Henry M. Jackson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Influence on neoconservatism

Jackson believed that evil should be confronted with power.[20] His support for civil rights and equality at home,[13] married to his opposition to détente,[20] his support for human rights[22] and democratic allies,[23] and his firm belief that the United States could be a force for good in the world[24] inspired a legion of loyal aides who went on to propound Jackson's philosophy as part of neoconservatism. In addition to Richard Perle, neoconservatives Paul Wolfowitz, Elliott Abrams, Charles Horner, and Douglas Feith were former Democratic aides to Jackson who, disillusioned with the Carter administration, supported Ronald Reagan and joined his administration in 1981, later becoming prominent foreign policy makers in the 21st-century Bush administration. Neoconservative Ben Wattenberg was a prominent political aide to Jackson's 1972 and 1976 presidential campaigns. Wolfowitz has called himself a "Scoop Jackson Republican" on multiple occasions.[22][25] Many journalists and scholars across the political spectrum have noted links between Senator Jackson and modern neoconservatism.[1][20][23][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

So a whole bunch of neocons, Perle included, cut their political teeth with Jackson, before shifting to Reagan Republicanism. Cheney and Rumsfeld didn't follow that trajectory, but when they hit the big-power spot in the early '00s they surrounded themselves with, and empowered, neocons, to the extent that they are often considered to be neocons (though, if you consider the list of values attributed above to Jackson and his aides, Cheney and Rumsfeld obviously don't fit).

I don't get what the economics people you go on to mention have to do with it. No one has ever called them neocons, more likely neolibs.