Melissa,

It’s funny that you mentioned this article because I had a similar discussion with someone on the concept of revolt. In order for a revolt to happen, one side has to feel that it not only has no choice but to revolt, but loses nothing by doing so.

Now a few conservatives probably feel that way. However, I would agree with you that this guy has no idea what he’s talking about. Most conservatives would have a lot to lose indeed if they listened to Mr. Erickson.

Are conservatives feeling a little edgy right now? Yes, undoubtedly, since I’m one of them, but that’s a far cry from being pushed over the abyss of revolt. I can’t speak for others, but I have way too much to lose.

To be honest, I’ve really heard conservatives feeling serious misgivings over what is happening right now. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, many RINOs and independents (and certainly the liberals) have had few, if any, complaints about what’s going on in government.

I agree with you that most Americans are accepting Obama’s initiatives without much thought. GenX (less so) and the Millenials (more so)are pretty much a lost cause unless something really bad happens. They’ve been fed a steady diet of liberal rhetoric for years. Does anyone think that they’ll just do an about face just like that?

I said this before and I’ll say it again. The liberals have outmaneuvered the conservatives and have done it decisively. While the conservatives kept their eyes on the political spectrum, the liberals not only fought politically, but infiltrated the educational, information and legal professions. All of the left wing stuff you see from those areas is a product of 30 years of careful, painstaking work. And the Republicans certainly didn’t help themselves with the nonsense they pulled between 2000-2006. BTW, I don’t see anything wrong with stating this. I feel that we need to look at this truthfully before we can even think of winning politically.

I also agree that the current Republican Party has no clue of how to deal with this development. They still believe that Democrat-Lite is the proper format to combat the Democrats. I disagree. Whether people like or not, the Republican Party needs to shift much more to the right. It may be radical, but it’ll define a clear choice compared to the socialist policies of the Democrats. Do I think that’s likely to happen? No, I don’t. And so the Republicans may win some elections, but what we’ll have is a continued leadership that is inherently socialist with some liberal Republicans backing them up.

Farley, I hate to say this but, being me, I will anyway. We can be nice all we want. and we will stay in the cold, dark room we are in now. I hear your message and wish it were so but it does not seem realistic to me. The left has purposefully demonized our President,us,and our ideology. They attack it from within the Democratic party and from without. The Constitutional guarantee of a free press, a necessary safeguard, has been abrogated. Free speech is compromised, (‘hate crime’ and fairness doctrine)
We have the White House attacking private citizens, we have an army of session bloggers on every conservative blog. Maybe we don’t need to play nice. Maybe we need to return to our roots, our beliefs and put ourselves on the line. Our country surely is.

Melissa,

I was just starting to become aware of what was going on at the time, but I distinctly remember zip, zero, zilch, nada, zipoid, butkus consistency in the political-passion landscape, between 1976 and 1980.

Folks learned. A lot of ‘em weren’t willing to admit they learned. But learning is a non-instinctive behavioral change. Learn they did.

In situations such as this, it is quite unavoidable.

Artruen,

I think most conservatives have asked themselves if there’s a tipping point. I admit that I’ve done it myself.

However, I still think the vast majority of people are too comfortable with their lifestyles to even think about “revolt,” whatever that means (there are several ways one could interpret this).

I don’t doubt that there will be an eventual tipping point of some kind. I believe (though not entirely certain) that the most likely tipping point which will occur is the breakup of the Republican Party.

I say this because there is a big civil war right now among Republicans about what direction the party will take. I still see the heads of this party ignoring the conservatives while trying to establish (still) a moderate base to campaign from.

Now the big question is whether that’s workable or not. I think short term, it might be, given the overall mood of the country. However, is that necessarily the best long-term solution? No I don’t think so, particularly if the 2008 election is any indication (since there was no real campaign platform). I think it’s a sellout of conservative principles and the only thing that will come out of such an arrangement is the creation of a Democrat-Lite party, which offers very little difference to the actual Democratic Party. I mean, what is their slogan going to be, “We’re for big government, only a little less???”

I still think that the best route is still to go pretty hard to the right because it offers a clear alternative to an increasingly leftist Democratic Party.

But having said all that, let me go back to the breakup. If conservatives continue to get shunted aside like embarrassing backwoods cousins by the moderates, then I do think they’ll just say “to hell with it” and form their own party. In fact, Newt Gingrich is stating as much right now (even though I don’t particularly care for him).

How much good that will do is difficult to say at this time. If it occurs around 2012 like Gingrich predicts, then I would say that Obama will get a second term (very similar to how Lincoln got elected when the Democrats split into the Northern and Southern Dems in 1860). That’s a pretty disastrous short term solution. However, if conservatives aren’t being heard anyway, then what do they lose by forming a third party? That’s the big question.

Artruen,

It’s entirely possible and even probable that the left has pushed into those institutions for the psychological benefits. However, I was referring mainly to the Boomer radicals who were such a problem in the 60′s. It is that group that definitely and willingly pushed into those institutions because they took the long-term view of changing the system from within, something they could not do from without during that time period.

It is the Boomer radicals where much of this wellspring of ideology has occurred during the last 40 years. Go to any university (or any area of power, actually) and you will see these people entrenched in these positions, and I mean not only faculty but more importantly administrative.

Although the faculty do try to influence the students, it is the administrators at the lower and higher levels of education who are making the rules now. And the problem is that they are so entrenched, they make absolutely sure that open positions are filled with like-minded individuals. Now, the younger ones moving into those positions are going in according to your idea, or at least they think so. The Boomers are hiring them because they want to see these “reforms” continue.

Anyway, my original point was that until the conservatives begin a herculean effort towards making inroads into those institutions, you will continue to watch the country move in a steady leftward slant. Am I saying that it’s going hard left immediately? No, because there will be a little bit of a balance eventually. But I do think this country has moved gradually in the last 10-15 years from center-right to center-left, which is pretty substantial in and of itself.

It seems to me that since the gradual removal and literally dying out of the Greatest Generation from the positions of power in the late 80′s and early 90′s, the conservative movement has been steadily on the defensive. They’ve had to adjust to leftist initiatives that slowly pushes their ideas towards the left-center (i.e. the Republican Party example). Even the election of Bush Jr. didn’t go nearly conservative as many on the right hoped. Unless something changes that equation, I’m afraid that things will continue in the direction they’re going.