Right as Ever: How conservative critics of conservatism are explaining the conservative comeback.

Slate ^ | 10/5/10 | David Weigel

[pissant]

The Great Recession has done wonders for the Republican Party. Two years after being tossed out of power at every level, it's about to waltz right back in, kicking aside the corpses of Democrats foolish enough to go along with the designs of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. This is good news for most conservatives. It's slightly worse news for a smaller group of conservatives—namely, the ones who spent the end of the '00s explaining why a Republican comeback like this was not really possible.

Take, for example, Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam, whose 2005 Weekly Standard cover story, "The Party of Sam's Club," looked ahead to the end of the Bush presidency as a challenge for Republicans. They advised the party to "take the 'big-government conservatism' vision that George W. Bush and Karl Rove have hinted at but failed to develop, and give it coherence and sustainability." Among the big ideas: wage subsidies, a mandate to purchase health insurance, and "pro-family" tax reforms that would raise rates for some people.

[pissant]

Interesting read. And frickin hilarious. Even the author, Weigel the lefty, is smarter than the stooge republicans he covers in this piece.

[bill1952]

They argued then, and argue now, that people like Frum, Salam, Douthat, Sam Tanenhaus, and others care more about the fabled "Georgetown cocktail circuit" than they care about conservative principles.

Well, he nailed that down pat.

[pissant]

He forgot Noonan, Brooks, Barnes, Parker, etc etc

[Deagle]

You know, much of that gibberish may have been true several years ago but today, it simply looks like well gibberish!

Things have changed greatly! The DC crowd will be the last to know or understand it and that is a good thing...

Let’s call it an awakening! That is something that is unlikely to be understood by the elitist crowd so it seems to be a good thing.

The ultimate win will be when all of DC’s elitists are not only on the outside looking in but wondering just what the heck happened!

[pissant]

These morons thought Bush and Rove didn’t get grand enough with their terribly misnamed ‘big government conservatism’???

[okie01]

By definition, a Washington pundit is for not just big, but bigger, government. Regardless of their political affiliation.

And we governed should just sit down and shut up.

[iowamark]

David Frum in Newsweek 3/06/2009 “Why Rush is Wrong:”

http://www.newsweek.com/2009/03/06/why-rush-is-wrong.html

[Deagle]

Yep, that must have been their grand scheme of Compassionate Conservatism! What a failure that was - not only in practice, but the whole idea was faulty to begin with.

Just another instance of our Political elitists thinking for us...without asking!

[eclecticEel]

the 'big-government conservatism' vision that George W. Bush and Karl Rove have hinted at but failed to develop

Um, what?

[JSDude1]

We call them “Benedict Arnold Conservatives” or simply the enemy or more precisely: Liberals (in sheep’s clothing)..to go along with RINO Benedict Arnold Republicans like Lisa Murkowski..!

[Jack Hammer]

The conservative comeback - so-called - owes a great deal to the fact that Obama isn’t ENOUGH of a socialist for many Americans and, due to their anger, they’re ready to vote against him. They wanted Utopia - the Workers’ Paradise - and got the same old sh*t.

They’re not voting principles, they’re voting emotions.

[library user]

Two years after being tossed out of power at every level

Why does the media always get this wrong? It's been NEARLY FOUR YEARS since Pelosi and Reid took over. What's so hard to remember about that? The Democrats have had control of BOTH the House & Senate since Jan 2007.

[Minn]

Silly analysis.

[Jack Hammer]

Not sure if you’re refering to me or the article, but... whatever.

[freedomfiter2]

These morons thought Bush and Rove didn’t get grand enough with their terribly misnamed ‘big government conservatism’???

Bush and Rove were the cause of the GOP meltdown. Big government conservatism is like big orgy celibacy.

[Old Badger]

"Compassionate Conservatism! "

The oxymoron for "Liberal Conservatism"................. :O)

[sickoflibs]

RE :”, for example, Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam, whose 2005 Weekly Standard cover story, “The Party of Sam's Club,” looked ahead to the end of the Bush presidency as a challenge for Republicans. They advised the party to “take the ‘big-government conservatism’ vision that George W. Bush and Karl Rove have hinted at but failed to develop, and give it coherence and sustainability.” Among the big ideas: wage subsidies, a mandate to purchase health insurance, and “pro-family” tax reforms that would raise rates for some people. “
“In 2008 the authors expanded this argument into a book, Grand New Party, and the intervening years didn't put much rust on the thesis. “Some combination of the populist Left and the neoliberal center is likely to emerge as America's next political majority,” they mused. They had data to back up their trends. But it now appears that the GOP is about to win without tapping into any of that stuff. The conservative movement's smart set, the people who liberals considered serious critics who could remake the right, really had nothing to do with the Republican Party's great comeback.”

Another split country bare election of a Republican like 2000 would have continued this ‘neo-liberal’ big government nightmare. But Obama and Pelosi winning big has turned most of the country sour on big government failures, if only temporarily. It certainly turned RINOs and moderate Republicans against it. A good reason why McCain needed to lose when he did.