BritainAndAmerica's week in Washington

Samuel Coates writes about last week's BritainAndAmerica visit to Washington DC.

The main purpose of the trip that Tim and I enjoyed last week was to meet with friends, thinkers and politicians in order to discuss how to develop the agenda of this website - the transatlantic relationship in particular.

The main meetings we had on this topic were with John Bolton (former Ambassador to the United Nations, now at the American Enterprise Institute), Rick Santorum (former Senator, now at the Ethics and Public Policy Center), Tim Goeglein (Deputy Director of The White House's Office of Public Liason), Nile Gardiner (Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom), Adrian Wooldridge (Washington DC Editor for The Economist), Jennifer Marshall (Director of Domestic Policy at the Heritage Foundation) Seth Liebsohn (Producer of Bill Bennett's Morning in America), Gerard Baker (US Editor of the Times in London) and Peter Brookes (Foreign Policy expert at the Heritage Foundation), amongst several others.

On Monday, Tim Montgomerie (Editor of Britain and America - pictured on the right above) debated the post-Blair transatlantic relationship at the Hudson Institute, with Geoffrey Wheatcroft, John O'Sullivan and Christopher Hitchens. It was an interesting debate, with Wheatcroft and Hitchens clashing horns over historical analogies and Montgomerie giving insights into the current political climate in Britain. Wheatcroft was alone in believing Blair was a mere poodle to Bush, with Hitchens pointing out that his hawkishness against Serbia and his famous Chicago speech of 1999 showed Blair was an interventionist while George W Bush was still governing Texas.  The debate was recorded for C-SPAN but has not yet been broadcast.

On Tuesday, we gave a presentation to a number of Capitol Hill bloggers about our work on BritainAndAmerica and ConservativeHome. Rob Bluey, who chaired the event at the Heritage Foundation, followed this up with an article on TownHall, and David All with a video interview.  Another of our contacts - Reihan Salam - has written about ConservativeHome.com on Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish.

One of the best observations made by one of the above was that there are in fact two transatlantic relationships - those between the Right and Left on both sides. Arguably, the transatlantic relationship of the Left (in the media class and diplomatic services, in particular) has never been stronger, whilst the opposite could be true of the Right.

With the exception of the relentlessly optimistic, most conservatives we met were very despondent about the state of conservatism in America. They felt let down by the Bush administration and were uninspired by the contenders for the presidential candidacy. Adrian Wooldridge is to give a speech to the Philadelphia Society about the future of conservatism later this week. It will be the first time he has addressed the subject since he co-authored The Right Nation, and we will analyse it here.

The tragedy in Virginia meant there was little opportunity to promote our new video - Can America trust the BBC? - but it has nonetheless been viewed more than 13,000 times so far.

We weren't the only conservative Brits in town - Matthew, Blair and Corin from the excellent TaxPayers'Alliance happened to be over at the same time to share notes with similar organisations in America. The four of us had a very interesting diversion in visiting the White House to see George W Bush board the Marine One helicopter.

Over the next few days we will be posting in more detail about some of our Washington discussions:

• The unhappiness of Washington's conservatives;
• The reasons why the White House looks set to turn blue;
• The two transatlantic relationships;
• The Tories and America;
• What should be done about Iran?
• Is Hillary a secret hawk?

Comments

[malcolm]

Why are Conservatives in Washington so despondent? It seems to me that they have much to be grateful for. After 8 years in power most parties would be fearful of the electors simply wanting a change however good an Administration has been (look at the poll ratings for Howard in Australia) but the Republicans still have a good chance to win next year. And this after an Administration that has to put it mildly not been universally successful.
Not sure why they should be uninspired by the Republicans choices either. Each of the main 3 contenders have proven track records of which they can be proud wheras the two Democratic favourites have relatively little experience of running anything and can only be relied on to generate lots of hot air.
I have to say chaps, if the picture above was representative of the fun everyone was having in Washington you'd have done better to stay at home!

[greg]

If Hillary is a secret hawk, then she's not very good at keeping secrets.

The real interesting debate is not Britain-America post Blair, but Britain-America post Bush. I look forward to this website steadfastly standing by any Democrats in the White House and slapping down anybody who dares to criticise them.

