By A.W. Morgan
09/04/2010
A little more than six months ago, this writer reported about the so-called "Mount Vernon Statement," which purported to explain what conservatism is in something of a secular papal bull.
Unsurprisingly, the statement is the usual Beltway conservative codswallop. Beltway conservatives ginned up the statement in time for the Conservative Political Action Conference, and the usual Beltway conservatives, people I hung with 20 years ago, signed said statement.
VDare readers will recall that Richard Viguerie, the professional conservative whose made millions liberating Social Security checks from old ladies and pension checks from Greatest Generation retirees, first said the thing was an embarrassment. Then, for some unknown reason, he changed his mind and pronounced it wonderful.
Anyway, the Mount Vernon mountebanks let the word go forth: We want a million signatures. Signers were expected to divulge other information that just happens to create a mailing list of new donors for the various organizations whose mugwumps concocted the silly manifesto.
The object, of course, was to cash in on the roiling Tea Party movement. Mount Vernon organizers, hoped to replace those Great Generation conservatives who are dying at a rate of 1,000 per day. At least that’s what the rate is for World War II vets.
When VDare published its piece on the Mount Vernon moonshine, the statement boasted 15,000 signers. Not bad, given that said signatories had affixed their John Hancocks in just a day or so. But checking in at the official Mount Vernon headquarters shows that very few Americans in general or Tea Partiers in particular are buying what the Mount Vernon merchants are selling.
As of today, the statement has just 44,500 signatures. Figuring that about 180 days have passed since the usual Beltway suspects unveiled their left-wing document, they managed, in the Internet Age in which millions of Tea Party Americans have instant access to sign 24-7-365, just 247 signatures per day.
At that rate, the Mount Vernon mandarins can expect to reach 1 million signatures in about 15 years. More than a few of them will give up the ghost long before that. So the Mount Vernon Statement is a complete flop. No surprise there, given its provenance in the very same confederacy of dunces that call themselves the "conservative movement."
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