How Can Conservatives Rebound from 2008?

Nearly two-dozen conservative leaders met ON Nov. 6, 2008 for the first of what was hoped to be several meetings at the Virginia residence of Brent Bozell, president of the conservative watchdog group, Media Research Center. The goal of these discussions was to discuss the future of the conservative movement in the wake of the 2008 general election results, which swept Republicans out of office and dealt a significant blow to conservative politicians.

Conservatives such as Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, were among the many attendants who not only wanted to take stock of where the movement stands today, but also devise a way to reshape and redefine the conservative message.

Not long after the talks, however, it was apparent that these leaders were going through denial. Even worse, the emerging rhetoric seemed no different than it was before the election.

In an interview with FOX News after the meeting, Bozell maintained that "conservatives didn't play a role in this campaign."

"This was a moderate Republican against a liberal Democrat," Bozell told FOX News' Bill Hemmer. "Conservatives had nothing to do with it."

Unfortunately, what Bozell seems to be missing is that John McCain had no choice but to run as a moderate Republican, given the tremendous backlash against President George W. Bush, who proclaims himself a conservative despite evidence to the contrary.

Bozell is also missing the incredible pounding McCain's BP pick Sarah Palin took from the media. Most people believe she was treated quite unfairly by the national press, and much of it undoubtedly had to do with her open conservative ideology. Barack Obama's campaign seized on her conservative credentials and related them back to Bush. Regardless of how inaccurately it was portrayed by the Democrats or sold by the Republicans, it was the perception of conservatism that was at the heart of the 2008 presidential campaign, not conservatism itself.

This means that conservatives must take tremendous steps to redefine what conservatism means in the 21st Century and find new, elegant and refreshing ways to get the conservative message to the populous.

Bozell went on to say that conservatives were pleased and energized by two surprising results taken from exit polls conducted during the election.

"The first thing is that this country remains every bit as center right as it's been for generations," Bozell said. "And the number one issue in this election was the economy. Nothing else even came close, and if you look at the campaigns, Obama actually ran as a Reagan-ite and won over the public as a fiscal conservative. He ran [away] from the left-wing agenda. That tells us that the American people are still on our side."

Searching for a silver lining in the dark cloud that was the 2008 presidential election is important, but conservative leaders should be careful not to spin the election's results to satisfy their own egos. Nor should they twist the cold hard statistics in an attempt to validate the unpopular way they've been disseminating their message for the last 10 years.

That includes statements like Bozell's "We're going to take over this country the way we did with Ronald Reagan." This kind of bakward-thinking sentiment creates the image of a power-hungry radical group, which mainstream conservatives are not.

Many conservatives also continue to hearken back to Ronald Reagan (which is understandable, considering his popularity and historic contributions), but this kind of rhetoric falls largely on deaf ears today. Reagan left office 20 years ago, and for young up-and-coming conservatives he is nothing more than a profile in a history book.

That doesn't mean in fashioning their new message, conservatives should forget about Reagan or his predecessor in conservatism, former Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater. Conservative politicians would do well to find fresh ways to disseminate Goldwater's small government, strong national defense and free enterprise tenets. It has to be done in a new way. It needs new leaders with exciting ideas and innovative conservative perspectives.

Perhaps more important than all, is the need for the movement to quietly adopt Reagan's "big tent" philosophy. This means removing the religious rhetoric from its national agenda and encourage social conservative activists to advocate for their reforms in different, non-threatening ways. It's OK to acknowledge certain religious principles, but it is not in the conservative movement's best interest to proselytize on the campaign trail or in a Senate or House floor speech.

Finding a welcoming tone and returning the movement to its fundamental fiscal conservative roots is what's needed most for US conservatives right now. If the movement continues to act as a vehicle for evangelical Christians, it is doomed to failure. Christianity should be practiced in church and as a philosophy -- not as a legislative directive or governmental policy.

If the movement is to succeed, it must return to its roots but with a new method.