Echoing the sound bites and TV ads of their candidate, some are touting their guy as the "true" conservative and the other guys as not being "conservative enough," Moreover, they have a tendency to question the credentials of other conservatives with whom they disagree.

 

Whoa!

What's a "true" conservative? By who's definition. By what definition? A true or false test? A pop quiz? An Inquisition?

These litmus test zealots would have no room for the civility, tolerance and intellectual heft of William F. Buckley, Jr.  In their kind of Republican Party, I seriously doubt whether Barry Goldwater or Ronald Reagan could even contend for the 2012 nomination.

Today's Republican Party is hardly synonymous with conservatism or its heritage.  All too often, the strident, "true" conservative purists engage in rigid ideological rhetoric which isn't remotely related to basic conservative principles.

The truth is there's no such thing as a "true" conservative. We come in all sizes and shapes

Conservatism is a big tent, diverse fellowship, composed of at least five distinct brands: Cultural, Fiscal, Neoconservative, Paleoconsevative and Social conservatives. There are also Constitutional, Libertarian, Populist and Tea Party conservatives in the tent too.

I love 'em all and read none out. I'm not a my way or the highway, purge 'em conservative.

Russell Kirk, was the preeminent conservative thinker of the 20th century. In his masterful book, The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot, he puts the first core principle of conservatism as a:“Belief in a transcendent order or body of natural law, which rules society as well as conscience..."

Our fundamental message - crafted over some three centuries by among the greatest thinkers and statesmen of Western Civilization - begins with:

Individual liberty; the sanctity of personhood. And unlike the liberal-left, we come down on the side of freedom; we come down on the side of the individual; not the state, not the collective; we come down on the side of limited government, not big, intrusive, nanny state government; we come down on the side of fiscal restraint, not profligate spending; and we proudly come down on the side of free market capitalism - free markets, free people.

Conservatives are famous for our family squabbles, especially during presidential primaries. But let's stop this "true" conservative, finger-pointing nonsense.

In the end, what binds most conservatives of all stripes in the big tent is Russell Kirk's first principle of conservatism - a belief in a transcendent, natural law.

It was first expressed by the father of conservative thought, Edmund Burke:

“There is but one law for all, namely that law which governs all law, the law of our Creator, the law of humanity, justice, equity - the law of nature and of nations.”

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"A Look At the Legends: From Burke to Reagan," (Red County, June 28, 2011)

                                                            "I know nothing but my Country, my whole Country,
                                                                                      and nothing but my Country" 
                                                 
The Know Nothing Party of the 1830s and 1840s was an anti-intellectual, exclusionary movement whose rigid, ideological orthodoxy led to its eventual extinction.

Some 171 years later, they're back!

Today's Republican Party is morphing into The Know Nothing Republican Party: legitimate, collegial, partisan debate has been replaced with harsh, strident rhetoric - opponents are now enemies - with a maniacal fear and loathing of government.*  The party is hardly synonymous with conservatism or its heritage: it isn't remotely related to the basic conservative principles of civility and tolerance.

The sunny optimism of Ronald Reagan,** the intellectual heft and humor of William F. Buckley and the principled, civil, tolerant conservatism of Barry Goldwater are no longer the face of the Republican Party.

Today's Know Nothing Republican Party is the home of  litmus-test purists as exemplified by the  current crop of mostly permanently angry Republican presidential candidates and the likes of the Senate's leading ideological watchdog, Jim DeMint (R-SC) and the intimidating Grand Inquisitor,Grover Norquist, with his Taxpayer Protection Pledge nonsense: sign it or be damned all you Republican candidates and officeholders.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed column, Peter Berkowitz contrasts the reigning Know Nothing elements of the party to the kind of conservatism which use to be the foundation  of the Republican Party - and to which I subscribe - the conservatism of Buckley, Goldwater and Reagan:

“The notion of conservative purity is a myth. The great mission of American conservatism - securing the conditions under which liberty flourished - has always depended on the weaving together of imperfectly compatible principles and applying them to an evolving and elusive political landscape.

William F. Buckley Jr.'s 1955 Mission Statement announcing the launch of National Review welcomed traditionalists, libertarians and anticommunists. His enterprise provides a model of a big-tent conservatism supported by multiple and competing principles: limited government, free markets, traditional morality and strong national defense,” (The Myth of Conservative Purity, WSJ, September 7).

The Buckley, Goldwater, Reagan brand of conservatism (and my brand too) -rooted in the heritage of Edmund Burke and other great conservative thinkers - has no need for debasing, coarse rhetoric. Our philosophy doesn't require it and our heritage doesn't teach it. It's affirmative, cheerful and thoughtful not angry, shrill, strident or exclusionary.

The party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, Robert Taft, Everett Dirksen and Dwight Eisenhower is no more. In its place stands the Know Nothing Republican Party  - a petty, small, aggrieved bunch of ideologues - which, if it continues on its current course, will eventually become extinct too. And that day couldn't come soon enough for me.

*The Republican Party of the 19th century was a stalwart advocate of  government as a way to enhance the virtues capitalism. 

**Horror of horrors: “Former Senator Alan Simpson (Republican, Wyoming): 'Ronald Reagan raised taxes 11 times in his administration. I was here. I was here. I knew him. Better than anybody in this room. He was a dear friend and a total realist as to politics.'”

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“Classical Conservatism: From Burke to Reagan,” (We Are Politics, June 28)

NOTE: Content may not be used without permission of the author. This commentary is also posted on   Redcounty.com.