Rod writes: "Modern conservatism is not focused too much on money and power? Jack Abramoff, hello? A president and a Congress that spend out the wazoo to stay in power (and a political culture that lets them get away with it)?"

My superficial objection to this whole Crunchy Con thing has always been the false assumptions it seems to perpetuate: That the Right is some caricature that those who don't know it assume it is. (Hey, I'm Republican but have never been to a country club! Really!!! I exist! In real life!) Here Rod seems to be doing it again. NR, for instance, has been far from excusing Congress in this Abramoff environment. To the contrary, we recommended a Barney Frank reform bill for Pete's sake. Folks like the Republican Study Committee guys in Congress are conservatives there and not for spending out the wazoo.

I like the CC project inasmuch as things that get folks thinking about First Principles and all the rest are good, but be careful about broad-brush damnations and characterizations while you're making you're granola.