This past weekend I finished reading the book Conservatize Me by John Moe. John Moe set out on a thirty day experiment to expose himself to everything Conservative to see if he could be converted.
At times it was a funny read. Everything from Toby Keith -vs- The Dixie Chicks. To his list of questions to Charlie Daniels about the song "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." He met Bill Kristol to understand Neo-Conservatism -vs- Conservatism. He visited the place in America that voted 92% for George W. Bush and it wasn't Blount County, TN. His conversation with the Mayor of the 92% town is interesting, in that conversation it reveals that all Conservatives do not drink the same kool-aid.
The real eye opener was his visits to Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon's libraries. The Reagan library didn't reveal how Reagan became a Conservative or what positions made Reagan a Conservative. They avoid his 1976 loss in the Republican Presidential Primary. Whereas, the Nixon library exposed why Nixon was a Conservative, revealed his losses as well as his wins. Nixon was a leader that kept leading before and after the White House. That is why, I have always believed and respected the Nixon brand of Conservatism instead of other brands. Nixon always had substance.
While I didn't expect John Moe to become a Conservative. What I believe he realized is that you can be a Conservative and not buy the whole burrito or only drink the one cup of kool-aid. Just like Baskin Robbins there are 96 varieties of Conservatism.
At times it was a funny read. Everything from Toby Keith -vs- The Dixie Chicks. To his list of questions to Charlie Daniels about the song "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." He met Bill Kristol to understand Neo-Conservatism -vs- Conservatism. He visited the place in America that voted 92% for George W. Bush and it wasn't Blount County, TN. His conversation with the Mayor of the 92% town is interesting, in that conversation it reveals that all Conservatives do not drink the same kool-aid.
The real eye opener was his visits to Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon's libraries. The Reagan library didn't reveal how Reagan became a Conservative or what positions made Reagan a Conservative. They avoid his 1976 loss in the Republican Presidential Primary. Whereas, the Nixon library exposed why Nixon was a Conservative, revealed his losses as well as his wins. Nixon was a leader that kept leading before and after the White House. That is why, I have always believed and respected the Nixon brand of Conservatism instead of other brands. Nixon always had substance.
While I didn't expect John Moe to become a Conservative. What I believe he realized is that you can be a Conservative and not buy the whole burrito or only drink the one cup of kool-aid. Just like Baskin Robbins there are 96 varieties of Conservatism.
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