I have never believed (and I still don't) all the claims made against Pat Buchanan (by people like William F. Buckley) alleging that he is some kind of anti-Semite or racist, but I have always been alarmed by his inability (shared by most conservatives) to recognize the incompatibility between his quasi libertarian side and his raging nationalist side. Some recent comments that a friend pointed out from this interview were particularly worth second guessing: What do we have in common that makes us fellow Americans? Is it simply citizenship? Or is it blood, soil, history and heroes? Blood and soil? Uh, there is one word to describe this line: creepy. What's next, a speech on how we're "one people, one fatherland", etc.?
And then, there's this line:
The country I grew up in was culturally united, even if it was racially divided. We spoke the same language, had the same faith, laughed at the same comedians. We were one nationality. Only an upper middle-class Anglo (Irish are now honorary Anglos) could actually believe this. The same faith? Um, isn't Buchanan ostensibly Catholic? How can he say this with a straight face? Does he honestly think that back in the good ol' days that Baptists and Catholics all thought they all had the "same faith?" There is significant evidence to the contrary.
However, if he is claiming that all Christians are pretty much the same in terms of cultural unity, then the new immigrants shouldn't pose a problem as only a tiny minority of them are non-Christians. Hispanics are virtually all either Catholics or Evangelicals. The Asians that move here are largely Catholics or Presbyterians or Evangelicals. Practicing Muslims and Buddhists make up approx. 1% of the population combined.
Mr. Buchanan should do some more homework on the religion issue.