Nice to know someone actually reads these links…I think a lot of conservatives of the more educated variety or who, like Luntz, perceive themselves as moderates, like to claim various mantles and Orwell is nearly perfect because he combined socialism (the same thing as being a Democrat!) with anticommunism and antifascism, too (they think they’re against it, except when, of course, they cozy up to the Pinochet of the moment)…also, to be fair, it’s possible to be influenced by people with very different politics than your own — two of my favorite authors (Dostoyevsky and James Ellroy) are rightwingers.

Orwell was anti-communist as well as anti-fascist, so that might make Orwell okay to conservatives.

John P. Garry III