A Voice in the Wilderness In Defense of "Mere Conservatism"

Post-Election Thoughts

by: R.J. Moeller

The American people recently participated in the longest-running democratic system in human history and elected the junior Senator from Illinois as their leader. Barack Obama ran a masterful campaign, defeated an honorable man in John McCain, and will fairly receive the respect his position as Commander-in-Chief deserves. The Right will (and must) show the Left how to disagree without being disagreeable.

Behind Senator Obama lies a campaign trail littered with the remnants of grandiose stump-speech promises that could fill the Grand Canyon twice over. There was the vow to cede the rising levels of globally-warmed waters, if elected. Obama declared that he would (somehow) use his well-earned tag of “Most Liberal Voting Member of Congress” to unite the decidedly partisan politics of Washington. The One even claimed that his time spent organizing communities and writing reflective memoirs had empowered him with the ability to miraculously turn the economic “2 fish, 5 loaves” wealth of the top 5% of Americans into a plentiful tax “cut” for the bottom 95%, with “12 baskets” left over full of enough cash to foot the $1 trillion bill in increased spending he promised voters.

Ahead of him lies reality.

My thoughts and prayers truly go out to our President-elect. For better or worse, and until 2012, the man is running our military, setting the economic agenda for our government and markets, and will be conducting our nation’s foreign policy with some of the world’s worst regimes and leaders.

That promise to “redistribute wealth” sounded good at a 20,000-strong rally of union workers in Toledo, OH this past October but might look a little different in the sobering presidential light of January and beyond. Likewise, a few intelligence debriefings on the imminent threat of Iranian nuclear proliferation might be the end of all the politically expedient “meet without preconditions” promises Barack naively made during the campaign.

While condemnations of President Obama’s yet-to-be-taken future actions are premature and counter-productive at this time, what remains fair game is the necessary critique of the Leftist ideology Barack himself espoused during the campaign. It is the same Leftist ideology that the media by more than 80% agrees with and works tirelessly to present as being “mainstream.” It is the same liberal worldview that dominates the modern Democratic Party, which currently controls both Houses of Congress. It is the same materialist view of human existence that governs the subjects taught and discussion tolerated at the overwhelming majority of universities from Berkley to Boston.

Liberalism is the problem, not the people who promote it. The idea is a problem only because it is taken seriously by enough people. Crush the idea, not the people who believe in it.

Margaret Thatcher famously said that one must first “win the argument”, or present a more compelling case in the minds of the people than your opponents, before you can “win the vote.” Conservatives are not only losing the argument against liberals, they are doing such a poor job of articulating and defending their positions among their own ranks that Republican politicians feel politically comfortable voting for inappropriately increased spending and loading legislation with enough pork to make Famous Dave’s jealous.

After the 2004 election, a study by the American Enterprise Institute was conducted to gauge public sentiment on each of the 30 biggest issues facing the country. Issues ranged from social security reform to abortion to the Patriot Act. On 29 of the 30 issues George W. Bush’s position was in line with the majority of Americans by an average margin of 70-30%. The lone area conservatives trailed in was environmentalism.

The logical question then becomes: How was that election even close in 2004? How did Democrats dominate the 2006 mid-term election? How is it that the most liberal, most unqualified candidate to ever run for president is now our Commander-in-Chief?

The simple answer is a growing national preference for “style over substance.” We can point to American Idol and video games and The Daily Show and explain away the disinterest people under 30 have in conservative political philosophy that encourages things like personal responsibility and civic duty. The over-30 crowd, or at least those who attempt the pretense of knowing what is going on in the country, is bombarded with around the clock, 24-hour newscasts that rarely say anything of substance. They rely on worthless sound bites and Teleprompters to explain the pros and cons of free market capitalism or conduct a debate on “Just War” theory in a 3-minute segment that has been wedged in between Natalie Holloway updates and Nicole Ritchie’s “Baby Watch.”

