Cheer Up, Conservatives

Sometimes we get discouraged about the slowness/timidity of the Republican Congress in actually implementing Republican ideas. We also wonder if Republicans really have any interest in actually cutting government, now that they control it. Two Brits who write for The Economist, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, remind us of positives in this article from OpinionJournal:

"Conservatives whinge that George Bush has presided over a huge increase in federal spending. Social Security reform is stalled. A plan to deprive the Democrats of the power to filibuster Supreme Court nominees failed at the 11th hour, when seven Republican Senators defected. America is confronting protracted resistance in Iraq. And, needless to say, liberals remain firmly in charge of the commanding heights of American culture, from the Ivy League to the Hollywood studios.

All true. But it is time for conservatives to cheer up. Fixate on a snapshot of recent events and pessimism makes sense. Stand back and look at the grand sweep of things and the darkness soon lifts. There are two questions that really matter in assessing the current state of conservatism: What direction is America moving in? And how does the United States compare with the rest of the world? The answer to both questions should encourage the right."

The article is just full of reasons for optimism, so you know you want to read the rest.

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