Every time the Republicans lose in national elections, we see all sorts of articles about how this signals the end of the Religious Right … articles which are the followed up some time later with other articles noting the sudden “resurgence” of the Religious Right.
On the flip-side, whenever Republicans win national elections, we see columns like this one from Ed Messe crowing that the conservative movement is now unified and ready to remake America:
The conservative movement won a resounding victory Tuesday. Not only did many conservative candidates win, the American people spoke loudly in their rejection of Big Government policies perpetuated by President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Indeed, the American people reminded Washington that we are a center-right country that believes in limited, constitutional government. We now have an opportunity as a movement to unite and lead the country in a new direction that is the shining city on the Hill, which President Ronald Reagan spoke of so often.
…
It is an extraordinary tribute to Americans that, as we face our current crisis virtually adrift without political leadership, ordinary Americans — often through tea parties — have taken the lead in protecting our freedoms. These citizen leaders embody a uniquely American ethos, dating back to the founding.
This is a wonderful development. It brings a massive jolt of energy into the political process. It is crying out for freedom and against any government telling us we must abandon all we hold dear in the name of a false tolerance.
The conservative movement has its voice back.
Of course, the last time Republicans won all we heard about was the singular importance of “values voters” and talk of a permanent Republican majority.
Remind me again of how that all turned out.
