Real Conservatives Should Be Livid—at Republicans

Don't confuse the principles of conservatism with the principles—or lack thereof—of the current Republican party, writes Andrew Sullivan in the Daily Beast. In a scathing blog post, he calls the GOP's use of the debt ceiling as a negotiating tool "legislative terrorism" by a "single fanatical faction." They're willing to destroy the nation's credit rating to get their way? It's similar in spirit to the GOP's use of the modern "non-filibuster filibuster," which makes a mockery of the legislative process, not to mention the Constitution.

"When you see a political party that openly flaunts these attacks on the American constitutional balance and the country's credit for purely partisan reasons, you begin to see how deep the rot has gone," writes Sullivan. "This anti-conservative radicalism is anti-American," and it proves that the modern GOP "is not a party worthy of any role in government." Read his full post here. For an opposing view (a no-surrender plea that helped set Sullivan off), see Marc Thiessen's column in the Washington Post. (More fiscal cliff stories.)