What IS a neocon?

Question

I'm a republican..I've been called this more than once.

I know the liberal, conservative nicknames but what the heck is a neocon? some kind of ultra-CEO republican business term?

Answer 1

Considered as a group, the neocons have a fairly concrete identity -- they are intensely hawkish Democrats (or the offspring of intensely hawkish Democrats) who bolted the party in the late '60s/early '70s after it turned against the Vietnam War. They tend to be Jewish, urban and intellectual. Many of them worked for Scoop Jackson (the hawkish Democratic Senator from Washington State.) Some of them started out on the far left fringe of American politics (Trotskyists, etc.) then moved right and kept going. Some are admirers of the late University of Chicago professor and philospher Leo Strauss.

These are all generalizations, but there are enough people who fit enough of the points to make the profile valid.

Ideologically, though, neocon is a much more nebulous term. It's not like there's some kind of neocon Politburo that lays down a rigid party line on any and all points -- although the Project for a New American Century probably comes closest to filling that function.

It's easy enough to point to some common themes that are generally identified with the neocons: contempt for international organizations and the concept of multilateralism; impatience with traditional balance-of-power diplomacy; a cultish devotion to the use of military power; an outspoken belief in the superiority of Western culture and political institutions; a messianic vision of America's mission to "civilize" the world, which at times (Max Boot) makes them sound like caricatures of old-fashioned European imperialists. And of course: an intense identification with the state of Israel, and a willingness, even eagerness, to use American power to protect and further Israeli security interests.

But there are nuances on all these points. Some neocons support the maximum Likud position -- one state (Jewish) between the Jordan and the sea. Some don't. Some are more willing to use multilateral institutions to pursue American interests. Some aren't. Some are more cynical about the "spreading democracy" meme than others.

Personally, I would not describe Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld as neocons. Certainly not on the first count (personal biography). And not on the second (ideological affinity), either. At the end of the day, Cheney and Rumsfeld are politicians and bureaucrats. They are not intellectuals -- not by a long shot. They are consumers of ideology, not producers.

To me, the neocons and the realists are rival schools of foreign policy intellectuals, competing for the patronage of political leaders such as Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Delay, etc. With a few exceptions, they are servants of power -- not holders of power.

Since most American politicians (like most American voters) know very little about the rest of the world, they usually don't have detailed positions on the kinds of foreign policy issues the neocons and the realists spend their professional lives debating. Instead, politicians have belief systems, typically reflecting some fairly basic value judgments: America must always be the strongest nation on earth, or America should try to cooperate with its allies, or whatever.

Answer 2

neo con is short for neo conservatism.

neo ...meaning new
con....short for conservative.


what it means is the new movement that broke from the political and economic platforms of the conservative movement as postulated by Peter Vierk and William F Buckley.

in other words this conservatite has broken with what is know as traditional conservatism.

especially fiscal conservatives.
for example people like Paul Oneil and
John Dean Nixions former legal council
check out his book would not be considered republicans or conservative by todays standards.

check out his book
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670037745/sr=8-1/qid=1154583720/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-6149234-3934264?ie=UTF8

But the roots pretty much start around the Nixion Administration.....as the revenge that the presidential power was put in check.

Check out a group called the Project for a new american century. The best example would be Cheney, Rumsfeld, Pearl, Wolfowitz, Chyrstal,
Fife, .....

they wrote a letter to clinton demanding an Iraq invasion, saying it would take "another pearl harbor" to rally the country.

here are a few charateristics.

1) Aboslute Presidential power in time of war
2) Hyper Nationalism
3) Increased relieance of Military solution
4) Absolute loyalty to the leader instead of the constititon.
5) Premetive doctrine
6) Unliateralism and disintrest in UN
7) Pander to Theocratic fundelmalism
8) Defict Spending
7) Less use of Diplomacy and
10) Overt Military use to secure limted resources
11) Paying of journalist and commentators to spread propeganda.
12) Complete disregard for environment in favor of corperate rights.
13) War as Economic stimulus.

kinda proto facism sorta......

to sum it all up.



president never wrong, military is the only and first solution, money above people, and give the christian rapture faction what it wants.

theres more but my show is coming on.



excellent excellent info on the rise of cheney from nixion to bush2 pretty much lots of info.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darkside/view/

Answer 3

Brief view: a Neo-Con is the term for a Neo Conservative. I don't like Neo Conservatives, however, I don't know your views, so I am not calling you one. Neo Conservatives are people like Limbaugh, Coulter, Hanitty, and O'Reilly. They force their view of Conservative politics down your throat, and if you don't agree, they sink low and call you names, as well as make false accusations, and install fear in people. For instance, there were widows who wanted to know the real story of 9/11 after allegations came out that the government knew about the attacks. Coulter stated those women were using 9/11 to get money in their pockets, basically calling them ambulance chasers. She is a disgusting "human being", and I use that term loosely. I know that is name-calling itself, but I can't stand the woman. She doesn't research anything, and was exposed for the ignorant person she is by Al Franken and by the Canadian Broadcasting Network.

Answer 4

I really don't know - it is a tag or title that has been applied by the left to conservatives, It probably is intended to have some type of negative meaning - but seeing how it was given to us by the ultra left liberals - I don;t plan to worry or get excited about it.

Answer 5

A name given to anyone who does not prescribe to the political left's views. Usually Republican conservatives that are more predominate in rural areas (tough as hell). People that believe in a system of law, are willing to fight for what they believe in (such as the USA against NAZIS), believe in working hard and standing on their own two feet. That don't want the Government involved in every aspect of our lives. Unlike some Liberals who stand for nothing but their own personal well being and wishes, that will drag you into Federal court for displaying a cross or praying in public, because it offends them, want us to give our hard earned money to people to lazy to work, (and no I am not rich or even middle class) just a poor old Hillbilly

Answer 6

Don't worry... take it as a complement.

It is basically new conservatives who adopted the good values of the old liberalism and got rid of the bad values of old conservativism.

That leaves the new liberals... They are now bitter, angry, and radical, not so fun bunch of people.

Answer 7

Anybody who disagrees with the fascistic liberals. It's used to imply that one is a racist, which is the new heretic. It's a way to demonize their enemies so they feel justified in their witch hunts against anybody who disagrees with their paranoid delusional psychosis.

Answer 8

Neocon is a conservative who subscribes to neoconservatism.

Answer 9

a neocon is actually new conservative... *shrug*

Neo- is a prefix, derived from Greek that means new or recent, or in a modern form.

Answer 10

This isnt the technical term for it but for me it means a nazi conservative.