Andrew Sullivan doesn’t much like Fox News; he sees it as an enemy of conservatism and an avatar of the malign political spirit that’s likely to doom the movement. Sullivan says:

At the core of real conservatism is a distinction between theory and practice, a deep resistance to ideology, a respect for free inquiry and the philosophic spirit, a respect for social stability and coherence, a moderation in governance and a deliberation in action.

Sullivan can’t find this in Fox News’ conservatism, however, because he hasn’t described conservatism. He has described centrism and pragmatism. Or, perhaps, “democracy.” These are the principles on which our form of government was founded, not a political movement.

He’s right to recognize that modern conservatism in general and Fox News in particular are a threat to those ideals. But they are not the core of conservatism. They are the core of something larger.