Is Conservatism Dead?

 

I am writing this on the morning of the historic election, where the first African American is running for president on a major party ticket.  Should Barak Obama win, many will say (as they always do when a Democrat is elected) “Conservatism is dead.”  This will be especially true if the Dem’s dream of a filibuster proof majority emerges in the Senate and a supermajority in the House.  At first blush, it might seem so.  The conservatives will have been turned out and conservatisms values repudiated.  It will be time for Republicans to go back to the drawing board and come up with a more palatable plate of politics by which to woo the undecideds.  Maybe a return to the Gerald Ford/Bob Michael brand of bland, vanilla politics!  Call it “Democrat Lite.”

But will conservatism have been rejected?  Let’s consider.  Has Barak Obama been running as a proud liberal?  Has he been revealing his true colors as a European-style socialist?  He has not.  He has tried, and with the help of his friends in the Main Stream Media, has managed to hide from his history.  He has at least been able to color that history to make it seem like an edible slice of American Pie. 

Radical associates?  What radical associates?  William Ayres?  “Oh, he was just a guy who lives in the neighborhood.”  Jeremiah Wright?  “Well as soon as I heard that he was radical race-bater I left that church.  In my 26 year association with him I never heard him say anything controversial.”  Tony Rezko?  “Tony Who?”  Rashid Kalidi?  “I’m sorry, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

But what has Obama been talking about?  You would think he studied under Ronald Reagan!  He wants tax cuts for the middle class.  He is all into God and Family.  He was raised with Kansas values received at the feet of his sainted grandmother.  It sounds like Obama recognizes, if the MSM doesn’t, that it is still imperative to sound conservative if you want to win elections in America.  You can win in Vermont and areas of Chicago and much of California by touting your radical creds.  It doesn’t play in Peoria, however. 

McCain won the nomination because two other, more conservative men split the conservative vote.  Had Mitt Romney, or even Mike Huckaby won the nomination, Obama would not have a prayer of winning.  McCain could not energize the conservative base, which is the key to winning if you are a Republican. 

The MSM now claim that Sarah Palin was a drag on the ticket.  Of course, they say it proudly because it was only their efforts to cast her as a dim bulb that resulted in a lowered opinion of her.  She was a star immediately out of the gate.  What McCain could not do, Sarah did.  She energized Conservatives to get revved up about the prospect of a pro-life, pro-family, pro-military, pro-energy, Conservative woman in the administration.  She was not a drag on the ticket.  Check out the crowd numbers at McCain rallies vs. the numbers at McCain/Palin rallies.  She is a rising star.  It is her conservatism.  Her looks are an ancillary benefit. 

Is conservatism dead?  Far from it.  Conservatism is what both candidates are running toward in order to try to secure the swivel chair in the Oval Office.  If Obama wins he will probably make an immediate dash to the left.  But if he wins, it will be because he veered so far to the right in order to sell himself to the Amerian public which still shares the Reaganesque view of America as that shining city on a hill and the last, best hope for the world.