Why do I say Irving Kristol had better keep a close eye on his allies on the "official" right? Simply this: He recently wrote a piece for The Weekly Standard in which he spelled out exactly what neoconservatism is. What’s worse is that ol' Irv’s description of neoconservatism proves that it is everything its critics have said it is -- and worse.

Now that "the 'godfather’ of all those neocons," as Kristol describes himself, has spoken on the subject (and written a book entitled Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea), the NR/WSJ crowd can no longer plausibly deny the existence of such a movement, as some have tried to do. In addition, they can no longer plausibly claim that neoconservatism is merely another form of traditional conservatism. Nor can they plausibly insist that neoconservatism has anything at all to do with the American founding and tradition of limited government and avoidance of entangling alliances. Kristol has blown all these arguments out of the water.

...Finally, in case any doubt remains as to whether the Bush administration qualifies as neoconservative -- and there are still some out there who believe it remains fully within the American conservative tradition -- Kristol puts all doubt to rest. Bush and his administration, he says, 'turn out to be quite at home in this new political environment, although it is clear they did not anticipate this role any more than their party as a whole did." Face it, says Kristol: We've won, and you traditional conservatives in the Republican Party never saw it coming and still don't know what hit you. Unfortunately, he's right. [ more ]

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