Rediscovering

Since the disastrous elections of 2006, many conservatives have been calling for a great soul-searching about the future of the conservative movement. Who are we? What do we stand for? How shall we lead? These are appropriate questions to ask considering the state of the conservative movement in American politics today. It's a mess! The conservative movement was formed by thinkers who debated what we should stand for and how we should lead. Sixty years of such debate has yielded a broad consensus on the principles that define conservatism. The problem is that some influential conservatives think we need to redefine conservatism.

Redefining conservatism is not the solution. Conservatives are not lacking in ideas or principles. We do not need "redefining". What is lacking is intellectual and political leadership--inspiring and energizing leadership. We need the right people to speak about these principles and to develop strategies to win elections based on those ideas and principles. Where are the Russell Kirks? Bill Buckleys? Milton Friedmans? Barry Goldwaters? Ronald Reagans of our day?

We have people who claim to hold the mantle of these "greats", and yet they also claim that the mantle is not worth holding, and that we have to redefine conservatism because the era is over. If you believe that liberty, national security, free enterprise, faith, and the Constitution are dead, than what are we saying?

We do not need to redefine our conservative principles, we need to rediscover them, for they are the same principles that defined America at its birth and sustained our freedoms for the last 230 years!