wise men and women on the Court whornmight fear to tread there. One of the justieesrnhas rushed in, but unless three morerndecide to grant cert, regulation of partialbirthrnabortion could be left to the states,rnas it should be.rn— Stephen B. PresserrnT H E JOHN RANDOLPH CLUBrnheld its tenth annual meeting at the LathamrnHotel in Georgetown, the first (andrnprobably last) time that the club has enteredrnthe boundaries of the District ofrnColumbia. The meeting was an unqualifiedrnsuccess, with near record numbersrnin attendance. Leave it to the membersrnof The John Randolph Club to marchrnaround the Beltway, sing a few songs, andrnwatch the walls come tumbling down.rnThis year’s meeting addressed the topicrn”Why Washington Doesn’t Matter,”rnand no one could introduce the subjectrnwith more candor than Bill Kauffman.rnAt the opening reception, attendees vererntreated to “Mr. Kauffman Coes to Washington”rn—a stirring jeremiad calling citizensrnof the world and fans of the Washingtonrnsoap opera to rededicate their livesrnto their own hometowns b)’ committingrnthe sin of “placism.”rnThe Saturday morning panels discussedrn”Three Things Washington Can’trnGet Right.” Cato Institute senior fellowrnDoug Bandow led a panel on foreign policvrnwith a speech entitled “Washington;rnBipartisan Imperialism.” Next, in arnsobering and stirring address. ChroniclesrnForeign Affairs Editor Srdja Trifkovic arguedrnthat “It’s Not Just the Balkans Anymore.”rn”Why have Americans bartered theirrntreasured freedoms and allowed bureaucratsrnto strip-mine their resources?” askedrnDavid Hartman, the chairman of ThernRockford Institute, as he led a panel onrneconomics. The answer? They havernbeen swayed b’ “Washington’s EconomicrnMyths” —socialist ideals. Wrappingrnup the panel, U.S. Business and IndustrialrnCouncil President Kevin Kearns explainedrnhow Washington, while helpingrnitself to the heartland’s hard-earnedrnwealth, is “Globalizing America Down.”rnThe morning session concluded withrna discussion of the third area of D.C.’srnfailure —”The Moral Order.” ConstitutionrnParty vice presidential candidaternJoseph Sobran demonstrated how, sincernLincoln replaced the (truly) federal governmentrnwith a “nation,” “Immoral Acts”rnhave replaced “Free Association and thernConstitution.” And columnist SamuelrnFrancis contemplated the moral implicationsrnof Pat Buchanan’s exodus from therntwo-partv system in “Bevond Stupid andrnEvil.”rnTurning from the problem to the solution,rnthe afternoon session centered onrnthe things that do matter. The first afternoonrnpanel, “Wliy Washington Doesn’trnMatter and the States Do,” was kicked offrnby journalist and ex-Washingtonian R.rnCort Kirkwood, who told the membersrnthat “If You Really Want to ChangernThings, Move Back Home.” Firebrandrnnewspaperman Robert Stacy McCain exposedrnthe spin cycle of the Washingtonrnmedia elite in “Down-Home Defiance.”rnAnd John Randolph Club PresidentrnThomas Fleming contrasted the ennoblingrnidea of patria with the modernrnnotion oination in “Local Patriots.”rnThe heart of The John RandolphrnClub and Chronicles is a commitment tornrevitalizing the culture, and that v’as thernsubject of the final panel. Underscoringrnthe significant contribution that classicalrncivilization made to Christendom, E.rnChristian Kopff reminded guests thatrnBOOK OF NEXT MONTHrnOur book for next month is Bill Kauffman’srnAmerica First! Its History, Culture, and Politicsrn(1995). Throwing off the liberal-conservativernstraitjacket, Kauffman ranges across 20th-centuryrnAmerican politics and literature to demonstiate thatrn”isolationism” is the natural political expression ofrnan American culture that draws its vigor fromrnregional sources. From Charles Lindbergh tornEdward Abbey, from Gore Vidal to PatrnBuchanan, Kauffman’s rearrangement of thernAmerican scene is at once novel and vet makesrnperfect sense.rn”The Devil Knows Latin,” while filmmakerrnRonald Maxwell shared thernprophetic voice of American poet RobinsonrnJeffers. As the afternoon came to arnclose, Roger McCrath reminded the audiencernof the vast store of cultural wealthrnnow banned from American universitiesrnin his speech, “Tales From the PoliticallyrnCorrect Crypt.”rnAfter a spectacular dinner, the RandolphrnClub was treated to one of its mostrnrambunctious debates ever as the panelistsrntook up the resolution: “Conservativesrnin Washington Haven’t Done arnDamned Thing.” “Is it enough to stay atrnhome and take shots at those who are inrnthe fray?” asked panelists James Jatras,rnDoug Bandow, and Cliff Kincaid, whornhave all dedicated their lives to fightingrnthe battle in Washington. Were it not forrna tiny remnant of indefatigable conservatives,rnthey argued, the Washington beastrnwould be even larger and more powerful.rnThomas Fleming, Bill Kauffman, andrnTom Piatak countered that conservativesrnare corrupted by contact with Leviathan,rnand that no good can come from a governmentrnthat is fundamentally corrupt.rnRefreshed by a weekend of stirringrnoratory and fellowship, the membersrnof The John Randolph Club returnedrnhome on Sunday, to add a new “ism” tornthe charges made by liberals: patriarchal,rnhomophobic, sexist, racist, placistslrnO B I T E R DICTA: chronicles is consideringrnhiring an assistant editor/layoutrntechnician. Experience with MicrosoftrnWord and desktop publishing on thernMacintosh is a plus. For consideration,rnplease send a resume, writing samples,rnand salary requirements to: Chronicles,rn928 N. Main Street, Rockford, IL 61105.rnPaul Lake, who teaches English andrncreative writing at Arkansas Tech, hasrncontributed two poems to this issue. Hisrnsecond collection of poetry, WalkingrnBackward, was recentiy released by StoPi’rnLine Press. Mr. Lake’s poems have appearedrnin the Formalist, the Hudson Review,rnthe Sewanee Review, and the ParisrnReview, among others.rnChronicles is illustrated this month byrnStephen Warde Anderson, a self-taughtrnartist from Rockford, Illinois. Mr. Andersonrnis affiliated with the Phyllis KindrnGallery in New York, Dean JensenrnCaller)- in Milwaukee, Aron Packer andrnEarth Works Gallery in Chicago, andrnWebb Gallery in Waxahachie, Texas.rn8/CHRONICLESrnrnrn