How did conservatism get from Edmund Burke to Sara Palin?

What is conservatism and does today's conservatism bear any resemblecne to it's European roots?  Why does conservatism today seem so often un-conservative, so radical and nontraditional? From its reaction against the French Revolution, to the intransigence of today's GOP, who do conservative thinkers have in common?  Brooklyn College Political Science Professor Corey Robin has sparked a new and needed public conversation about the past, present and future of the conservative movement, in his new book The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin. My conversation with Corey Robin: