Conservatism won when it ran as a Democrat...

Mark Alexander of the Patriot Post, with "Leaders or Clerks":

... Countless commentators have already concluded that Republicans must “move to the center” to win in 2008. Haven’t they tried that already? In fact, that’s the problem. Paradoxically, the danger of losing its guiding principles—the foundation of genuine GOP leadership—was voiced by the same Karl Rove who now blames last month’s electoral defeats on “mitigating circumstances” and “critical mass.” To be fair, Rove got it right during a speech in February 2005, fully 20 months before these elections:

“The GOP’s progress during the last four decades is a stunning political achievement, but it is also a cautionary tale of what happens to a dominant party—in this case the Democrat Party—when its thinking becomes ossified, when its energy begins to drain, when an entitlement mentality takes over and when political power becomes an end in itself rather than a means to achieve the common good.”

If only Mr. Rove and his colleagues had heeded his warning.

The Republican leadership in Washington still have their collective head up their collective asses when it comes to what they need to do to regain control.

Rush Limbaugh:

“There hasn’t been any ideology in the Republican Party, any conservatism, for at least two to maybe four years. You could argue [President] Bush was more of an ideologue in the presidential campaign of ‘04, but in looking at what happened [on 7 November], it wasn’t conservatism that lost. Conservatism won when it ran as a Democrat. It won in a number of places. Republicanism lost. RINO Republicans, country-club blue-blood Republicans, this nonpartisan Republican identity, that’s what went down in flames. I’ve always believed that those of us who are conservative believe in the ideology. We believe it wins. We believe it’s best for the country. We believe it’s best for the people. We believe it’s ultimately compassionate, and it has not been present... Now, where are these future conservative leaders?”

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