Reconstructing The Conservative Movement

First let me start off by saying congratulations to the Democrats, after a hard fought race you have come out on top and finally have your chance to lead. Let me also say that though I admittedly disagree with Barack Obama's policies and ideology, I wish our new President Elect nothing but the best. I am an American before I am a member of a party and for the sake of all of us hope that Barack Obama makes the right decisions for our Country. I know many of you are very upset today, but let me remind you of something, there is an opportunity to be had in an Obama victory. This victory gives conservatives a chance for a fresh start and allows us to rebuild our party bigger and stronger.

For the past eight years Republicans in Washington have disappointed those of us in the grassroots, they have expanded government and increased spending by irresponsible amounts, and now are paying the price for it. Last nights defeat was retribution, with power comes responsibility and those in Washington did not exercise their power well. So the American people took a gamble on something new and tossed out many in our party. I believe many Obama voters were not aware of exactly what they have voted for and will be surprised and dismayed at how a Democratic Washington will govern. The Country is now in their hands, after maybe a six month honeymoon period, the Democrats can't blame Bush and the Republicans anymore for what happens to the Country. Let's allow the electorate to see the Democrats in action and see if a larger government is what they really prefer.

While Democrats bask in their power, we can use this time to rebuild. If we want to be back in power, we need a better strategy. Here is what I think needs to be done to rebuild a conservative majority:

Hispanic Outreach- The GOP has been woeful in this area, Hispanics are always going to be a key constituency and we can no longer afford to lose them by 60 percent. Not acceptable. Most Hispanics agree with conservatives on values and economic issues, we need to do a better job with these folks.

Get Rid Of The "Moderates"- Moderates are the poison of our party, they are the ones who want to grow the size of the government and instead of defeating democrats they want to reach out to them. This is a recipe for continued losses, if the electorate has a choice between a Democrat and "Democrat lite" they choose the Democrat.

Crystallize What Conservatism Means- Conservatism is simple, its about smaller government, tax cuts and social decency. So called "conservatives" have been tarnishing  our brand in not only the government but in our press. There are many folks who are called "conservative" commentators who are not. Bill Kristol, Peggy Noonan, Kathleen Parker, David Brooks, ect., they are the moderates that are killing the party. Real conservatism needs to be promoted and explained, we are going to have to go back to square one, that is how badly conservatism is misunderstood.

Vocal Minority- If Republicans in the House and Senate play their cards right, we could have another 1994 in 2010, if they stick to conservative principles. Republicans in Congress are going to have to fight these tax increases and spending increases to remind people who is really on their side. Republicans need to be vocal  in their opposition and not assimilate to the will of the Democrats. This is all a part of the redefining that needs to happen, actions speak louder then words , they need to show the American people what conservatives really believe in. Conservatism has been perverted during 8 years of spending excess that may get worse under Obama, as the minority in Congress they need to fight to right the ship for the taxpayers of this Country.

Final Thoughts- Look, I know a lot of you are upset today, but I think its important not to wallow in this defeat. We are not going to to succumb to what liberals did in the last election, were not going to cry foul and run off to our shrinks. We are going to pick ourselves up and fight on for the battles we face. We are going to be classy in defeat and wish Obama well for the sake of our Country, and then in 2010 we are going to take back the congress. That's what winners do guys, they don't whine, they take action and that is what we must do.

For my liberal readers I am going to ask a bit of a favor today, I know you very much want to gloat, but please show some class today. You've won, don't be obnoxious winners, this is your moment to display some dignity. If you do choose to be rude, which of course you are free to, your comment will not be posted long, just a word of warning. The Country needs healing today and I expect you all to be gracious. There is still a lot going on out there guys and I along with my fellow conservative bloggers aren't going anywhere. I will be back tomorrow with a new post, until then...

Comments

[Jessica]

Thanks so much for your inspiring posts. One good thing that has come out of this election is that I have found several conservative and informative blogs that have inspired me and helped me to see that all is not as the media would have me think. This is one of them. I agree with your wishing Obama well. I have maintained that regardless of who is president, I will respect that person. I also agree that it is time to rebuild ourselves, and I look forward to seeing where we will go with this. It's not over by any means, and I believe we will be the better in our growth.

[Ann]

CLASS--- that is the single best word I can use to describe your blog Nancy-- you are a very gifted journalist and extremely classy, gracious person; a true example of conservatism...

