Now She Tells Us

After the “stunning” loss of a special congressional election in Mississippi, many Republicans are “stunned.” Really, writes Peggy Noonan. On her reckoning:

You have to be stupid to be stunned by that... Most party leaders in Washington are stupid – detached, played out, stuck in the wisdom they learned when they were coming up, in ’78 or ’82 or ’94... In politics especially, the first lesson sticks.

What Republicans should have done is broken with Bush back in 2005, or ’06, or ’07, Noonan advises. It’s a bit late now. Anyway,

"Members and pundits . . . fail to understand the deep seated antipathy toward the president, the war, gas prices, the economy, foreclosures," said Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia in a 20-page memo to House GOP leaders.

I’ll say. You can say that the war is now going well, that the economy ain’t so bad. You can say that the gas prices are high because Democrats have stood on the drill rig platform for twenty years forbidding exploration for oil. You can say that the foreclosures are an ineviable result of half a century of housing subsidies.

But that is beside the point. It all happened on Bush’s watch and so the Democrats are going to run on the idea that voting for McCain is voting for a third term for Bush and his mistakes. You can’t argue with that!

In my view we must stop all this defeatism. Of course the conservative brand is badly burned right now. Of course Republicans deserve to be soundly defeated. Of course the American people think it is “time for a change.” But we’ll be back, and sooner than you think.

Conservatives believe that it is time to radically downsize the government role in education. Democrats believe that it is time to expand government education with universal pre-school.

Conservatives believe that it is time to crank down the huge government role in health care, getting most people to pay directly for routine health care. Democrats want to extend government power in health care by forcing everyone to carry health insurance.

Conservatives believe we should prospect for oil and gas, and that we should respond to any global warming by adaptation. Democrats believe we need swingeing taxes and regulation and subsidy to transform the energy economy.

Conservatives believe that we should reduce the government preseence in the social safety net, and that we should re-empower the mediating institutions of family, church, association, and neighborhood. Democrats believe we should normalize gay marriage.

These are huge differences, and both sides cannot be right. Each approach implies a vastly different approach to government and society.

Conservatives believe that we are right and that the liberals are wrong. What is more we believe that the Democratic path will lead to serious economic and social dislocation. We believe that it is not a question of “if” but “when” America gets a clue and realizes that we are right about the major issues of our time.

Win or lose in November these issues will define the politics of the next fifty years. Therefore we should not lose heart and give into despair.

Be not afraid.

Oh, and Peggy. Could you think of something helpful to contribute to the conservative narrative?