<p>There is no constitutional or statutory definition of the roles of parties in American politics, but almost since the beginning presidents have been the heads of organized factions. Presidencies have been defined by whether the chief executive prized growth or loyalty. </p>
In the mid-1950s, the danger of an ever-expanding state was clear, but conservatives could not agree on an appropriate response, including whether the greater danger lay at home or abroad. The three main branches of conservatism traditional conservatives appalled by secular mass society, libertarians repelled by the Leviathan state, and ex-Leftists alarmed by international Communism led by the Soviet Union remained divided. Noting that “The few spasmodic victories conservatives are winning are aimless, uncoordinated, and inconclusive…because many years have gone by since the philosophy of freedom has been expounded systematically, brilliantly, and resourcefully,” William F. Buckley Jr. resolved to change that. His vision of ordered liberty shaped and guided American conservatism from its infancy to its maturity, from a cramped suite of offices on Manhattan’s East Side to the Oval Office of the White House, from a set of “irritable mental gestures” to a political force that
<p>There is no constitutional or statutory definition of the roles of parties in American politics, but almost since the beginning presidents have been the heads of organized factions. Presidencies have been defined by whether the chief executive prized growth or loyalty. </p>