Memo to Sam Tanenhaus: About That 'Death of Conservatism' Thing…

You probably already know that Sam Tanenhaus, the editor of the New York Times‘s Week in Review and Book Review sections, published a book last year that must have seemed like a good idea at the time he pitched it and wrote it. Called The Death of Conservatism, it won Tanenhaus rapturous reviews from the usual suspects on the left side of the aisle. Newsweek‘s Jon Meacham even published a sympathetic interview in Aug. 2009 with the author, headlined Requiem for the Right: the biolgrapher of Whittaker Chambers and William Buckley on a dying movement. An excerpt:

One criticism of your book will no doubt be that you are an egghead sellout from The New York Times and aren’t a true conservative anyway.

Egghead? I wish. I’m a working journalist, plus biographer and self-taught historian. I claim no expertise as a political thinker, and even less in the realm of policy. As for my having sold out to the Times, anyone masochistic enough to review my writings over the years will see my point of view has changed very little.

Some on the Right immediately took exception to Tanenhaus’ argument, such as James Piereson in the pages of the The New Criterion:

Conservatism, moreover, is now a permanent and enduring aspect of American political life, supported by millions of Americans and defended by a large network of writers, journals, and think tanks. There is, however, a more important reason for its enduring appeal among Americans. Conservatism in America deploys the principles of tradition, reason, and orderly change in defense of liberal institutions–the Constitution, representative government, liberty and equal rights, the rule of law. It is generally the conservative, not the modern liberal, who emphasizes the inspired example of the founding fathers, the words of the Constitution, and the sacrifices made to build free institutions.

Well, that was last year and this is now:

And this:

And this:

Whose side would you rather be on? Your thoughts welcome here.