January 31, 2018

An Antidote to the Left’s Caricature of Conservatism

I don’t often use my column to tout a specific book, but this volume is an exception that is really worth your time.

I don’t often use my column to tout a specific book, but this volume is an exception that is really worth your time.

My friend Arnold Steinberg has written a wise, engrossing history of modern conservatism, Whiplash! From JFK to Donald Trump, a Political Odyssey. It traces the author’s journey from a preteen supporter of John F. Kennedy to a prodigal and integral figure in American conservatism.

Our paths crossed early and often. I was doing graduate work at Georgetown and analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies when Arnie — barely 20 and just-named editor of The New Guard, national magazine of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) — called me about YAF’s opposition to trade with the Soviet Union. We agreed that non-military trade would allow the communists to strengthen their internal power and to divert scarce resources toward armaments.

Arnie’s college roommate, Bruce Weinrod, was working part-time for Lee Edwards, who would become The Heritage Foundation’s preeminent historian. Bruce was Heritage’s foreign policy studies director before moving to major positions in government.

Prior to founding Heritage, I worked as executive assistant to Rep. Phil Crane. Arnie had been instrumental in Phil’s 1969 upset election and remained Phil’s friend and confidante. A PhD historian, Phil was that rarity, an intellectual congressman. And that’s what drew me, and likely Arnie, to him.

A year later, Arnie’s innovative media strategy was instrumental in the Conservative Party’s 1970 election of Bill Buckley’s brother Jim as U.S. senator — from New York, of all places. Jim Buckley’s charming foreword to Arnie’s book recounts that amazing story.

That synthesis — between political philosophy and politics, between policy and campaigns — is much of what this book is about.

Arnie is one of those few political strategists who was into politics not for money or power but ideals. He encountered great minds such as Milton Friedman and Bill Buckley, with whom long ago I helped start The Philadelphia Society, an obscure group of professors and activist-intellectuals.

Arnie, who became one of our youngest members and later served with me as a trustee, now outs the “PhillySoc” as the apex of Hillary’s “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.”

Arnie repeatedly goes back to the ideas that animated his and our movement’s political successes, prompting Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn to remark, in his warm endorsement of the book, that the author “knows his craft deeply because he knows the purposes for which that craft is intended.”

Purdue’s President Mitch Daniels remarks, “Arnie Steinberg is one of America’s most valuable intellectual assets. His principled iconoclasm has been a source of insight and illumination. This chronicle of his fascinating career is invaluable as political history and a framework for thinking about the new fault lines in American politics today.”

These pages contain absolute gems of how-to political strategy and tactics, such as those the author originated for candidates Clint Eastwood and Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.

Although the author wrote two widely plagiarized preeminent classic graduate texts that defined the mechanics of contemporary political campaign management, he has often operated under the radar. His candid storytelling is fascinating.

A radical of sorts, he posits that American conservatism remains a revolutionary movement. He also effectively argues that many liberal nostrums offer cures worse than the disease.

At first, the author seems distracted in his digressions. But the puzzle comes together, as you realize that American conservatism is itself a puzzle.

Arnie traces his own flirtation with Objectivism, his libertarian roots, his appreciation of traditional conservatism, and his durable embrace of Frank Meyer’s “fusionism.” The book’s final chapter, on Donald Trump and what he means for the conservative movement, is rich with insights.

This book is an antidote to the Left’s caricature of conservatism. University students will learn, for example, that conservatives ended the draft, oppose crony capitalism, and have long supported criminal justice reform.

What a joy it would be if this book became required reading for college courses in history or political science.


Republished from The Heritage Foundation.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.