Stupid Shit Andrew Sullivan Says, Ctd.

Conservatives, from Aristotle on, have always understood the central importance of the "middle way" and the "middle class" in sustaining a liberal democracy. Disraeli and Bismarck were the European pioneers of this conservatism. I think of Eisenhower in the last century as its great conservative defender in the US.

--  Andrew Sullivan, October 2, 2012

Well Mr. Sullivan, this being a free country and all, you are free to "think of Eisenhower" any way you like.  Imagine him 40 feet tall and pooping diamonds in all directions if it makes you happy, but while I don't know what marginal tax rates were in Aristotle's day, I do know that Eisenhower was quite comfortable with a top rate of 91%.

That's a "9" and a "1".

I also know that Eisenhower was, for example, very willing to roll federal troops right over state's rights to support the civil rights of minorities --

President Sends Troops to Little Rock, Federalizes Arkansas National Guard; Tells Nation He Acted to Avoid An Anarchy

Eisenhower on Air

Says School Defiance Has Gravely Harmed Prestige of U.S.

President Warns of Anarchy Peril

By ANTHONY LEWIS

Special to The New York Times

Washington, Sept. 24--President Eisenhower sent Federal troops to Little Rock, Ark., today to open the way for the admission of nine Negro pupils to Central High School.

Earlier, the President federalized the Arkansas National Guard and authorized calling the Guard and regular Federal forces to remove obstructions to justice in Little Rock school integration.

His history-making action was based on a formal finding that his "cease and desist" proclamation, issued last night, had not been obeyed. Mobs of pro-segregationists still gathered in the vicinity of Central High School this morning.

Tonight, from the White House, President Eisenhower told the nation in a speech for radio and television that he had acted to prevent "mob rule" and "anarchy."

Historic Decision

The President's decision to send troops to Little Rock was reached at his vacation headquarters in Newport, R.I. It was one of historic importance politically, socially, constitutionally. For the first time since the Reconstruction days that followed the Civil War, the Federal Government was using its ultimate power to compel equal treatment of the Negro in the South.

He said violent defiance of Federal Court orders in Little Rock had done grave harm to "the prestige and influence, and indeed to the safety, of our nation and the world." He called on the people of Arkansas and the South to "preserve and respect the law even when they disagree with it." 

...

-- had no problem with the ubiquity of powerful labor unions --

"Only a fool would try to deprive working men and working women of their right to join the union of their choice."

-- supported the social safety system and mocked those who tried to tamper with it --

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

-- spent massively on infrastructure and on and on.

Nothing particularly new here: Mr. Sullivan's highly elastic "Stuff that I happen to agree with this week" ideas of what Conservatism means have always been amusingly similar to Phillip II's idea of courage from "The Lion in Winter":

Henry II: What kind of courage have you got?
Phillip II: The tidal kind — it comes and goes.

But I did want to note for my own personal record another supporting example of my observation that like people like Andrew Sullivan and David Brooks and Michelle Malkin who make their daily bread performing Conservatism in public can only achieve longevity and prosperity by populating their tawdry onstage Conservative donkey shows with glorious, imaginary pasts full of nobles and heroes, and terrible, imaginary enemies who would surely sweep to power and destroy America were they ever to get up off of their knees and spit Zombie Reagan's dick out of their mouth once and for all.