Neoconservatism Online

One hears “neoconservative” bandied about quite frequently today—as the political philosophy that guides the Bushies and, pejoratively, as all that is anathema to progressive politics. But what is a neocon? I’ve been wading through compendiums (The Essential Neoconservative Reader and Web sites (www.newamericancentury.org, www.jinsa.org) to find out. The ugly site www.neoconservatism.com doesn’t give a lot of answers; it sells neocon texts (via Amazon) and features a neocon “hall of fame,” a glossary with links to pieces by Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz and others and links to such columnists as Mona Charen and the snarkily ad hominem Jonah Goldberg. It also cites curious neocon “forebears” as Alexis de Tocqueville and Lionel Trilling. Kremlinologists’ note: Ann Coulter is nowhere to be found.