Five Steps for Revitalizing Conservatism
March 5, 2021
It’s clear that the GOP is in disarray. The recent CPAC gathering only served to highlight that Republicans are groping for a winning strategy. The elephant in the room refuses to go away. Donald Trump remains a polarizing figure whose brash and crass demeanor retains a strange magnetism, even as his self-absorbed pettiness undermined what were often sensible policy instincts. Demographically, Republicans cater to an aging population. Progressives seem to have the momentum and the youth. They certainly control the key institutions and seem poised to make good on their promise to fundamentally change America. If conservatives want to be anything more than a speed bump on the way to a dreamy progressive future, they must creatively reimagine conservative principles for our rapidly changing circumstances: 2021 is not 1980.
A question rarely asked: Why do self-identified conservatives seem so uninterested in conserving? To ask the question is to probe the heart of the problem.
