Conservative Comeback
Jeff Katz
So, it was just about one year ago that conservatism was declared to be a thing of the past; just over a year ago that conservatives were told that our time in the sun had come to an end and we were invited to simply, thank you very much, fade away.
As conservatives took stock we realized that our voices were being silenced: Daily newspapers had adopted an almost universal liberal editorial policy, the broadcast networks were all clearly operating from left of center, and even the talk radio arena saw leftist managers move to quash conservative hosts.
Just pack up your tent and ride off into the sunset was the advice from such well-meaning folks as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Talking heads on Sunday morning shows offered friendly advice to those of us on the right. They wanted to help us make our conservative message more acceptable: Abandon those conservative values and ideals, throw Ronald Reagan under the bus, and just be more like the Left … yeah, that’s the ticket.
Sadly some on the right took the advice and moved away from the beliefs that define conservatism. But most of us remained strong in our faith and resolute in our ideology. Guess what? We were right!
Last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference resembled something of a ghost town I am told – few attendees, few sponsors and no spirit. Well, I recently returned from this year’s CPAC in Washington, DC, and I am more excited and enthusiastic than I have been in a long time. CPAC 2010 had more than 10,000 attendees, the largest number in its history. And despite the pictures painted by print media and television news, it was not an event for grumpy, old white men, but rather an energetic and truly electrifying event where I would guess the average age was mid-thirties. There were certainly a few grumpy old guys, but there were many more young and excited men and women. Some were young Moms and Dads, some were in college, some still in high school. They all shared a common concern though: that the Obama administration was busy burying them, and future generations, in debt while snatching their independence and liberty.
I was honored to have spent four days in Washington while broadcasting live from CPAC. If you missed the broadcasts, download the podcasts at www.850wftl.com and you can hear the enthusiasm and energy of the event. What I witnessed was a rediscovery for some of what conservatism embodies. There was an epiphany of sorts, as people realized not only what the true message of conservatism is, but also that the standard bearers for that message really do come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio kicked off CPAC with a stirring talk about his family’s roots in Cuba and their desire to flee the brutal dictatorship of Fidel Castro. Marco let all in attendance know that his story was their story and that together it was the quintessential American story. Young people, male and female, dominated the audiences and those featured on the stages were equally imbued with a youthful spirit.
Lt. Col. Allen West spoke eloquently and passionately about his childhood, growing up in the inner city of Atlanta, close to the Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the lessons he learned from his father. Col. West’s dad made clear to him that it is truly the content of one’s character and not the color of one’s skin that matters. Col. West went on to live that ideal and is now passing it on his to his daughters.
After Liz Cheney addressed the crowd her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, joined her on stage and offered a few words of his own. When someone in the crowd jokingly shouted, “Run, Dick Run,” he quickly brushed the suggestion aside with great humor and grace.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I watched MSNBC’s coverage of the same event later that evening. Rachel Maddow and the Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson blathered on and on about how CPAC was clearly defined by grumpy old white men like Dick Cheney. They opined that the overwhelming sense at CPAC was a desire to go back to the future, if you will, and have conservatives look to Dick Cheney as their leader. They did a good job of telling that story, but the problem was that it simply was not true.
There is a growing sense in this country that we’re headed in the wrong direction, a realization that voting for a slogan – be it hope and change or less filling great taste – is not the way that we ought to be electing our leaders. Indeed, as the buzz and haze wears off, Americans of all ages, genders, races, economic situations and faith affiliations are waking up to realize that, one year into this administration, we have leftists in control who are hell-bent on making citizens ever more dependent on the government apparatus.
Americans have sent a clear message that they want government to keep its hands off our healthcare; but Team Bo is determined to ram, or maybe that’s Rahm, through some type of government health care bill that will quite literally make us all dependant on government from cradle to grave. I can think of few things less American than that.
Belief in God; love for family and country; support for the free enterprise system that allows you to compete, ensuring that you can keep the rewards of your own labor; concern and compassion for neighbors are what the conservative movement is all about today, just as it always has been. The beliefs are the same, the message is consistent, but the messengers are new. They are young and vibrant. They are male and female, Jew and Gentile, Asian, Black, Latino, and White. They are America – despite what the mainstream media would have you believe.
On a closing note and personal point of order, I want to extend my best wishes to my dear friend Mark Pellin, as he launches Pundit House. This promises to be the resource that conservatives in Charlotte have been looking for, a one-stop shop, if you will, for everything conservative in the Carolinas. With the left wing firmly in control of the Board of Ed, City Council and County Commission, there needs to be a conservative watchdog in place to keep them honest. I can think of no one better suited for that role than Mark Pellin. I’ll be reading Pundit House on a daily basis and I encourage you to do the same.
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Jeff Katz, special to PunditHouse.com – Used by Permission
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