Beginning Anew

Summoning First Principles

I’ve spent a good deal of time talking and commiserating with like-minded friends about the implications of the election. To be sure, we’re all disappointed and would have preferred another outcome. Justifiable frustrations aside however, all of us discern a silver lining in the dismal results of Nov. 4 '08. Far too long, Republicans have veered off the well-lit path of authentic conservatism, as formulated best by William F. Buckley Jr., Jeane Kirkpatrick and Ronald Reagan. In its place, we were offered the saccharine blah of “compassionate conservatism,” which emerged from the Bush presidency as a schmaltzy way to justify government intervention in the never-ending quest for the perfect solutions to remedy society’s ills. The implication for conscientious objectors was obvious: those of us who opposed the notion of a hyper-aggressive federal government, believing instead that government intervention actually leaves people worse off in the long run, were portrayed as compassion-less. In other words, traditional conservatives were skewered by fellow Republicans for their so-called lack of heart. We witnessed this again during the debate over “comprehensive immigration reform.” Those opposed to the concession of rank amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants were painted by some Republicans as “nativists,” even “racists,” etc.

While certainly well-intentioned, President Bush’s “compassionate conservative” kick unfortunately did a sly disservice to authentic, Reagan-esque conservatism because it conceded the central liberal thesis that the government, rather than the individual, the community and the private sector, is the answer or in the very least, has a fundamental role in “solving problems.” Said Reagan so memorably: “Government isn’t the solution, government is the problem.” Sadly, the Bush imprimatur, for all its merits, never reached the parchment upon which this unequivocal declaration of conservatism was printed.

McCain, while infinitely better qualified than the alternative, represented an even further deviation from the path of authentic conservatism. Many, including myself, voted for McCain as a purely defensive measure to prevent the calamity of a President Obama and what we knew he would (and now will) do. None of us harbored any lofty expectations for what McCain would do for the conservative cause. His erraticism on policies was and still is a source of great angst to conservatives. It was a Gordian Knot for the convicted conservative: vote for McCain and further the advance of a heretical strain of conservatism or do nothing, thus allowing an arch-liberal, the likes of which this nation has never seen, coast into office.

Now that Obama has the presidency, the Republicans can begin with the “re-pristination” that Mr. Buckley called for not long before his passing.