My problem with solely blaming “style over substance” is that it gets us nowhere. Obviously it would be swell to have a nation of hard-working, intellectually informed, entrepreneurial, God-fearing citizen-soldiers that could see past the rhetorical and aesthetic deficiencies of a man like John McCain, for the infinitely superior candidate he was compared with Barack Obama. But the realities and demands of life are such that most Americans do not have the time to stay up late into the night working to reconcile McCain’s inability to clearly and convincingly communicate his positions with the impressive accomplishments he had a right to boast about. Our jobs, schooling and lives require the majority of our attention, so when we tune into a debate or convention speech we want to know what the candidate believes in, what they’ve done to warrant our interest, and what they would do once in office to promote liberty, security and prosperity.

Style, in fact, does matter. The degree to which it does has admittedly increased to a worrisome level, but to continue a blissful ignorance of its importance would be political suicide for the Right. The elites in the media and academia will always resent and work to undermine the traditional conservative values that this nation still clings to. Liberals have Hollywood and countless entertainers to help advance their feel-good messages of hope and change and punishing the rich for the good of the proletariat. We know this and it certainly is a challenge. But when conservatives and Republicans continue to offer as an alternative to smooth-talking Socialists nothing but tongue-tied old white geezers, we back ourselves into corners that we need not ever enter. The Right cannot afford to sacrifice a single of its core tenets for the sake of style, but the two must cease to be seen as mutually exclusive qualities in a GOP candidate.

So where do we go from here? How do we go about finding such candidates now, and what can be done to groom future generations of conservative voters and leaders? I have three suggestions.

First, the reclaiming of America from the cultural and political Left starts with a belief that there is indeed truth to be found in the world. This then points to the need for an acceptance of the fact that there are better ways of doing things than others, even in debatable areas like politics and economics. The humility it takes to acknowledge that truth does not begin and end within our own individual existence, that wisdom from decades and centuries past is entirely relevant today, ought to lead us to a subsequent life-long commitment to pursue what truth can be found.

Sorry, but this commitment requires time and effort that might cut into your Becker and Yes, Dear reruns on TBS. It means deciding upon core values that matter most to you. It means reading books and articles on things like history and economics, contemplating what you read, and discussing it with others to help gain clarity. It means keeping up-to-speed on domestic and world affairs, and encouraging your children, siblings, and neighbors to join you in your pursuit. Knowledge alone will not improve things, but knowledge is required in order that one may seek understanding.

Second, the Right must act rightly. The talk of so-called conservatives in Washington ceased to match their walk lately. Republicans since Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan have preached and practiced fiscal responsibility, and then we won a couple of congressional elections in the 90's and presidential ones in since 2000 and suddenly the GOP began to spend our tax money like inebriated sailors just put into port out of some raucous Pirates of the Caribbean scene. We must fire the first of many warning flares to let the GOP know that if they are to retain our votes they must reign in spending and begin to cut waste out of our pathetically gluttonous, bloated federal government. The short-sighted and reckless vision of a big-government utopia that the Left wants can still be relegated to the intellectual ash-heap of history where it belongs, but not if the voters see no difference in the actions of Republicans and Democrats.

Third, and finally, we must regain our “Happy Warrior” status. These are serious issues our nation faces, but there needs to be a joy and passion that is contagious in our message of conservative ideas and ideals. Mark Steyn once said that most liberals are incapable of appreciating the true humor in life because humor is poking fun at reality, something the Left appears disinterested in recognizing. Obviously, this was meant as a good-natured ribbing of our liberal friends, but there is, like all good humor, a distinct hint of truth in what he says.

The Left is perpetually angry about something. Liberals threaten to move out of the country or end up seeking therapy when Republicans win elections. A smile to lighten the mood during an intense political discussion at work, or a timely joke to cut the tension with a liberal relative during the Holidays can go a long way. As John McCain pointed out at the Saddleback Forum last August, the richness (and happiness) of one’s life ought to be dictated by the quality of it, by the love of family and for God, not the diversity of portfolios or who happens to be in the White House every four years.

General Patton's only standing order to his men during World War II was: "Always take the offensive; never dig in." We would do well to adopt this motto in our battle for the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans.