Random great thought--and because I like to drop fancy French phrases

Consevatives of 2008 hold little resemblance to the Goldwater/Buckley conservatives of the 60s, 70s and 80s. The former were reasonably articulate--and prided themselves on being well versed and, at minimum, speaking in complete sentences. They would be embarassed by the Republican party of today that props up a barely intelligible Palin. So they are very different parties, really, except in this respect: they are both incredibly backward looking.

The conservatives of 2008 look at the Reagan years of the 1980s as a kind of conservative golden period. The conservatives of the 60s and 70s thought the golden period pre-dated FDR and existed in some kind of semi-Imperial McKinley era. Both lie to themselves about America's history and their place in it.

What the Buckleys and the intellectual thugs of today have in common is the nostalgic remembrance of a delusion -- plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose