VOLuntarilyConservative

If you are a big fan of philosophy, have a political science degree, or love great writing (I would end up in the latter category), Jonah Goldberg has an excellent column that responds to Andrew Sullivan's analysis of conservatism. Sorry, Andrew, but Jonah's argument carries the day (of course, he seems to have an advantage being that one always has a leg up writing about what he is), as can be seen here in Andrew's responses that show the relativism that props up his theoretical yet unrealistic categories of conservatism. Like Jonah, I am uncomfortable with Andrew's blurring of conservatism and the Republican Party:

"I agree with Sullivan that Republicans are straying a bit too much from conservatism and that conservatives are letting it happen too much and I think he offers important insights and useful suggestions on this score. But republicans are politicians and politicians promise to do things. Conservatives are people who — ultimately — explain why many things shouldn’t be done."

Sure, I can understand those in the mainstream media making such an error, but I would honestly expect more from Andrew Sullivan. Nevertheless, a great debate for a Saturday morning.