing, he reminds us that most efforts to monkey with our political processes are short-sighted.
Posted by Joseph Knippenberg | Link to this Entry | Comments [22] | 8/28/2007 9:54 PM
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Educational (?) video
Boston College won’t post the video of a debate between Dinesh D’Souza and Alan Wolfe. “It was uncivil, they talked over each other, they ... cast aspersions on each other’s character, they made jokes at each other’s expense, it was a snipe job, it was a street fight, it was a brawl. And frankly it doesn’t meet Boston College’s intellectual standards,” said Ben Birnbaum, the executive producer of Front Row. D’Souza and Wolfe probably deserve one another. Wouldn’t it be "enlightening" for two such "public intellectuals" to be shown for who they are?
Posted by Joseph Knippenberg | Link to this Entry | Comments [258] | 8/28/2007 8:34 AM
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Embrace the Chaos
,,,that is our increasingly unstable primary/caucus system of delegation selection. That’s John Pitney’s advice. Pitney is probably wrong that what it takes to prevail in that process has much to do with the qualities associated with governinig well. But we don’t much choice for now. Florida is going to do what Florida is going to do, and candidates will just have to adjust.
Posted by Peter Lawler | Link to this Entry | Comments [1] | 8/27/2007 11:09 PM
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Kennedy on the Rule of Law
Commenting on AG Gonzales’s resignation, Senator Ted Kennedy opined: "I strongly urge President Bush to nominate a new attorney general who will respect our laws . . . ."
Here’s to hoping that some day Massachusetts voters will elect a Senator who respects their state’s laws.
Posted by Robert Alt | Link to this Entry | Comments [246] | 8/27/2007 7:41 PM
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Back from the Beach
Okay, I’m finally back from the beach, back in the saddle, and ready to go. . . at something. I got about 30,000 words in the can on Age of Reagan II over the last two months and may actually finish by the end of the year, but it meant I had to set aside both video-blogging and the old-fashioned kind. I’ll try to get back to video-blogging soon enough, but in the meantime, there are two videos that I recommend enjoying. First, this Miss Teen USA contestant from South Carolina shows why she desperately needs to become an Ashbrook Scholar.
Then, if that isn’t enough, try out this Finnish cover of the Village People’s "YMCA."
Posted by Steven Hayward | Link to this Entry | Comments [3] | 8/27/2007 7:07 PM
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Gonzales Says Goodbye
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned today. I have never been much of a fan of Gonzales, and tend to think that he was in over his head. Particularly frustrating was his handling of the U.S. Attorney firing "scandal," which he made into a scandal by giving the appearance of covering up legal activity. Had he simply said that the attorneys were terminated because they served at the pleasure of the President, who could fire them for any reason whatsoever and left it at that, then the apparent "scandal" could have been avoided.
NRO has covered Gonzales’s resignation and its consequences extensively. I participated in their symposium this morning, in which I offered my thoughts on what would happen if the current speculation is correct, and Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff is nominated to the post. And over in The Corner, I offer some thoughts on whether Ted Olson would accept the nomination.
Posted by Robert Alt | Link to this Entry | Comments [1] | 8/27/2007 2:03 PM
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Tocqueville for Joggers
For all you nerdy health nuts who enjoy listening to lectures on your ipods while excercising feverishly, here are the talks from our NEH Summer Seminar at Bethel College. You can hear, for example, Michael Zuckert, Ty Tessitore, Leslie Goldstein, Alan Ehrenhalt, and me.
Posted by Peter Lawler | Link to this Entry | Comments [4] | 8/26/2007 4:05 PM
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Muslims, the British way of life, and advice for Bill Buckley
The British government has a new program in place--a kind of curriculum taught by "forward leaning imams"--that encourages Muslims to become better citizens (subjects?). The curriculum is based on the Koran. In other words, these Muslim teachers in Muslim schools use the Koran to justify British citizenship. Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he means to show "the importance we attach to the dignity of each individual" and "the importance we attach to non-violence." I repeat, the curriculum is based on the Koran. Some Muslims are asking why Muslims should be singled out for civics lessons.
Bill Buckley considers the Muslim issue in Britain, and is concerned about saving "the British way of life." Do note Mr. Buckley’s musings in the last paragraph. He seems surprised that the Brits have this problem and we don’t. He implies that it should be easier for the Brits to handle this problem (after all, they do have an established religion) than it was for us to handle Mormon polygamy when they became "inconvenient" to us, who live in a regime of religious liberty. I suggest that Mr. Buckley glance at the Republican Platform of 1856which denounced the "twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery," and ask himself how the two are connected in principle.
Furthermore, I respectfully suggest that he reflect on the connection between a religion that allows polygamy and a territory (in which that religion predominates) forming itself into a state, and the constitutional provision (Art IV, Sect 4) that calls for each state to have a "Republican Form of Government." This makes for interesting musings (which both Douglas and Lincoln considered in the debates of 1858, of course; Lincoln using the polygamy issue to reveal Douglas’ inconsistency in using popular sovereignty). The Muslims, or the Mormons, or the Catholics, or the Baptists (but you get the point) can become citizens, but not on the same terms as Gordon Brown’s curriculum thinks Muslims may become citizens of Britain. And all that has to do with the American way of life, a much harder nut to crack than the British way of life. It would seem that Mr. Buckley doesn’t see why that is the case. What a shame.
Posted by Peter Schramm | Link to this Entry | Comments [19] | 8/25/2007 5:48 PM
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Outsourcing the drive through window
"The owner of a fast food joint in Montana�s booming oil patch found himself outsourcing the drive-thru window to a Texas telemarketing firm, not because it�s cheaper but because he can�t find workers.
Record low unemployment across parts of the West has created tough working conditions for business owners, who in places are being forced to boost wages or be creative to fill their jobs."
Posted by Peter Schramm | Link to this Entry | Comments [251] | 8/25/2007 10:38 AM
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The Old Urbanism of Crunchy Europe
Dr. Pat explains, using what he saw with his own eyes, why they’re in some ways more conservative and more libertarian than we are.
Posted by Peter Lawler | Link to this Entry | Comments [3] | 8/25/2007 7:23 AM
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Bush’s VFW speech
Mac Owens on the President’s speech to the VFW claiming that leaving Iraq too early could be compared to leaving Viet Nam. This kind of Viet Nam analogy doesn’t sit well with some of Bush’s political enemies, but a la Bugs Bunny, Mac calls them "Maroons".
Posted by Peter Schramm | Link to this Entry | Comments [3] | 8/24/2007 6:10 PM
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Back Home
Welcome home Joe and family. Too bad about the mangled flights. But, you’re home. Relax a bit and, by all means, put pen to paper (as it were) and write thoughts and impressions from the trip. I’d love to read them all.
Posted by Peter Schramm | Link to this Entry | Comments [251] | 8/24/2007 6:07 PM
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Innocents back home
We’re back in Atlanta, having endured a long train ride from Salzburg to Amsterdam, an unexpected opportunity to explore the charms of Schiphol Airport (thanks to mechanical difficulties), and (thanks to the same difficulties) the chance to spend yet another night in a hotel (near Dulles, after we arrived too late to make any connections). I’d bet that whatever profit margin the airline had on our flight vanished (and then some) in its attempts to accommodate a planeload of people with meals and rooms. I’m going to try to put some (I hope interesting) thoughts on "Europe" into a column for the main site, once I can recover my energy and gather my wits. For now, it’s all I can do to keep from falling face-first into the keyboard.
Posted by Joseph Knippenberg | Link to this Entry | Comments [198] | 8/24/2007 5:55 PM
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