EDITORrnThomas FlemingrnMANAGING EDITORrnTheodore PappasrnSENIOR EDITOR, BOOKSrnChilton Williamson, Jr.rnASSISTANT EDITORrnChristine HaynesrnART DIRECTORrnAnna Mycek-WodeckirnCONTRIBUTING EDITORSrnJohn W. Aldridge, Harold O.J.rnBrown, Katherine Dalton, SamuelrnFrancis, Ceorge Carrett,rnE. Christian Kopff, Clyde WilsonrnCORRESPONDING EDITORSrnJanet Scott Barlow, Bill Kauffman,rnJohn Shelton Reed, Momcilo Selic,rnDavid KSlavittrnEDITORIAL SECRETARYrnLeann DobbsrnPUBLISHERrnAllan C. CarlsonrnPUBLICATION DIRECTORrnGuy C. ReffettrnCOMPOSITION MANAGERrnAnita FedorarnCIRCULATION MANAGERrnRochelle FrankrnA publication of The Rocklord Institute.rnEditorial and Advertising Offices:rn934 North Main Street, Rockford, IL 61103.rnEditorial Phone: (815)964-5054.rnAdvertising Phone: (815)964-5811.rnSubscription Department: P.O. Box 800,rnMount Morris, IL 61054. Call 1-800-877-5459.rnEor information on advertising in Chronicles,rnplease call Rochelle Frank at (815) 964-5SII.rnU.S.A. Newsstand Distribution by Eastern NewsrnDistributors, Inc., 1130 Cleveland Road,rnSandusky, OH 44870.rnCopyright © 1993 by The Rockford Institute.rnAll rights reserved.rnChronicles (ISSN 0887-5731) is publishedrnmonthly tor S28 per year by The RockfordrnInstitute, 934 North Main Street, Rockford,rnIL 61103-7061. Second-class postage paidrnat Rockford, IL and additional mailing offices.rnPOSTMASTER: Send address changes tornChronicles, P.O. Box 800, Mount Morns.rnIL 61054.rnThe ‘iews expressed in Chronicles are thernauthors’ alone and do not necessariU’ reflectrnthe views of The Rockford Institute or of itsrndirectors. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot bernreturned unless accompanied bv a self-addressedrnstamped envelope.rnChroniclesrnVol. 17, No, 11 November 1993rnPrinted in tlie United States of AniericarnPOLEMICS & EXCHANGESrnOn ‘Conservatism’rnI was sorely disappointed by the editingrnof my review of Paul Gottfried’s T/zernConservative Movement, Revised Editionrn(“Gloomy Conservatives,” August 1993).rnMy attempt at irony and subtlety mightrnhave exceeded my ability to express myselfrnand thus confused your editor; butrnthis only validates the need for a reviewrnof the editing by the author, as I was offeredrnbut did not receive.rnFor example, where I attempted ironyrnto mildly chide the book under reviewrnfor criticizing as faults the early conservativernmovement’s “defiant” tone, itsrnopposition to George Wallace, its politicalrnactivisin, and its optimism, thernheavy-handed editor has me agreeingrnwith the author! The obvious iinport ofrnmy review—as the headline-writer recognizedrn—was to contrast earlier optimismrnwith the author’s gloomy picturernof conseratism, and to balance its detachedrnperspective with some sense ofrnpolitical engagement.rnPart of this attempt to change tonernwas to be more understanding of thoserninvolved in the political arena. Yet,rnrather than print my gentle response to arnfar stronger criticism of the HeritagernFoundation by the book’s author, therneditor turns it into a gratuitous commentrnabout that fine institution. WhenrnI try to make the point that I cannot acceptrnthat only neoconservatives movernconservatives left—citing that somethingrnhas mo’ed Irving Kristol right—itrnis turned into the nonsense statementrnthat I do not believe neoconservativesrnturn conservatives leftward. Of coursernthey do; the question the book raises isrnwhether it ever goes in the other direction.rnI think it works both ways, perhapsrnmore in moving neoconservativesrnright, which is why they are hyphenatedrnconservatives.rnDistortions across the difficult dividesrnof conservatism are understandable.rnStill, my hope is that my favorite editorrnwas on one of his many foreign trips—rnwhich he uses to so well educate us all—rnand that he was not available to exercisernhis usual diligent oversight of the mostrnthought-provoking journal of opinion inrnthe country today.rn—Donald DevinernAlexandria, VArnDonald Devine’s assertion that “conservatismrnin the 80’s did roll back (howeverrntemporarily) the welfare state” is preposterous.rnThis is not true. No way.rnUnder Reagan and Bush, big governmentrn(taxes, the annual deficit, the nationalrndebt) got bigger than ever in thernhistory of our country. Why doesrnDevine write such crap?rn—John LoftonrnLaurel, MDrnDonald Devine is to be congratulated forrna perceptive and well-written review ofrnmy book. His praise is extremely generous,rnand even his critical remarks are farrnmore pleasant to see than the blackoutrnon my work imposed by MovementrnConservative magazines. Don is correctrnthat iny two concluding chapters are farrnless flattering toward Irving Kristol andrnMidge Decter than is an earlier chapter,rnleft over from the first edition. My editorialrnchoice was either to remove thernlimited praise conferred on Kristol andrnDecter, which was merely giving thernDevil his due, or to appear unnecessarilyrnmean-spirited, by finding nothing tornpraise in my later objects of criticism.rnLike other sympathetic readers, Donrnis unclear about the point of my investigativernreporting. Why do I give sornmuch attention to the neoconservatives’rntakeover of formerly anti-New Dealrnfoundations and to the varied uses ofrnconquered funds? My stress on thernlargesse neocons shower on each otherrnwas intended to discredit any claim thatrnthey have suffered for their principles.rnOne obvious reason neoconservativesrnfavor an expanded federal sector is thatrnthey have built their empire on public asrnwell as philanthropic funds. Their backing,rnin many cases, of Bill Clinton againstrnGeorge Bush in the presidential race wasrnat least partly proiripted by the hope ofrncutting a deal with Democrats for federalrnpatronage. I am certainly not arguingrnthat financial interest provides a sufficientrnexplanation for neoconservative orrnmovement conservative political behavior.rnNor would I suggest that paleoconservativesrnwould be allowed into the NYDCrnpolitical conversation if they raised arnfew billion dollars for their own journalsrnand think tanks. Neoconservatives arernwhere they are, in part, because they cooperaternwith the liberal establishmentrn4/CHRONICLESrnrnrn