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January 13, 2006

Conservative Partisanship on Parade

The conservatives at CNSNews.com are busy defending Republicans and, as usual, betraying their supposed conservative principles in the process.

First, Frank Salvato rips Nancy Pelosi for her criticism of the Ted Kennedy-drafted and George W. Bush-signed No Child Left Behind Act, which increased federal control over public schools and federal spending on education.

Salvato is upset that Pelosi charged that the law had imposed unfunded mandates on states, caused a reduction in Pell Grant spending, and is a "Republican [attack] on our country's education system."

Salvato's defense is as follows: (1) The GOP has increased federal education spending faster than the states can spend it; (2) the maximum Pell Grant award has increased by 64 percent under the Republican Congress; and (3) having the federal government establish rules for local schools is a way to improve the system, not attack it.

So when a liberal attacks Republicans either for not growing government enough or for growing it too much, the conservative defense is that, first, they've grown it even more than the liberal wants and, second, when the GOP makes the government bigger, it's a good thing.

Second among conservative defenses today is Alan Caruba's column, in which he argues that Howard Dean and anyone else who dares to go outside the bounds of "responsible" war debate (apparently Caruba defines it the same way President Bush does) ought to be arrested for sedition. If convicted, the evil traitor could get a fine or imprisonment for up to 20 years.

Caruba almost certainly considers himself a defender of a strict interpretation of the Constitution, which protects everyone's right to free speech. Who, then, is the real enemy of our freedom: Howard Dean or Alan Caruba? (Actually, they both are, but Caruba is the one calling for the punishment of speech he doesn't like.)

Partisanship, as usual, trumps principles on both sides of the aisle.

Posted by Mike Tennant at January 13, 2006 11:46 AM

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