TNR Blog Rolls

I'm unfortunately too sick to really add anything substantive today, but I wanted to call attention to three stellar items which all showed up on various TNR blogs today.

The first is by David Greenberg on the media's sheep-like insistance on calling Rudy Giuliani a "moderate". Wrong, wrong, wrong. While Giuliani may indeed be "moderate" on the issues of abortion and gay rights (and it is unclear whether those stances will survive the GOP primary), these are not the only issues by which one's moderation is judged. Greenberg notes that in governing philosophy, Giuliani has displayed a frankly disturbing affinity for near-authoritarianism--silencing dissent, purging critics, and even trying to extend his own term in the wake of 9/11 chaos. It's worth noting that this form of conservatism, while perhaps not as viscerally infuriating as radical right positions on the culture war issues, is really the biggest threat currently coming out of the right. This has been the signature aspect of President Bush's conservatism--not social issues, where the Christian Right feels betrayed. Americans deserve to know if their vote will be a referendum on this "style" of governance.

The second is about Pat Buchanan, who continues to intrigue me as one of the few conservatives who outwardly seems to dislike Jews more than Blacks. So many conservatives have made it their mission to convert the Jews to Christ the GOP that it's very rare to see one who is so overt in suspicion towards us.

The third is by the incomparable Sacha Zimmerman, who details how the US is refusing to let in refugees who are fleeing from sexual violence (specifically, from countries whose governments don't provide adequate protection against sexual and spousal violence), apparently because it would mean we'd have to...let in refugees. And "huddled masses" takes yet another step towards historical trivia.