Cynical Nation

It IS, though it shouldn't be, Barry.

Neoconservativism (Big Government Conservativism) was once the only "acceptable" kind of Conservative, now it's an inane epithet hurled at any of those who support the U.S. military actions against Islamo-fascist terrorism.

Madeleine Bunting's piece in the Guardian is particularly insipid and naive. She claims, "Francis Fukuyama's new book admits the error of the assumption that "democracy was the default condition to which societies reverted once coercive regime change occurred"."

ONLY Fukuyama made that bizarre assumption, as only a dolt would presume that the "natural state of man is some form of democratic and fair-minded peace."

Huan nature dictates that we "eat the other guy, before he eats us."

Iraq and Afghanistan weren't targeted in order to "bring democracy to those regions," they were targeted because both regimes (the Taliban and Saddam Hussein) harbored and assisted al Qaeda terrorists.

They both DID.

Thus they were BOTH rightful targets and the invasions of both nations were justified and necessary based on THAT alone.

It has always been my assumptioon that Neocon meant a former liberal who had morphed into a conservative ala Norman Podhoritz, William Crystal, et. al.

Bill Buckley has always been conservative as has Pat Buchanan, George Will and divers others. The most utilized phrase for them is Paleocon.

That's pretty much correct Mal.

The original Neoconservatives (Crystal and Podheretz, etc) were all former Leftists, who saw the light, or as I say, "at least some of it."

One of my favorite Libertarians (the late Murray Rothbard) called himself a "Paleo-Libertarian," and he was a former Communist.

David Howowitz is a very Conservative (paleo-Conservative) fellow now-a-days and he was also an avowed Communist in his youth.

Come to think of it, maybe Neocons are just Liberals in puberty...at least well on their way to growing up.