I am hoping that now that Obama is elected, he will tack "central" and NOT destroy the middle class by attacking jobs, coal (for electricity) etc. His speech last night gave me a flicker of HOPE-- maybe, with the weight of America on his shoulders, he will think more carefully. For the sake of my sanity, I am going to try to give him a chance.

[Bob Scuba]

Great job Nancy.
You are 100% right, we have a new President and his name Barak Obama.
What a great country this is that we can have this kind of complete change of government through a democratic process that gives everyone a voice and is peaceful. President Elect Obama didn't just win, he won it big so now they will have a chance to govern and their policies and judges will likely become part of our national identity.

Conservatism didn't lose last night, no one really believes John McCain is in his heart a Conservative. My hope is he goes back to the Senate and makes President Obama's life as difficult as he made President Bush's life. I doubt it though. We were introduced to some good people on our side starting with Sarah Palin and we will soon know who the real Conservatives are in Congress once they are free from Bush.

So in a way this election is a liberation, we should have Hispanics locked down. They have the same values we do of hard work and family values so yes we must do much better there.
Bob

[k-tmom]

This was a good post Nancy. I feel if our elected conservatives were indeed just that, Obama would not have won. I think during this time conservatives need to wake up and get mad at those ruining our constitution including our fellow so called repuplicans. I am not happy that Obama is our president. In fact it's hard for me to say those words. But, our party needs to wake up and not be blind and make excuses for those in office who are not doing what they were elected to do.

Good post.

[AttackDog]

We'll be fine, they don't have 60 votes in the Senate.

We'll take that back in 2010, we did it under far less-liberal slick Willy.

We must be the voice in the desert for 2 years, but, remember. Carter/Reagan/Reagan/Bush =)

I'm ready for the next Carter, if everyone is ready for the next Reagan.

[Chris Wysocki]

I do not share your optimism Nancy.

When future historians recount the decline of America, they will point to November 4, 2008 as the turning point. Islam will rule the world because our new leader and his acolytes do not have the stomach to oppose it.

Our grandchildren will live in poverty and pray to "one nation under Allah".

This quote from Heinlein is apropos:

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as "bad luck."

[Pam]

Nancy, very well written. I, too am dissapointed, but I am not defeated. Every American needs to make sure they are doing all they can themselves to make their life better. Be honest with yourself. Are you working hard to improve your life or are you waiting for "someone else" to do it for you. Worse yet, do you feel it is "someone else's" responsibility. God helps those who help themselves, the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and success comes when preparation meets opportunity. Words that have helped to guide me in life. So make sure you take an active role in your own happiness and success. We say we are proud to be Americans, but can we all say we are proud of ourselves?

[Nancy]

Chris,

You know I think your a great blogger, but I do not share your pessimism whatsoever. Obama won, but not overwhelmingly so. This is still a center right country, I mean look how close it was given all the money and media Obama had. Obama is going to have a tough time getting the things he wants done, there is just no money for it. If those Republicans in Congress will finally act like conservatives, we can retake the congress in 2010. This country has been through far worse and I think to say the Country is now "in decline" does not take into account the spirit of the American people. We will fight Obama in the areas where he is wrong, but we have to give him a shot. He won, hes our President. Unlike other backwards Countries we had a peaceful transfer of power, that is a testament to our greatness Chris. Do not be so pessimistic until there is a concrete reason to be so. Pessimism and fatalism are excuses for inaction, which is something the conservative movement cannot afford right now.

[Don Bistrow]

The process is beginning, we will start up our "Take Back the GOP" initiative by year-end with a website and committed bloggers who will make Republicans accountable to the Conservative movement, ridding ourselves of the RINOs and getting back to the principles of Ronald Reagan and what it means to be a Conservative.

Email me if you have an interest in this project. We need committed individuals from every state.

[Will]

Doesn't anyone appreciate the historic moment? President Bush was incredibly gracious and even he put the historic moment in place. Is no one inspired by the fact that country elected an African American? Have you not followed the history of this country and how we keep making ourselves better as a country even if we got off track on this, that, or the other policy. The Louisiana Governor may well be the future face of the Republican party because he too is beyond race and quite simply a capable competent leader. This is a great day for the country even if it is not a great day for conservatism.

As for the person who said that various people are not true conservatives, I have to say that the names mentioned are all very different people, but all decidedly conservative. A litmus test for "true conservatism is not how you build a coalition. There are many principles that Brooks, Kristol, Noonan, and Parker could all agree to. Don't be so quick to write them off.

