Robert Spencer has written an article, "Why I am not a conservative" after his CPAC mistreatment. I appreciate his feelings, but I think it's a mistake to define conservatism in terms of personalities.
Conservatism cannot be defined by Romney or Norquist, or for that matter by any politician.
Floridians have seen Marco Rubio pivot on immigration and Rick Scott on ObamaCare. The crusading politician of yesterday easily becomes the sellout of tomorrow.
I have been sometimes criticized for "attacking" Republicans who are the saviors of the moment. I don't do that. What I do is hold them to conservative principles, rather than jumping on the momentary bandwagon.
I have written positive things about Chris Christie and negative things about him, long before Republicans had begun bashing him. I have done that for most politicians, because I believe that politicians are politicians. No politician trumps principle. Only people as a group can.
Conservatism isn't the latest dodge of the moment. It's not amnesty, gay marriage, anti-war or any of the other gems that show up on some conservative sites every day. It's not the latest clever plan to win. It's why we should win.
Conservatism is not defined by CPAC. It's defined by you. You either see yourself as a conservative or you don't. And I would encourage Robert Spencer to reject CPAC's pandering to Islamists on conservative terms.
When Progressives and Internationalists hijack what being Conservative means, they are attacking an idea by trying to displace it and replace it with something else. And they cannot be allowed to get away with it.
I support Robert Spencer on a number of grounds, and one of them is that the Internationalists should not be able to hijack Conservatism to promote Islamism.
I think Allen West, whose credentials on Islamism are solid, said it best at CPAC. "There’s no shortage of people telling us what Conservatism cannot accomplish. What we can’t do, how we cannot connect, how we must change our values to fit the times.
Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to tell you that that truly is a bunch of malarkey. Last time I checked a bended knee is not and nor shall it ever be a conservative tradition."
Daniel Greenfield is a New York City writer and columnist. He is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and his articles appears at its Front Page Magazine site.
