There’s a long piece over at Newsweek that, advertently or not, demonstrates the meaninglessness and flexibility of the word. As I’ve often noted, like “fascist,” most people who use it have no idea what it means.
15 thoughts on “Neocons”
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As I’ve often noted, like “fascist,” most people who use it have no idea what it means.
Really? My impression has always been that it was a pejorative code word for a name they dared not use.
Those two things are not logically incompatible. And as the article points out, words like “kike” often accompany it.
So what is the real meaning of the word then? I thought it referred to a group of Jewish political activists who had previously supported Scoop Jackson and who switched support to the Republican party under Reagan for its policy towards Israel and the Middle-East.
I’m thinking the “real meaning” is obscured by the overwhelming conventional use.
Neocon = anyone to the right of Stalin with whom the speaker disagrees. It also applies to anyone who points out the slightest conceptual conflict between endless new treaties and agreements, and the simultaneous failure to meet obligations on old treaties and agreements.
I’m not aware of it having specifically Jewish connotations. According to Hugh Hewitt’s show some years ago, when they talked about it, it was introduced by Conservatives to distinguish between the former Democrats in the Reagan administration and those who had been “faithful” all along. Technically, Reagan himself was a Neocon, but he wasn’t referred to that way.
Reading about Scoop Jackson on Wikipedia, he sounds like the type.
I’m not aware of it having much to do with Israel; I’ve always interpreted that as closeted anti-semitism on the Left, seeing associations that weren’t really there because of the (unwelcome, by them) presence of Jews in GW Bush’s cabinet. Conservatives (poitically) and Evangelicals (religiously) generally support Israel; it’s not unique to the Neocon sub-set.
It had no intended Jewish connotations when first coined. Among those in the grip of virulent Judenhass, though, it took on that connotation for the simple reason that they don’t like neocons, and therefore neocons must be Jooooooooooooz.
The two most noted neocons, Irving Kristol and Norman Podhoretz, were in fact Jews.
I’ve always liked Irving Kristol’s “mugged” defintion, in part because it applied so well to me. Jonah did a 3-parter on it back in ’03 that doesn’t seem too dated; 1, 2, 3.
Al, the original Trotskyist neocons started out to the *left* of Stalin – that was why they weren’t, you know, Stalinists.
I don’t think that “neocon” is a completely meaningless label. But it helps if you don’t call people like Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bolton, and GW Bush “neocon”.
As a current conservative, former liberal, I guess I’m a neocon. I’m also a Jew 2.0 – Christian branch. When Judaism forked, two principle branches survived – Christianity and Rabbinical (as opposed to Temple (1.X)) Judaism.
I think Reagan was also a Jew 2.0 – Christian branch.
As is often the case, when the code base forked there were flame wars. For this code base the flame wars were very nasty, sad to say.
Yours,
Tom
“The two most noted neocons, Irving Kristol and Norman Podhoretz, were in fact Jews.”
I believe they still are. 🙂
Norman still is, but Irving is dead.
Don’t forget Jeanne Kirkpatrick, who started out as a Democrat, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who remained one.
Although if Daniel Patrick Moynihan were alive today, I think he might want to switch parties. He’d also be scratching frantically at the lid of his coffin …
Assuming a physical Resurrection, which is I think still mainstream Jewish doctrine, Kristol will get his chance to be a Jew again.