Forgive me ... but Reagan is the only exception in that list. He was clearly cut from different from different cloth than the "conservatives" of today.
Gingrich is very much an exemplar of "the rule." When it came down to it, Gingrich's Contract for America was nothing more than a campaign tactic that was quickly discarded once it became apparent that Gingrich had neither the political ability nor the political power to carry it out. Bill Clinton beat Gingrich half to death with the Contract, and then used the resultant momentum to win re-election in '96.
It doesn't mean that the principles embodied by the Contract are wrong -- they're not; but the actual results of trying to apply the Contract show that Conservatives really don't know what to do with them.
There are two issues here, both of which we conservatives need to address.
The first is that, despite what the Contract said, "conservatism" has no clear meaning; but at the same time the public has gained a perception of conservatism that is quite unfavorable. Much of that is our own fault -- there are no Reagans among the current crop of "spokesmen for conservatism;" those who step forward, are prone to feeding red meat to an already oppositional media.
The second is strategy and tactics. We've GOT to behave differently.
“Gingrich is very much an exemplar of “the rule.” When it came down to it, Gingrich’s Contract for America was nothing more than a campaign tactic that was quickly discarded once it became apparent that Gingrich had neither the political ability nor the political power to carry it out.”
FALSE on a number of levels. First, it was a positive and real agenda. Second, all the 10 promises made were kept in that Gingrich got the bills through the House, in the end most of the proposals went through the Senate and ended up getting passed. In welfare reform case, we have the signature conservative reform of the era, it worked and it made a big difference in reducing welfare dependency.
“The first is that, despite what the Contract said, “conservatism” has no clear meaning;” Did the contract even use the word conservative? It was 10 point specific program.
BTTT, everything you said.
And anyway, Gingrich is a believer in the man-made global warming religion, which by its nature calls for a more expansive and regulatory government. IMO the global warming ideology is just another path to big government, by the back door.