HTML Mencken is annoyed at the liberal hawks getting all the good gigs:
The liberal press — internet and dead tree versions — aren’t the gravy trains that the wingnut press is. Contrary to wingnut beliefs, George Soros isn’t handing out much ‘moonbat-welfare’. There’s already one guaranteed outlet for writers who’ll always be Liberal Hawks: it’s called The New Republic, and a worthless pile of shit it is, for that and other reasons. Why on earth do other progressive press organs, though, seem to desire to reward writers with such pseudo-progressive instincts? Does this reflect the sentiments of the movement? Are you, lefty blog reader, a liberal hawk? Jonathan Chait admitted that Liberal Hawks are massively over-represented in the Liberal press. Why do progressive people continue to put up with this shit, then? Why is it okay that Washington Monthly hired Liberal Hawk Kevin Drum to be its regular blogger? Why is it okay that TAP rewarded Ezra Klein and Yglesias with paying jobs for their Liberal Hawkery?
I hate to say it, but I’m afraid people like Kevin Drum, Matt Yglesias or Ezra Klein are far more in touch with mainstream liberalism on this subject than HTML Mencken is. Post-WWII liberalism has always been hawkish, has only differed in degree, not in kind, with conservative/Republican foreign policy. The only time that mainstream liberalism was even remotely dovish in outlook was at the end of the War on Vietnam, when the mood of the country forced the Democratic Party to become ever-so moderately antiwar, just as is happening now. It didn’t last.
The only real difference between liberal and conservative imperialism is that the former tends to be more realistic about America’s abilities to enforce its will on the rest of the world. For example whereas the neocons-to be were wetting their pants about the USSR’s overwhelming military superiority, it was that stereotype of lilylivered liberalism, president Carter, who made sure the Soviets walked into the trap marked Afghanistan. Not to mention that it was largely through Democratic Congressman Charles Wilson that the Muhajedin got the support they needed to keep the Soviets busy, while Reagan was busy ignoring them in favour of his beloved “freedom fighters”, the Contras.
Apart from this, conservatives and liberals largely agree about the foreign policy the US must follow, which in a nutshell is to keep the United States as the only superpower by any means necessary. Democrats tend to do this through institution building (UN, WTO, NAFTA etc) and soft power (diplomacy, peacekeeping, undercover dirty work), while the Republicans tend to do it through military action.