Re-seeding and cultivating the center-right grassroots

Since the GOP’s most recent drubbing at the polls, there’s a detectable sense of triumphalism among denizens of the left-o-sphere. As conservatives retreat to their cabins in the wilderness, stocked up on hardtack and salt pork, to contemplate the future of the movement, the sounds of snickering and mockery from their opponents and the recriminations of erstwhile allies echo in their ears. At times like these, it’s easy to lose heart – especially if you don’t have the proper perspective on what, exactly, is going on.

Much of the delight that the left is taking in the travails of conservatives is misguided, however. It’s hard to blame them for basking in it, having spent the better part of the last ten years holed up in rustic domiciles of their own. But, if anyone should be aware that fortunes can turn in a relatively short period of time, it’s the left. After all, it was only a scant four years ago that the right was exulting in Howard Dean’s bellow heard ’round the world and chortling at the fact that Democrats had responded by putting him at the head of the party. And, we all see who’s laughing now.

Where the left is mistaken is in its perception of just what is taking place among the right in the aftermath of November 4. Witnessing the squabbling and finger-pointing, they seem to have convinced themselves that conservatism is a movement at long last put asunder. Of course, time will eventually be the judge. But, I would assert that what appears to be cannibalism and intramural bloodletting is little more than the transient bout of catharsis that always follows electoral losses – especially a second straight decisive electoral loss in four years.

There are signs that the conservative movement is in a much healthier state relative to that which its counterparts on the left found themselves in following the consecutive losses in 2000, 2002, and 2004. The most encouraging sign is the seeming lack of an outpouring of toxic hatred and rage toward the victors. Another encouraging sign is that there seems to be a much lower level of conspiracy mongering – and very little that isn’t justified by the fact that there are currently FBI investigations underway looking into voter registration fraud. Conservatives aren’t blaming Diebold and Halliburton, or their ideological equivalents, for what happened this year. By and large, the garment rending on the right has been a matter of self-rebuke.

Liberals will point to the recent rush to purchase guns as evidence that the the right is turning into a collection of concrete bunker-building yahoos beset by imaginary demons seeking to obliterate national boundaries and enslave the population. This is precisely where the left tends to go astray. By failing to recognize legitimate concerns of average Americans regarding government encroachments on individual liberties such as gun ownership, and lampooning people who see the potential for those encroachments when liberals control the legislative, executive and, potentially, the judiciary branches, Democrats will likely alienate the very voters they were so careful to pacify to get where they are.

What is encouraging about the right’s reaction to their rejection at the hands of voters is that, presented with the opportunity to blame America itself for failing to see the superiority of its ideas, it has so far refused to take the bait. A few people here and there lowered their flags to half-staff, or flew them upside-down in a silly display of petulance. And, a tiny, scattered minority of conservatives have talked about leaving the country for a more friendly atmosphere (which would be where, exactly?). But, on the whole, conservatism seems to be focused on finding out where they, themselves, went wrong. This is exactly the kind of healthy approach that brings about a speedy recovery.

What many on the left have convinced themselves are turf wars are actually little more than shoving matches between friends and allies. There’ll be plenty of name calling and blame-shifting over the coming months, to be sure. But, as the next round of elections draws nearer, and conservatives confront the very real prospect of further losses, there will be the kind of focusing of minds that comes about as the proverbial dawn hanging looms.

As I pointed out in my blog post from yesterday, there are already signs that the right is starting to “get it”. The efforts of the #dontgo Movement indicate a seriousness of purpose that hasn’t been seen since the Gingrich Revolution of 1994. But #dontgo will only be a part of the comeback, albeit an absolutely crucial part. In essence, it will be laying the groundwork that will enable other efforts to succeed.

Where #dontgo’s work focuses on promoting the tenets of traditional conservatism – low taxation, low regulation, individual liberties, and free markets – other entities are working to find ways to draw the Republican Party, as a vehicle for those ideas, back to its foundations. At The Next Right, a web site put together by a group of young center-right activists, the focus is on using technology as a tool to put together a right-leaning, grassroots-centered agenda that will bring about a conservative-libertarian resurgence, and rebuilding the Republican Party around that agenda.

Additionally, at Next Gen GOP, there’s a focus on promoting the ideas of an even younger generation of conservatives. This will be an absolutely crucial element of any rebuilding strategy if the Republican Party is to survive and provide an alternative to the evermore left-leaning agenda of the Democrats. As currently constructed, the GOP is hopelessly out of step with voters age 18-29. While some comfort themselves with the fact that, as a group, the youth vote tends not to show up on Election Day, it’s a very false sense of comfort, and to accept it as a justification for ignoring the concerns of younger voters is to sow the seeds of conservatism’s ultimate extinction.

Voting patterns are established early in people’s civic lives. A person who begins political life as a Democrat will likely die a Democrat. While it’s true that people tend to grow more conservative with age, and that more people come of age as political liberals, it serves no good purpose to allow an entire generation of voters to grow comfortable with the ideas of the left. And, unless the Republican Party makes an effort to address the concerns of younger voters, demonstrates a degree of respect for their ideas, and makes an effort to explain how center-right principles are more advantageous to interests than those of the opposition, the path back to relevance will be much longer and the terrain will be much rougher.

The efforts of groups like #dontgo, The Next Right, and Next Gen GOP, while separate and distinct, are by no means mutually exclusive. On the contrary, they are complementary and interdependent. Where #dontgo seeks to isolate itself from partisan identity in order to cultivate relationships with voters who believe in center-right principles, but no longer believe in the party that espouses them, The Next Right seeks to create an agenda that draws the party closer to those who believe in its principles, but have lost faith in its willingness to live up to them. And, while these two entities are working separately to bring voters and the GOP together by bridging the chasm that has opened between them as a consequence of a disconnect between the stated principles of the Republican Party and the actions of its leadership, Next Gen GOP is working to fill the gap with a younger, fresher, set of ideas that appeal to voters who will chart the course for conservatism and America itself.

So, while liberals are basking in the glory of finally having wrested the levers of power from the hands of the Republican Party, it will be a huge mistake if they allow themselves to believe that they have vanquished conservatism. Truth is, they’ve only succeeded in temporarily stalling the vehicle that conservatism rode to power; a vehicle in desperate need of a tuneup, no less. Let them have their day for the time being. Soon enough, they’ll fall victim to their own hubris, and conservatives will be poised to regain control. The groundwork is being laid as I write.

[Cross-posted at my personal blog, Walt's Wall]