[Tim Montgomerie]

I certainly agree Greg that the post-Bush UK-US relationship should be the focus. What Bush does next on Iraq and Iran will come to define his presidency but the UK's relationship with his successor - particularly for the Tory party - are what counts for this site.

[Soupy Twist]

I hope you offset your flights

[Gildas]

I don't know why Beltway Conservatives should have been so despondent the week that (thanks to the efforts of three Republican presidents) the Supreme Court finally ruled that abortion was not beyond regulation and restriction.

I think most grassroots conservatives were feeling pretty chipper last week.

And considering that Justice Kennedy was with the conservatives when Affirmative Action, and Campaign Finance came up last, I think we ought to be seeing some progress on those two fronts this term too.

[Pisaboy]

Impressive line-up of meetings guys; looks like youve made the right contacts in DC.

How about getting some BAA events going? That Liam Fox Appreciation Society, ahem, I mean Atlantic Bridge, seems totally defunct!

[JF]

Greg, "slapping down anyone who dares to criticize" the Democrats? Yes, how dare anyone criticize the Democrats' fecklessness and cynical slow-bleed strategy? The Democrats want to lose the war, but don't you dare question their patriotism! Is that about it?

[Steevo]

I understand how our relationship is better and worse as our societies become more polarized. In America the percentages of Left and Right are similar but the Left still has much more control over media and institutions of learning and we are increasingly becoming a secular-humanist nation. In the UK it seems to me, largely because of similar reasons, your Left has much more power and many more believers than Right. I'm talking about a Right not in the mold of a typical Tory, but a true Thatcher conservative. There is a real difference here amongst Brits and I find many who consider themselves conservative not much different than liberal. It is not that way in the US.

A true conservative on an issue can have honest differences and discussion. But not with pseudo-conservatives.

"I have to say chaps, if the picture above was representative of the fun everyone was having in Washington you'd have done better to stay at home!" Wishful thinking Malcolm, eh? I bet overall it was enjoyable and fulfilling in ways you're unable to understand. There's no image here, no superficial smiles. Reality, amongst much like mindedness and/or sincerely can indeed be a worthwhile experience.

[Teddy Bear]

Steevo, reading your post I had a thought that might explain the reason for our left being more dominant. In the States, religion of the conservative Christian variety still has a potent hold, whereas here it has been largely undermined.

Just a thought.

[Umbrella man]

When you talk of offsetting Soupy Twist do you mean Coldplay's model?

[Teddy Bear]

Umbrella Man - Please enlighten me as to what code you use to embed links. Cheers

[Sam Coates]

Hi Teddy,

to hyperlink webaddress X with word Y, use this code (minus the dots):

<.a..h.r.e.f.=.X.>.Y.<./.a.>

Hope that makes sense!

Also, italics is <.i.> X <./.i.> and bold is <.b.> X <./.b.>

[Teddy Bear]

Many thanks Sam :o)
Just a trial
The lowdown on the Blatantly Biased Corruperation

[Denise]

Hi Teddy Bear!

You make an excellent point regarding the conservative Christian variety here in the States. What you say about it being undermined in Britain would explain why so many Brits, both on the left and right but mostly the left, do not understand us. Unfortunately, that lack of understanding is one of the main reasons our two nations don't see eye to eye sometimes. We both have good intentions but have completely different views on how to solve problems because of the difference in beliefs.

[Denise]

I don't mean to get too far off topic but I would also like to add that one of the issues the left in Britain and the right in America disagree on is 'global warming' or 'climate change'. Many people ask why conservative Christians in the States don't seem to worry about the issue or care. The answer is that while we do care about our environment, we also think this theory of climate change is exaggerated and all about a left wing agenda. Did any of you know that a Canadian scientist who said it was all crap received death threats from some of those fanatic left wing environmentalists? I wish I could find the link to that. But here's a link explaining how people like myself here in the States feel about 'climate change'. Read where it says, "Green Lies and Amazing Truths". I just thought I needed to shed some light on this issue.

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/archives/cat_sciencehealth.html

[JF]

Denise, more worrisome than the different views on global warming between the British Left-wing and the US Right-wing is the difference between the British Right-wing and US Right-wing. The Conservative Party, or at least David Cameron, has fully bought into the global warming agenda. Combined with the Conservative's abandonment of the lower taxes plank, the Conservatives are increasingly resembling our Democrats. That is to say, by American standards, there are no right-of-center parties in the UK (although UKIP may fulfill that role from what little of it I have heard).

