Conservatism Dead by Its Own Hand: O'Rourke

Modern conservatism is dead, and conservatives are to blame, PJ O’Rourke writes for the Weekly Standard. “Anyone who is still on the left is obviously insane and not responsible for his or her actions,” he contends. “No, we on the right did it.” Ideal after conservative ideal has been ill-served more or less since Reagan. “We neglected to convey the organic and universal nature of freedom.”

It took just 12 years of Republican control of Congress, O’Rourke laments, to get as “corrupt and arrogant” as Democrats did in 40. Immigration, foreign policy, Wall Street—he could go on, and does—have all been laid waste. “We’re doing good work on our final task—attaching the garden hose to our car's exhaust pipe and running it in through a vent window,” he concludes. “Barack and Michelle will be by in a moment with some subsidized ethanol to top up our gas tank. And then we can turn the key.” (More President Obama stories.)