September 28, 2002

Nick Schulz takes the first

Nick Schulz takes the first shot at The American Conservative. He wonders how conservative Pat Buchanan is anymore since his positions parallel many non-conservatives:

If the folks at TAC believe they can demonstrate that they are truer to some timeless "faith" than anyone else, they have a tough road ahead. Buchanan claims he and his gang speak for genuine conservatives. He's free to make that claim. But let's look at some specific issues. On the question of a potential Iraqi invasion, for example, TAC's positions are indistinguishable from those of Noam Chomsky, Al Gore, former Clinton advisor and Democratic intellectual William Galston, and Lewis Lapham, the editor of the left wing Harper's magazine. Indeed Lapham and Buchanan, in the current issues of their respective magazines, make strong arguments against Iraqi invasions that happen to make the exact same points. Take another issue, such as global trade. It doesn't help matters for TAC that on trade issues, Buchanan's views mirror those of Ralph Nader.