Conservatives Without Conscience

Writing as a member of the Republican Party, the infamous John Dean, who has resurrected his post-Watergate career by writing books that take the high road, looks at conservatism today and sees not a monolithic entity but a many-faceted one over which one dominant group, whose worldviews are dangerously autocratic, has grabbed control. Citing Karl Rove and Dick Cheney as leaders of this group, with George Bush as a weak-minded yet still authoritarian follower, Dean echoes some of what others have said: that the Bush administration is secretive, uncooperative, and adversarial. He cites, in particular, the relations with Congress that have grown bitter, even within the Republican party. By sweeping away the usual checks and balances, the combative conservatives have alienated their base--the group Dean is addressing. He backs up his thesis with research into personality types, and presents an alternative to authoritarian conservatism based on an older model of conservatism (one thinks of William Buckley and Barry Goldwater) that was, in his view, thoughtful, principled, and intelligently consistent.