Don't just do something - stand there!

I noticed several things when I re-read my posts after the 2004 election debacle. First, I weighed over five pounds less then, which is distressing. More relevant though is all the handwringing I and my guest-bloggers did over what we should do to bring the country back to a non-insane course. None of it really mattered - the main thing was to wait for people to realize how screwed up the conservative mission was.

The funny thing about that is the advice of waiting for the people to come around is what's going to be what conservatives will do over the next four years, and I think that's a huge mistake. I expect no change in their social issue positions or national security outlook, and at most a modest improvement for a few Republicans on climate change. The problem for them is that I think their opinions are wrong, and in the long run, no one's going to be converted to their side. Ultimately they'll realize it, and have to come up with something different.

My superficial impression is that British Conservatives have evolved quite a bit. American conservatives used to admire the Brits, so maybe, someday, they'll emulate them.