Monday, February 26, 2007

Embracing Converts   [Peter Suderman]

This New York Times story from yesterday on the Council for National Policy pushes the "secret conservative elite" angle a little too much for my taste (any meeting of conservative leaders that doesn't throw itself to the press tends to gets written about in such a way that it seems as if it's an offshoot of SPECTRE), but it's worth reading for Grover Norquist's closing quip:

Mr. Norquist said he remained open to any of the three candidates who spoke to the council or to Mr. Romney. He argued that with the right promises, any of the four could redeem themselves in the eyes of the conservative movement despite their past records, just as some high school students take abstinence pledges even after having had sex.

"It's called secondary virginity," Mr. Norquist said. "It is a big movement in high school and also available for politicians."

That's cute, and it's typical of the sharp-witted Norquist.  And I think he’s right: Conservatives ought to be open to converts.  Much ink is spilled each and every election cycle trying to convince candidates to do the right thing, to support good policy with their words and actions. Yet when they do switch, they almost inevitably get branded as fence-sitters, opportunists, or out-and-out liars.  Now, this isn’t to say that conservatives shouldn’t remain skeptical. I think it’s fair to test converts, but at some point it becomes unfair, and even politically irresponsible, to permanently hold their previous actions against them.

02/26 03:51 PMShare