We are thinking heavily here about how to present a systematic approach to understanding what we call “Conservatism”. Just this week, a fellow Iowa blogger Albert Bregar penned his thoughts at Red County Polk County and Iowa Defense Alliance.
Albert provides an excellent start with a view to how many of us think about defining the way conservatives see the world today (okay, such a view would include “Ronald Reagan came back for more”). We will certainly start looking around blogdom and start collecting a list of such statements as “Smaller Government” and build them into a resource.

But in stating the conservative view of today’s world, we do limit ourselves to more of a statement of “how does conservative thinking apply to today’s issues”. What I hope we may eventually find is more of a basis for conservative thought. It’s great to say [...]

Conservatives have lost our political credibility. We have totally squandered opportunity after opportunity over the years because self-interest and ambition have eroded the integrity of Conservative politicians along with Liberal ones. And blind political stupidity in the Republican Party created a mess of alienated constituencies, including African Americans. P.J. O’Rourke wrote in The Weekly Standard (aptly titled “We Blew It”):

An entire generation has been born, grown up, and had families of its own since Ronald Reagan was elected. And where is the world we promised these children of the Conservative Age? Where is this land of freedom and responsibility, knowledge, opportunity, accomplishment, honor, truth, trust, and one boring hour each week spent in itchy clothes at church, synagogue, or mosque? It lies in ruins at our feet, as well it might, since we ourselves kicked the shining city upon a hill into dust and rubble.

O’Rourke goes on to[...]

You’re going to hear quite a bit from the left over ‘the death of conservatism’ over the next few weeks. But they’ve got it wrong. I say, what we’ve got is the death of compromised conservatism as espoused by George W Bush, his father, GHW Bush, and by more recently, John McCain.

This morning, we see a post from Helen Valois at Renew America, who calls this ‘conservative conservatism’. I can quibble with the name she chooses, but not her meaning…

What is conservative conservatism? It is a commitment to playing a good defense (or rather — except for the one, brief, shining moment of Governor Palin’s acceptance speech — a pretty flawed defense) when your opponents have gone decisively on the offensive. It is that which John McCain quintessentially represents — the recalcitrant[...]

Democrats for decades have been struggling with the inner turmoil of diverse political positions which have kept their party from setting a course that all Democrats can get behind.  And this partly why that party has bled so many conservative Democrats to vote for Republican Presidents.
Obama has succeeded in achieving the role of presumptive Democratic [...]

This month’s Imprimis features a speech by John O’Sullivan, executive editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and one-time special advisor to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
O’Sullivan’s speech provides a valuable lesson in the history of Thatcher’s leadership and the power of privatized industry in building an entrepreneurial society, and how this can stimulate a stagnated [...]

About BitHead

BitHead runs BitsBlog and is an occasional guest writer for
The Conservative Reader.
You can email BitHead at feedback@florack.us.
This special Swamp Stomper Article
is cross-posted from BitsBlog.

Ann Coulter says it well, here:
Well, it looks like it’s the end of the road for Hillary. Time for her to pack up her pantsuits and go back to - wherever [...]

John Bolton gave a speech in February where he discussed the role of the U.N., the international community’s attempt to use the United Nations to manipulate United States foreign policy, its inability to carry out appropriate reforms that its leaders have tried to conduct… and the reforms it does put in place are worse (even [...]

The following is a work of fiction and political satire. None of this is true. However, if you have a sensitive stomach, or are a Liberal, or just don’t get most jokes you hear, you may want to avoid reading this piece. But you are welcome to anyhow.
Barack Obama, in an unprecedented [...]