In the week since the Election, the talking heads on the left side of the political perspective have been gloating over the election results, as well as the so-called demise of conservatism in America. While I am admittedly happy about the results of the election, I certainly am not ready to put any nails into the coffin of the American Conservative Movement.

Even some on the right are suggesting a conservative implosion in this country. A former director and trustee of the National Review, Austin W. Bramwell, has a piece in the November 20th issue of The American Conservative entitled “Good-bye to All That - A former National Review trustee surveys the wreckage of contemporary conservatism.”

"Until recently, it has been almost impossible for me to speak candidly about the conservative movement, for it was my strange fate to serve as director and later trustee of the movement’s flagship journal, National Review. Earlier this year, at William F. Buckley’s request, I resigned both positions. I can therefore now declare what perhaps has oft been thought but never, at least not often enough, expressed. Notwithstanding conservatives’ belief that they, in contrast to their partisan opponents, have thought deeply about the challenges facing the United States, it is they who have become unserious."

Here’s a link to the article: http://www.amconmag.com/2006/2006_11_20/cover.html

While I don’t share Mr. Bramwell’s pessimistic outlook on conservatism in America, I do find his analysis fascinating. And some of what he suggests falls along the lines of what many of us on the left have been saying for years – QUIT DRINKING THE KOOL-AID!

My personal opinion is that the recent elections, and the aftermath to come, do not necessarily represent the death of conservatism in America. I think this represents an opportunity for the leaders of the conservative movement to reflect, regroup, and refocus on where the movement is, and where it needs to be. Make no mistake though; conservatism has been dealt a major blow, and a self-inflicted one at that. How the conservative movement chooses to deal with it will determine whether it was a fatal one.