1. that resorted to questioning the
sincerity of Duke's conversion
to Christ ianity-even c hal-
lenging him to name his 'official
church." Even my old friend
picked up 55 percent of the
white vote; he lost in the runoff
because the fear campaign
brought out a massive out-
pouring of black voters. But
--
an instructive metaphor for
what will eventusally the fate
be
of Establishment Conserva-
tism.)
A left-wing populist,
Doug Bandow par- note the excite- former Governor Edwards is a
ticipated in this ment; politics in long-time Cajun crook, whose
cabal in the Wall Louisiana rose motto has been the rollicking
Street Journal, from the usual laissez les bon temps roulez
which virtually torpor that we ('let the good times roll"). He
flipped its wig in have been used has always been allegedly
anti-Duke hyste- to for decades hated by businsssmen and by
ria, to the extent of and brought out conservative elites. But this
attacking Duke for a turnout rate- was crisis time; and in crisis
being governed by 80 percent-that the truth is revealed: there is
self-interest(!)- hasn't been seen no fundamental difference be-
presumably in since the nine- tween left-wing populism and
contrast to all other teenth century, the system we have now. Left-
politicians moti- when party poli- wing populism: rousing the
vated by deep de- tics was fierce- masses to attack 'the rich,"
votion to the pub- ly partisan and amounts to more of the same:
lic weal?! It took a ideological. high taxes, wild spending,
lot of gall for One point massive redistribution of
Bandow to do this, that has nowhere working and middle class in-
since he is not been noted: pop- comes to the ruling coalition
a sacramental ulism won in of: big government, big busi-
Christian (where Louisiana, be- ness, and the New Class of
one can point out cause in the first bureaucrats, technocrats, and
that the person under attack primary the two winners were ideologues and their numerous
was not received into the sac- Duke, a right-wingpopulist, and dependent groups. And so, in
ramental Church), but a pietist Edwin Edwards, a left-wing the crunch, left-wing popu-
one, who is opposed to any populist. Out in the cold were lism-phony populism-disap-
sort of official creed or liturgy. th,e two Establishment candi- peared, and all crookery was
So how can a pietist Christian dates: incumbent Governor forgiven in the mighty Edwards
challenge the bona fides of Buddy Roemer, high-tax, high- coalition. It is instructive that
another one? And in a world spend "reform" Democrat em- the Establishment professes to
where no one challenges the braced by the Bush Adminis- believe in Edwards' teary
Christian credentials of a tration in an attempt to stop the promises of personal reform
Chuck Colson or a Jeb dread Duke; and the forgotten ('I'm 65 now; the good times
Magruder? But logic went out man, Clyde Holloway, the offi- have mellowetj"), while refus-
the window: for the entire Es- cial Republican candidate, a ing to believe in the sincerity
tablishment, the ruling elite, good Establishment conserva- of David Duke's conversion.
was at stake, and in that sort of tive, who got only five percent They said1in the 60%when
battle, all supposedly clashing of the vote. (Poor Human they gently chided the violent
wings of the Establishment Events kept complaining dur- Left: 'stop using violence, work
weld together as one unit and ing the campaign: why are the within the system." And sure
fight with any weapons that media ignoring Clyde enough it worked, as the former
might be at hand. Holloway? The simple answer New Left now leads the re-
But even so: David Duke is that he never got anywhere: spectable intellectual classes.
6 January 1992
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