Real Conservatives Tell Neocons Enough Is Enough

It's bad enough that Newt Gingrich has been testing the waters with his neocon World War III nonsense. Of course, Bill Kristol, who hasn't exactly been a crystal ball the last four years, gets shellacked by none other than George Will; here's one story by Steve Clemons of The Washington Note:

George Will let loose on Kristol in a similar way during a discussion between George Stephanopoulos, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, and Fareed Zakaria on This Week. (Podcast audio of the show available here).

In reaction to the editorial that William Kristol penned this week in the Weekly Standard titled "It's Our War" which advocates initiation of war against Iran, George Will remarked about Kristol and the neocons: "The most magnificently misnamed neoconservatives are the most radical people in this town."

George Will goes on to comment that America has its hands full with Iraq and that Iraq may, in fact, get worse because of the flare-up around Israel.

And here's the second blow from George Will as reported again by Steve Clemons:

George Will has sent to his client list a most amazing article -- appearing in tomorrow's Washington Post -- that is a full-throttle attack on The Weekly Standard.

Will blasts The Weekly Standard five times in his short, 770-word piece.

He starts with a powerful critique and rebuke of Condi Rice's interview with George Stephanopoulos on This Week that aired yesterday morning. He wraps up with a lashing of William Kristol and his cohorts rivalling the intensity of Israel's latest air raids over Beirut.

TWN published this morning about the strong assaults by Juan Williams and George Will on Kristol and The Weekly Standard, but I did not know at that time that the conservative scribe would be launching such a serious second strike today.

I'm one of those who has always distinguished between right-wingers and conservatives, though the more I understand the neocons, a seperate group, the more I feel they drifted into some sort of intellectual never-never land. Of course, Newt Gingrich is no conservative; he's a right winger who jumped on the neocon bandwagon some time ago and is once again missing history as he launches a campaign for president. George Will is a classic conservative but he's given in far too much to those on the radical right for the last twelve years. It will be interesting to see if classic conservatives begin reasserting themselves again. I don't agree with classic conservatives but at least I recognize the universe they live in.