Comments on: Robert Taft: Misremembered Conservative

By: GOP Ideals?

GOP Ideals? — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:07:51 +0000

[...] Kabaservice writes on FrumForum.com about the mischaracterization of President Robert Taft and sets the record [...]

By: DanielKnightSchwartz

DanielKnightSchwartz — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:55:50 +0000

America First.

Normalacy, not heroics. That’s what the right should stand for.

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:34:38 +0000

If America had listened to Taft,
we would have lost the Cold War,
and ultimately had to accept the USSR as the global hegemon.

That’s the bottom line.

The type of isolationism that Taft espoused was obsolete in an era of intercontinental bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

By: sinz54

sinz54 — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:30:24 +0000

mpolito: Most intellectuals dislike the GOP; this has been true for a long time (see God and Man at Yale).
The majority of intellectuals are liberal, yes.

But the conservative movement used to have a strong minority of conservative thinkers: William F. Buckley, Milton Friedman, etc. William F. Buckley commanded the respect of even those liberal intellectuals, like Galbraith, who disagreed with him. Milton Friedman, with his popular book and TV series “Free to Choose,” helped push free-market ideas with the general public.

Another convert to what ultimately became known as neo-conservatism was former liberal Ben Wattenberg. In 1979, he did a TV series, “The Real America: An Answer to the Chorus of Fear and Guilt,” which refuted liberal hand-wringing about America and emphasized American strengths.

These popularizations helped to swing American popular opinion away from liberalism.

But now these men are gone, and we don’t seem to have anyone else to fill their shoes.

Today, who is going to write the next “Free to Choose”? Or the next “Answer to the Chorus of Fear and Guilt”?

By: The Republicans Who Made Health Care Reform Possible - MotownSports.com Message Board

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:47:27 +0000

[...] to the style of conservatism as Robert Taft (Mr Republican) I would give them a look as well Robert Taft: Misremembered Conservative | FrumForum [...]

By: Graf

Graf — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:12:04 +0000

Thanks for the excellent reference, George H. It does say a lot about Taft that he placed such emphasis on research and expertise, and that he was able to dominate the Senate GOP through the chairmanship of the committee rather than in the formal role of majority leader. While the SHO history is rather discreet, it’s interesting to see that the Policy Committee has been in the control of conservatives for virtually its entire existence (with the arguable exception of the recent chairship of Kay Bailey Hutchinson) and also that the Senate RPC has been less an object of contention than its House counterpart.

By: George H

George H — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:03:04 +0000

The Senate Historical Office published an excellent book on the history of the GOP Policy Committee. Senator Taft is rightfully written up as the architect of the modern policy committee and how it was used. The book also offers keen observations about Senator Taft. It is available on the Government Printing Office website or the Senate Historical Office website.

By: erasmuse

erasmuse — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:50:23 +0000

Trackback at: Eric Rasmusen’s Weblog, Robert Taft: A Yale Man, Not a Common Man
NewMajority has a great story about Robert Taft: …http://rasmusen1.blogspot.com/2009/02/robert-taft-yale-man-not-common-man.html

By: ESB

ESB — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:55:07 +0000

Speaking of intellectuals, would that the ghost of Taft had, post-9/11, berated the neocons for their tendency to interfere in the affairs of other nations, to assume that we are a kind of demigod and Santa Claus to solve the problems of the world. Take note, Obama in Afghanistan.

By: jonesny

jonesny — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:14:27 +0000

mpolito:
You ask, “Why should the GOP like intellectuals if they hate us?” I think your remark illustrates with horrifying clarity the problems we are facing and the depths to which the party has sunk. Many Republicans today seem to feel that “intellect” and “liberal intellectualism” are synonymous and equally suspect — and therein lies the problem. I think the point being made in this article is that intelligence, a willingness to think deeply about issues, and a refusal to be bound by ideology are helpful traits in a leader: “When confronted with an issue, (Taft’s) response was not to follow polls or conservative tablet-keepers, but to study the issue, obtain as much relevant information as possible, and only then arrive at his own conclusions.”