Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States.
The news isn’t shocking. This was the Democrats’ year. It was
clear early on. Economic turmoil, a brazen display of media bias,
a campaign cash deficit, and an unpopular war were too much for
John McCain to overcome. If he had, 2008 would have been the
biggest political upset in decades.
Conservatives are already bemoaning an impending Obama
presidency, and with good reason. Some view it as the genesis of
a new era of liberal dominance. I view it differently. Obama’s
victory means America is in for a bumpy ride, but it presents
unique opportunities. Conservatism has suffered some blows within
the GOP ranks, and it’s time for a revival. Liberty-honoring
Americans can make that happen.
But first, some perspective. The ‘08 elections will be remembered
as a cycle in which everything that could go wrong did go wrong
for Republicans. President Bush’s popularity was akin to Hoover’s
in 1932. Gas prices were sky-high most of the year. A mortgage
orgy led to economic crisis and a roller coaster stock market.
Even issues favorable to the Republican Party — such as foreign
policy — were overshadowed by domestic concerns. In every area,
the deck was stacked against the GOP.
The party’s line-up of candidates was a loser. Unlike most recent
Republican presidential races, there was no heir apparent.
Instead, party faithful chose from a smorgasbord of personalities
and philosophies — from the socially conservative but tax-hiking
Mike Huckabee to the fiscally conservative but womanizing Rudy
Giuliani to the libertarian but crotchety Ron Paul, and
everything in between. One positive is that it made for good
television — the debates were like watching pay-per-view
wrestling for free. But it was devastating for party cohesion.
Out of that motley bunch, Republicans chose McCain. How the
Arizona senator became the party’s pick is one of several ‘08
enigmas. I see it as the result of Huckabee’s rise, Giuliani’s
demise, Fred Thompson’s fizzle-out, and demographic changes in
South Carolina that favored McCain. Infighting between Huck and
Mitt Romney didn’t help.
The result: few in the base were happy with the final choice of
McCain. In fact, for all the hubbub about disenchanted Hillary
voters sticking it to Barack, it was the Republicans who didn’t
galvanize. It wasn’t until the waning weeks of the general
election campaign that true conservatives starting rallying
around McCain, mostly out of Obama fear. The energy needed to win
a gritty race in an anti-GOP year never was there.
So, what’s in store for the future? To begin, we shouldn’t
whitewash the situation. It’s going to be a tough four years for
the conservative cause. Obama will be in the White House and
liberal Democrats will dominate Congress and maintain a
left-leaning majority on the Supreme Court. We could see
reversals on a host of issues - the sanctity of life and tax cuts
to name two. Still, there is cause for hope.
The top reason: Obama simply can’t live up to the expectations he
created during the campaign. The economy will continue to slide,
aided by the new president’s policies. We could see another
terrorist attack on American soil, and Obama’s Chamberlainesque
foreign policy will be a tepid response. He’ll try to balance
placating his far left constituents with pleasing the American
people, and it won’t work. Obama can’t fulfill his pledges and
remain popular.
That will give conservative Republicans an opportunity in 2010
and 2012. Mid-term elections historically break toward the party
that doesn’t occupy the White House, so the Democrats’ gains this
year could be eroded, eliminated, or even reversed in two years,
especially if the economy continues its downward spiral. That’s
the bittersweet blessing of being the loyal opposition — the guy
in the White House gets blamed for everything.
To match the challenge during the mid-term and 2012 elections,
the GOP has some up-and-coming conservative stars. Sarah Palin is
one, although I don’t see her candidacy getting much traction.
Bobby Jindal, the Indian-American governor from Louisiana, is a
staunch conservative who could be the GOP’s perfect answer to
incumbent Obama in 2012. Jindal could do for the Republicans what
Obama did for the Democrats in 2008.
The presence of stalwart conservatives in Congress will continue
to be felt, although it’s going to be tough. Be proud of men like
Indiana Congressman Mike Pence and South Carolina Senator Jim
DeMint who voted against the financial bailout. Fiscal hawks will
be a minority in the coming years, but the economic upheaval
caused by Obama’s presidency will present new opportunities.
It’s been said before, but it’s worth saying again: conservative
principles were not on the ballot Tuesday. Candidates were, and
most of them did not reflect true conservative principles.
Obama’s ascension to the White House has given the Ronald Reagan
coalition a new opportunity to reorganize and reunite — and the
campaign for change starts now.