[Nancy]

Thank you Will but in all do respect, we have allowed liberals to tell us how to build our coalition for too long. Conservatism is about smaller government and more personal freedom. Those who call themselves conservatives but advocate, like those journalists i mentioned, for a larger government are the cause of our defeat. 8 years of "the new tone" and "big tent" were not effective. Loyal opposition is the way to go, and of course I appreciate the history. I thought I was pretty darn gracious considering what I know the other liberal bloggers would be saying if the results were reversed.

[Park Slope Pubby]

Forget outreach to Hispanics. Don't you get it? Affirmative Action made Hispanics an official minority, even though they have no historic burden of slavery. So their economic cause is to ally w/ blacks to get money from the government. No conservative values will ever overcome this.
Any conservative movement is going to be built on whites and Asians. We can welcome Hispanics and blacks, but we sure as hell can't count on them.

[Nancy]

I disagree Park, Bush did quite well with Hispanics. We don't have to win them, but we have to close that gap. They are key in swing states and if we blow them off we can kiss New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, California, and a great many other states goodbye. Look at prop 8 that passed, it passed because of Hispanics, they have a conservative core but don't understand our party and what it stands for. If we want to continue to be relevant, considering how much that population is growing, we have to lessen the gap.

[Marion Valentine]

Flood the Republican mail, email and phone banks demanding they turn back to the traditional fundamental values of convervatism, we demand they be correct, the hell with being politically correct.

[zippo]

There are multitudes of deluded but winable hearts that just voted for a mirage. Our job, as conservatives, is to get intelligent people to absorb some history and understand American government can only sustain itself with people of integrity. A deceptive media does not serve its customer or their own future well. We must not flinch from the name calling, nor should we engage in the same, but we must refute the unfounded lies and lables directed at us. There still exist a larger majority of people who know that babies in the womb are alive and that their own hard work gives them the opportunity of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[Derek]

I think people have to realize that there is a difference between rethinking conservatism, and rethinking how to win elections. The former is not the key to the latter.

This is why I think it's foolish to reject the moderates in your party if you seek reelection.

Going forward, the main thing is going to be building coalitions outside of traditional republican demographics. You're going to have to seek diversity, not just expect it to fall in your lap because you think your policies are fair.

One way to do this is going to be getting realistic about immigration reform. If you don't do that, you are going to continue to lose the hispanic vote in large amounts. People eventually have to come to the realization that heavily cracking down on illegal immigrants affect families of legal immigrants and can tear apart the lives of people that don't deserve it.

Second, figure out a way to sell your education policies in a way that really appeals to african americans and hispanics. I'm actually a liberal but I agree that the voucher system works. The key is going to be getting a grassroots effort and getting these things going at the local level, then building on that success. But like i said, the ultimate goal should be appealing to african americans and hispanics.

Lastly, you're going to have to cut some deadweight. The abortion issue is deadweight. I don't really care how strongly you think you feel about it, it's moral grandstanding (unless you adopt every unwanted child there is, you are simply paying lipservice to the issue). The goal should be lowering unwanted pregnancies, not banning abortion. Just come to the realization that the latter doesn't get rid of the former and the former means abortion is going to happen regardless of the law.

These are just some of my thoughts. The basic point though is to realize your core demographic is losing relevance day by day.

[zippo]

I believe Derek's comments are sincere and well articulated, but McCain just lost following similar advice. Conservatism didn't lose the election, the bulk of McCain's support was those of us that voted, holding our nose because his philosphy has been exactly as Derek's advice. The dem's won 2006 elections running as psuedo conservatives while "moderates" rep's lost to 'em. I'm waiting for liberals set aside the partisanship to cross the aisle, but not holding my breath.

[Derek]

Mccain was a moderate, but he didn't run as a moderate. Plus he still had to carry the weight of the scarlet letter R.

This is the same McCain that claimed he would have voted against his own immigration reform bill when he was asked about it during the primaries?

The same Mccain that got goaded into nominating a pro-life candidate that he didn't want?

Caving into the base and running negative attacks while most americans were thinking about the economy? You basically took McCain and had him run Bush's playbook from 2004.

Mccain listened to the base TOO much this election. I mean, I could be wrong because I'm definitely not a moderate or an independent, so I don't know what they were thinking. But, in my opinion, your demographic that overlaps the middle is shrinking and the democrat's demographic is expanding.

[Ed]

"Get Rid Of The "Moderates"- Moderates are the poison of our party..."

