George Will on what went wrong
November 9th, 2006 by Brendan SteinhauserGeorge Will writes today that Republicans “were punished not for pursuing but for forgetting conservatism.”
Crass spending (the farm and highway bills, the nearly eightfold increase in the number of earmarks since 1994) and other pandering (e.g., the Terri Schiavo intervention) have intensified as Republicans’ memories of why they originally sought power have faded.
Will does cite some good news for conservatives.
The property rights movement gained ground Tuesday as voters in nine states passed measures to restrict governments from exercising eminent domain in order to enlarge their tax revenues.
He concludes,
The country remains receptive to conservatism. That doctrine — were it to become constraining on, rather than merely avowed by, congressional Republicans — can be their bridge back from the wilderness.
