William Kristol‘s latest Weekly Standard editorial recounts plenty of good news for Republicans and conservatives:
President Obama and the Democratic Congress had a real shot at
transforming American politics and public policy into European-style
social democracy. When Obama spoke to Congress a year ago, on February
24, 2009, it certainly seemed he would have a chance to succeed.Last week?one year later?he was on the defensive at his own health
care ?summit? thanks to the massive public hostility to his health care
proposal.What a difference a year makes.
But that doesn’t mean the GOP can sit back and laugh, Kristol adds:
So we?ve, at least for now, dodged the bullet. It?s exhilarating.
But now comes more hard work. In Virginia and New Jersey last year and
in Massachusetts in January, Republicans went on the offensive. They
need to stay on the offensive, overcoming their natural stolid
conservatism. They need to welcome upstart candidates and unorthodox
political strategies. They need to be open to new formulations of
issues. In the pages of newspapers and magazines, conservatives have
begun to lay out sensible and appropriately modest (as befits a
congressional-year election) policy proposals that contrast with the
Democrats?. This needs to be pushed ahead, steadily and relentlessly,
through November 2010.Then the big task of 2011: framing a post-financial crisis,
post-Obama governing vision for the country. And then the task of 2012:
finding a candidate, and winning the chance to govern.
