Has Rush Limbaugh ‘jumped the shark’? That depends on what you think his purpose is. Is he, as Michael Steele no doubt wishes he hadn’t said, just ‘an entertainer’? Or is he the de facto leader of the Republican party, as so many liberals would like him to be? Rush Limbaugh...

Author’s note: This is a slightly edited version of an article that was published a few years ago at California Republic . -Rachel Motte Today’s young conservative activists often lack a clear idea of what conservatism means. Drawn by the excitement generated by a popular candidate or policy,...

[Note: This post is part of the "On Conservatism" series.] Having cleared away some of the semantic underbrush, we can return to the original questions: What is the meaning of the phrase “limited government” and what political questions are we addressing when we appeal to that principle? The...

In his latest book, Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again, David Frum relates a story from the 1950s about an ex-Communist who got into an argument with a young man newly infatuated with Marxism. The older man retorted: “Your answer are so old that I’ve forgotten the questions.” In...

[Note: This post is part of the "On Conservatism" series.] Because the purpose of this series is to explore the “the contours of conservatism” the majority of the posts will focus on the ideas and perspective of the past. But it is also useful to be aware of the trends that conservative thought...

[Note: This post is part of the "On Conservatism" series.] Recently a friend wrote, “Conservatism is what it is and it’s not subject to interpretation. It’s not a “living” concept subject to the vagaries of public opinion. It’s small government, low taxes and muscular...

[Note: This post is part of the "On Conservatism" series.] In modern American there are almost as many brands of conservatism as there are conservatives. There are neo-cons and paleocons, theocons and crunchy cons. There are social conservative and fiscal conservatives. Conservatives who aim for National...

While working on a recording together, Johnny Cash asked Bob Dylan if he knew “Ring of Fire.” Dylan said he did and began to play it on the piano, croaking it out in typical Dylanesque fashion. When he was done he turned to his new friend and said, “It goes something like that, right?” “No,”...