[tired and emotional]

We don't all believe in man-made global warming... some of us share the view that the modest warming we may have seen is most likely due to the sun (you know, the huge ball of orange in the sky that heats the planet) rather than miniscule shifts in the amount of carbon cycling around the Earth.

[Teddy Bear]

Denise, I believe the link you're looking for is this (hat-tip Steevo)
Global Warming is not due to human contribution of CO2

By Timothy Ball

Monday, February 5, 2007

Global Warming, as we think we know it, doesn't exist. And I am not the only one trying to make people open up their eyes and see the truth. But few listen, despite the fact that I was one of the first Canadian Ph.Ds. in Climatology and I have an extensive background in climatology, especially the reconstruction of past climates and the impact of climate change on human history and the human condition. Few listen, even though I have a Ph.D, (Doctor of Science) from the University of London, England and was a climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg. For some reason (actually for many), the World is not listening. Here is why.

Thinking more about the 'religious' (or lack of) differences between our nations, I'm wondering whether the values inherent in religion have also been 'shelved'. While I'm not religious, I do see these values as a stepping stone to build a stronger and more positive society on. I would have thought most intelligent people would think the same, but perhaps that is not the case. Could it be in the effort to free themselves from religious constraints, that society here in general is perhaps throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and are in fact rudderless?

[Denise]

Teddy bear, you may be right. People do tend to go overboard. And thanks for finding that link. (Thanks Steevo)

Tired and emotional

I agree with what you say about the sun.

JF

I worry about our conservative party in the US doing the same. It seems as though the conservative party in the UK wants to steal votes from the left by catering to left wing voters on issues such as that yet don't realize they are losing their conservative voters. Am I right?

[Andrew Ian Dodge]

It will be interesting to see who manages to grab the nomination for the White House for the Republicans. I don't think it is a foregone conclusion that the Dems will take the White House. The Republicans have to chose their nominee carefully however.

[JF]

Denise, I think we're beyond that. Karl Rove's ideas for a "permanent Republican majority" (in short, adopting the Democratic slogan of tax, tax, spend, spend, elect, elect) are fully discredited. With Mike Pence in the House and McConnell in the Senate, I think we're finding our way back.

Andrew Ian Dodge, I don't know if the Democrats have locked this up, yet (Clinton is a polarizing figure and Obama and Edwards are political lightweights). But if we must lose, it should be a Goldwater-type loss, one that lays the foundation for a new conservative revolution.

[Teddy Bear]

Denise, I see it as more appeasing the media which is consisting of and catering to the left. While there is an obvious pragmatic need to do this within a democracy, it highlights the power of the media, without the responsibility or accountability. Until such time as their wings are clipped, and that will be tough task, if not impossible, for any future politician, although they will definitely get my vote.

[Cato]

Attention must be paid to the difference in media. The American media are dominated by liberal voices too, but there are more alternatives available in the States than in the UK, such as Fox News and talk radio. I know Sky News is owned by Murdoch but from what I've seen it's virtually as leftist as the BBC. No wonder the Conservative Party is forced to lurch ever leftward to win votes. Is there any equivalent to a Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly in Britain, I wonder?

[malcolm]

There is 18 Doughty Street Cato. Which is an internet TV Station founded amongst others by the Editor of this blog. It broadcasts intelligently from a Conservative perspective and is fairly sober so nothing like Limbaugh. I don't how many viewers it has but suspect it is mostly hardcore political anoraks. Not sure why you think Sky is leftist. It is tabloidy and concentrates too much celebrities etc though.

[Cato]

Not to take anything away from 18 Doughty Street, but conservatives in Britain need an outlet on a more mainstream media that can be accessed on the plain old telly or car radio. The only people who listen to 18DS, as you've acknowledged, are likely to be policy wonks. What's needed is a media outlet that reaches the great unwashed masses, and not with sober talking points, but a more populist approach that's entertaining first, edifying second.

As for Sky News, the news programs I've watched have always followed the same line and tone as the Beeb -- always negative about the war in Iraq, always politically correct, pro-statist. Nothing like America's Fox News.