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THE FUTURE BELONGS TO US?At the end of his piece, Lubsinkas points to Buchanan's disappointing vote totals, and seems to celebrate the fact that conservatives rallied around Bush: this, intones the author, means 'the death of paleoconservatism as a serious force within conservatism." And it serves them right, is the unspoken aside, for having betrayed the cause of "white racial solidarity." But, never fear, the solidarists of "white race consciousness" (as David Duke would put it) will rise again, or so Lubinskas and his fellow "white nationalists" would like to believe. Lubinskas writes: "Racially charged issues are on the horizon and could be the catalyst for another hard right movement. How compassionate conservatives deal with these issues could determine whether there will be a revival of this type of movement and a repeat of the wars that have been so damaging to the conservative movement." THE RAPPROCHEMENTThis proffered advice leads us to consider just what it is that motivates such an unholy alliance, white racialists like Lubinskas' and Taylor's American Renaissance in league with David Horowitz, whose The Art of Political War was touted by Bush strategist Carl Rove and who seems to style himself the Lenin of compassionate conservatism. A look at the evolution of the Frontpage website in terms of subject matter is instructive. Initially, the great preponderance of articles on the site were concerned with foreign policy, as well as general conservative themes, and specifically with pushing the idea of an impending military threat from either China, Russia, or both, with emphasis on the former. Wen Ho Lee, victimized by the New York Times, was also vilified in Frontpage, and a special front group was set up demanding that Dubya make a radically increased "defense" budget the linchpin of his campaign. But the emphasis began to change a few months ago with a flood of articles about the alleged frequency of "black hate crimes." Studies purportedly showing that blacks not only hate whites, but are also a physical danger to them – studies also circulated by the "New Century Foundation," publisher of American Renaissance, with Lubsinkas listed as the contact person – have recently been touted on Frontpage as "proof" that Black Hate is a Major Threat. Aside from a mutual resentment of Buchanan and his lasting influence on conservative opinion, what appears to unite the followers of Jared Taylor with the ostensibly neconservative Frontpage is a growing rapprochement over the Race Question. While they may agree to disagree on the genetic and "scientific" basis of their joint political program, they share a common style on matters of race – and, besides, compassionate conservatism, whatever its other virtues, does not exactly inspire the troops with genuine passion, nor does it keep the contributions flowing. When the alleged threat of the Yellow Peril failed to catch fire with conservatives, a danger of another color was required. Horowitz has been accused of racism before, but always by politically correct liberals out to mug someone who dared to stand up to them. This latest development, collaborating with neo-Nazis, however, is troubling evidence that perhaps Horowitz's critics were not too far off the mark. Neoconservatives should, at the very least, sit up and take notice at Horowitz's Faustian pact with the intellectual heirs of Lothrop Stoddard and Alfred Rosenberg. FEWER, BUT BETTERFar from being "finished," the paleoconservative challenge to neoconservative hegemony is stronger than ever. Already, we are seeing a general shift in the key area of foreign policy: most conservatives today are what the neocons would disdainfully refer to as "isolationists." The Weekly Standard complains about this profound shift every opportunity it gets, and there are plenty of those. Today's spotlight, a major polemic against internationalism by two well-known conservative leaders, is just the latest expression of the dominant trend in conservative thought. We are winning the battle of ideas, if not the battle at the polls – quite yet – and it is only a matter of time before these ideas achieve some kind of mass political influence. The achievement of the Buchanan campaign was to establish the precedent of independent political action on the Right, and Pat's status as a leader of that movement is in no way diminished. Without crackpot racialists like Jared Taylor – a charming man, whom I like personally, but who is sadly misguided by his all-consuming and horribly narrowing obsession – and Mr. Lubinskas, a movement that coalesced around opposition to the American empire and the growing power of big government is healthier by far. Racialism is more a psychological illness or, at least, a personal failing, rather than a political ideology: like cancer, one is always better off without it. A GIFTThe Buchanan campaign wisely guarded against infiltration by racialist groups that sought to hitch a ride on Pat's personal popularity and standing among conservatives. Several racist operatives were purged from the campaign, and the Buchanan Reform organization was all the stronger. If David Horowitz wants to take in these rejects from Buchananism, he is more than welcome to them. Please Support Antiwar.comA contribution of $50 or more will get you a copy of Ronald Radosh's out-of-print classic study of the Old Right conservatives, Prophets on the Right: Profiles of Conservative Critics of American Globalism. Send contributions to Antiwar.com or
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