Now What?

It's been far too long since I've had the opportunity to blog, and I blame no one but myself (maybe George Bush, but even that will go out of style soon enough). Given all the buzz filling conservative intellectual circles about our electoral defeat, my intent is not to add to the mix. We're all frustrated, discouraged, and a bit tired from all our efforts over the past four years. Why didn't things end up the way they did back in 2010? How could our country be so blind to the reality of the abject failure that is our current administration?

I'm not discounting the need to go back and retrace our steps. Learning from the mistakes we've made this last campaign cycle will be vital so we don't repeat our errors in 2014 or 2016. But to aggregate and analyse all the potential causes for Barack Obama's reelection would take far too much time for something I would do far more sloppily than the many other pundits currently on the job. So why am I back?


In the words of Gandalf the White from the Two Towers:
"I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.


So am I really saying there's optimism?

You said it.

This is by no means a guarantee that we can overcome the obstacles that brought us down this past election, but what I'm presenting now are several signs for hope that we didn't have going into November 6th:

1) Bush is Gone

Four years from now, Barack Obama will desperately try to find blame for the continued failure of his policies, but unlike this past year, George W. Bush will be another four years into the past and out of people's memory. The impact of the 2008 recession will have blurred with the continuous rise in unemployment and what now could potentially become a double-dip recession. Will Obama be able to spin a new excuse? Probably, but its credibility should be much easier to pick apart (hint: Romney should have done a better job of doing that this time around, but that's another story).

2) The Party of...No-resistance?

In a similar vein, John Boehner's recent comments regarding the potential for gridlock in the House have removed another falsehood Obama will no doubt try to expound down the road from now: the GOP is the party of "no." Boehner still has yet to clarify how far he will compromise in order to accrue new sources of "revenue" (read: taxes), but his acceptance of the political climate is not only genius in that it shows character but it will further center blame for the next 2-4 years on the man in the White House.

3) Benghazi STILL isn't done

As successful as the liberal media was in ignoring the disgusting cover-up that seems increasingly apparent in Libya, Hurricane Sandy isn't working as a top story anymore, and the Petraeus scandal has thrown fresh chum into the media waters here. The persistent questions about why so much information has been strangely witheld from Congress or the public are about to be answered, and don't be surprised if their magnitude would have changed the election were they transparent a mere few weeks ago.

4) Remember the Governors

Despite the majority of Americans (including those in Wisconsin) having missed the boat on what Obama means for the common worker, the battle between unions (and other liberal special interests) and conservative governors is long from over. Scott Walker's victory in Wisconsin may not have been predictive of the way in which his state turned out on election day, but it proves that a deep skepticism of unions is prevalent and waiting to be untapped. My home state of California may be under the yoke of organized labor for some time to come, but in battleground states, the rising cost of collective bargaining is beginning to weigh in on the minds of average citizens. This, alongside the immigration issue, can be cast as bipartisan measures to protect our budgets and force Democrats into a corner. Even New Jersey still has Christie.

5) Catholics are Waking Up

...slowly. Obama still won this demographic 50-48, but the gap is considerably closer from the 54-45 advantage he had in 2008. This trend is clearer when you look at white Catholic voters, who went for Romney 59-40 versus 52-47 for McCain four years ago. Latino Catholics are what threw a wrench in this pattern, holding out for Obama by a 3-to-1 margin. What does this mean for conservatives as a whole? The emerging outrage at the healthcare mandate covering contraceptives needs to be fanned into a flame as it begins to take effect all across the country. As lawsuits mount and slowly are resolved, we need to be lighting this issue up in the media to confront those Catholics who swung left with the grim reality that their faith is under direct assault from the current administration. The bishops have done as much as they can without outright endorsements, so it's up to the laity to keep this positive trend going while the hierarchy strips power from liberal dissenters like the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the so-called "Nuns on a Bus."


This battle is long from over, and the Democrats may very will win consistently for the foreseeable future. I've always said that there are three political archetypes I dislike:
-liberals
-disengaged citizens
-pessimistic conservatives

Guess which one I despise above all? PESSIMISTIC CONSERVATIVES. Why? Because comments like "America is doomed" or "Let's move to Canada" are nothing more than justifications to do nothing in the face of despair. This, above all else, is what our foes desire and what we must rebuke in every instance.

So yes, it's going to be a tough four years ahead. But here at thatotherconservative, you will be sure to find a mix of optimism and urgency that we will need to keep fighting the good fight as time wears on.

Stay tuned. God Bless. Good night.