This is EXACTELY why you were against McCain. McCain wanted to reach out to the middle-center, but no, Rush tells us that this is bad. In fact Rush said McCain will destroy our Party if elected. You guys weren't voting for McCain, you were voting against Obama. The opinions of Rush and other hard right conservatives is exately what pushed me out of the Republican Party.

Godspeed.

[Park Slope Pubby]

I work w/ Hispanics. They do not have that visceral sense that it is better to make your way as an individual in the world, for better or worse, and therefore, keep government small and taxes low. They want tax dollars spent on them. Yes, they will vote against gay marriage, because it's not economic, but they will always vote primarily Democratic, becuase they get their money that way. Sorry, but that's how I see it. It's a waste of money for Republicans to go after them (except the Cubans). Asians, on the other hand, strike me as highly likely to become Republicans.

[zippo]

McCain ran on who he is and reluctantly embraced some conservative ideas. The economy that developed came directly from the Clinton white house and McCain failed to address that, choosing instead to blame "greedy" Wall Street. It would be a mistake to believe the democrat's demographic is expanding. Obama will not be what he has presented himself to be , and many of the voters that were duped by him will mentally gasp as they realize their own ignorance.

[geevill]

The polls show it is women voters who gave obama the win. Why are there so many women out there who are anti-woman

[Nancy]

Ed, you left the Republican Party not because of Rush Limbaugh or anyone else. Take some personal responsibility. If you really want Republicans to reach across the aisle its because you agree with Democratic policies. We have tried it your way, your way doesn't work. Being for "slightly smaller government" then democrats is not whats needed. Conservatives need to act like what they were elected to do, ensure a balanced budget and exercise spending responsibly. Conservative principles win when they are tried, when the so called conservatives spend up a storm and grow government, they deserve to be thrown out. If you want "moderate" republicanism, just vote Democratic, its really the same thing.

[Tim]

Actually, they can and should blame Bush and the Republicans for what happens to the country for the next several years. The actions (or inactions) that Presidents take have dramatic, far-reaching, long-lasting consequences. Bush's war and tax cuts have added to a deficit that will be there long after even Obama is gone. Conservative support for deregulation has sunken the economy into the 8th circle of hell, and our worldwide image is the worst at any point in our history.

Obama will make mistakes of his own, but his greatest failures may be a direct result of the man who came before him's irresponsibility.

[SteveJ]

Did you people watch the same election and campaign I did? The demographic shifts should have you all crapping your pants. You are hemorrhaging educated suburban and exurban whites. You were destroyed with Hispanics, and young Cubans no longer equate Democrat with communist. Without 80% of the Cubans Florida is no longer a swing state. There are no, none, zero republicans in the House in New England, the only Senator is Olympia Snow. You are writing off entire sections of the country in your pursuit of ideological purity. Wake up! As a moderate progressive I understand that we need a strong conservative voice to keep the far left honest or they'll be doing crazy stuff. You folks are writing a recipe for, as Christie Whitman calls it, the ideologically pure minority party.

First: Stop running against things; start standing for something. And don't trot that tired 'we're for working families.' You need to be about something tangible. Whoever leads your coalition needs to be about something. There was only one candidate for president in 2008. You were either for Obama or against him. 'We are against domestic terrorists, socialism, spending, shady associations.' What were you for again? My best advice here is to recommend Mickey Edwards book "Reclaiming Conservatism". He makes excellent points about the failures of the Gingrich and Delay model of government.

Second: Stop believing that we rejected the Cheeseburger because we really wanted the Double Cheeseburger. Do you think that McCain and Palin weren't pro-life enough? Were their taxcuts not big enough? Did they not tell Americans that they would be conservatives; that they would appoint Scalias and Alitos to the courts. Do you think that there were people who really thought that because McCain and Palin were not REAL conservatives that they stayed home or worse voted for the opponent? As for pushing people out of the coalition who thought Palin was a turd in the punchbowl. (this seems to be Nancy's criteria for moderate, Kristol notwithstanding) Palin was loved by the conservatives and at best ignored (at worst reviled) by everyone else.

Third: Stop believing in easy answers to complex problems. Whoever ends up leading your coalition will have to articulate a vision and a plan and it will not be easy. I believe that one of the reasons that conservatism was so powerful in the 80s and 90s was because conservatives could outline a simple, common sense, road to different government. Blame history or whoever you want but, that government failed more than once. Bush was dealt a crap hand, I understand that, but sadly most people don't and they will continue to punish him and his party for the failures of the early 21st century.