William Kristol has done more for conservatism and country than most of his carping critics combined, but his latest column is so off base that it requires a friendly rebuke.
Sorry, Bill, but conservatives and Republicans have no business allying themselves with President Biden.
Kristol addressed his column to longtime Republicans now disaffected by the party’s slavish obeisance to former President Donald Trump’s every whim, no matter how mendacious or malicious. Seeing them, us, lost in a new political wilderness, he says the “pretty obvious alternative” is to join forces with the (supposedly) “moderate” group who (supposedly) make up “the Biden wing of the Democratic party.”
The whole scenario is based on a fantasy that Kristol is far too intelligent actually to believe. The fantasy is that Biden is a political “moderate” by any reasonable standard, much less that his “wing” of the party rules the roost. Everywhere one looks, one sees Biden pushing not just liberal but very liberal nominees to high positions. Everywhere one looks, one sees Biden pushing very liberal policies and signing very liberal executive orders.
And at no time, not once so far in his brief presidency, has Biden reached out to the center-Right to find or build on common ground. Killing the Keystone XL pipeline isn’t “moderate.” Pushing an anti-nun bully such as Xavier Becerra to run Health and Human Services or a race-obsessed radical such as Kristen Clarke to head the Justice Department’s civil rights division isn’t “moderate.” Letting Communist China get its hands on the U.S. electric grid isn’t “moderate.” Trying to stop all deportations of illegal immigrants certainly isn’t “moderate.”
And so, on and on go Biden’s remarkably “progressive” actions, as even liberal columnists recognize.
Nor should this be a surprise. Biden’s record in the Senate was in no way near the center. Somewhat “moderate” Democrats such as Sens. Bill Nelson of Florida or Robert Byrd of West Virginia still voted against conservatives a two-thirds or nearly three-fourths of the time, but that’s a far cry from Biden voting against us seven out of every eight votes for 36 years in the Senate. And forget true centrists such as former Sens. Sam Nunn of Georgia or Bennett Johnston of Louisiana, who were the Democratic version of current GOP centrists Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski: That sort of centrist is vastly farther from Biden, philosophically, than Biden is from socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The simple reality is that, on substance, conservatives and most Republicans favor entirely different policies than Biden does. On most issues, Republicans and Biden aren’t even in the same ballpark. How can we ally with him when we disagree so fundamentally with him, and he has offered nothing of substance on which to join him?
This is not to say Republicans should oppose Biden just to oppose him. It is to say, though, that the job for Republicans is to honorably oppose this president when they fundamentally disagree with him and to offer thoughtful, attractive alternatives.
Conservatives don’t agree with him on the size or scope of government, centralizing government in Washington, kowtowing to unions, practicing identity politics, or pushing the most pro-abortion policies in this nation’s history. We don’t agree with his favored restrictions on religious liberty, on his antipathy to traditional energy sources, or on higher taxes.
Indeed, essentially, other than love of country, we agree with Biden on almost nothing. All of which means we should not be allies but a constructively loyal opposition.
And darn proud of it.
