Neocons and Their Hegemony of Hybrid Thinking

As the paleoconservative are quick to note, the neoconservatives are not purely right-wing thinkers - rather, they are usually a mix of left and right-wing thinking.

While the paeoconservatives bewail the “hegemony” of neo-cons within the conservative movement in general, in the Jewish world specifically, the neocons enjoy unbridled power in determining the agenda and parameters of those who dissent from liberal and left, as at least in the secular Jewish world, there is no other dissenting camp. For example, the only prominent American secular OVERTLY Jewish periodical in print that isn’t liberal or left is “Commentary”, the voice of the Jewish neocons.

A problem with this single exception to Jewish liberalism is that there is no place to challenge their ideas except from the left. But why should hybrid thinkers always agree with the neo-cons? Perhaps there are a few issues that we would and should differ from them.

For instance:

Immigration - The neocons are for relatively open immigration, but perhaps it is time to rethink this position? When we have affirmitive action for any member of a group that is a minority, perhaps it is rediculous to have more come when they are treated, at least by the second or third generation, to benefits over long-standing citizens that aren’t in the “minority” category. Something has to give. More ominously, we have groups that have a deep resentment of the U.S. that even if only a tiny minority of them are truly actively hostile to the U.S., perhaps they are too potentially deadly to not take measures to not curb their entry.

Privitization - This has proven a very bad idea - as in the case of Enron - to truly embrace it as they continue to do. Also - look at mass transit - even if someone never takes the subway in NYC, he still benefits from better air quality and less traffic. So why does the New York Sun continue to demand its privitization? Why shouldn’t he pay a subsidy? And recently the waterway to NJ went bankrupt - how is this not a security concern in a City that has occassional blackouts? Strange that neocons would allow us even more beholden to oil companies.

Elitism - Despite lip service to the middle class, neocons are openly elitist and classist to the core. But the Jewish community, while disproportionately wealthy, is not all wealthy - not by any means. With our paltry numbers, it would make sense for a push towards class ecumenicalism.

Israel and charges of anti-semitism - Currently, all right wing resentment over the attempted convergence of American and Israeli issues from the paleos are dismissed as anti-semetic all too frequently. But are these charges fair? If Jews on the right were willing, at least within the Jewish community, to assert that what’s good for America isn’t always what’s good for Israel - wouldn’t these charges be less frequently hurled, and instead, receive a rational, logical discussion, as perhaps they deserve? That will only happen when those Jews outside the left/liberal camp are prepared to ask the neocons these questions ourselves.

The neocons are let off the hook from the right, and are able to instead to define themselves by the easier bashing of the least sensible arguements from the most outlandish elements of the left.

It’s time for a fair fight, that is to say, a real fight - with both left and right dukes up.