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Gestalt Conservatism

Since every pundit sooner or later takes turns peddling some boutique variety of conservatism -- "Crunchy Cons," "compassionate conservatism," "South Park conservatives" and so forth -- I figure I might as well buy a ticket the sweepstakes.

Gestalt is the mental process whereby we translate patterned data into coherent ideas. So: Obama at Notre Dame, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Carrie Prejean, Larry Summers, Joe the Plumber, George Orwell, David Brooks, Al Gore, Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh, Ronald Reagan, Concord Bridge, salmon-and-risotto dinners at the Watergate.

See the pattern?

About the Author

Robert Stacy McCain is co-author (with Lynn Vincent) of Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party (Nelson Current). He blogs at The Other McCain.

http://spectator.org/blog/2009/05/18/gestalt-conservatism

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Special Feature

Better that we become a nation of choosers rather than beggars. Our symposium on choice from the May, 2012 issue:

A Time for Choosing

James Piereson

The Road from Serfdom

Stephen Moore and Peter Ferrara

FLASHBACK TO: 1984

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