On March 19, I made the short walk from Martindale Hall to Dr. Edward McLean’s quaint house on Grant Avenue. Though I had not realized the significance of that date when I arranged the interview, it was at the forefront of my mind after I had seen the New York Times and Indianapolis Star that [...]

I believe that conservatism needs to be redefined by focusing on small, unobtrusive, fiscally responsible government. As a conservative I believe that I know what is best for my family and myself, and that it is not the government’s place to dictate my actions. I also believe that I know how to best spend my earned income, and that the government should not tax me to support failing social welfare programs.

Russell Kirk is one of the most influential conservative philosophers of our modern time. In his article, The Essence of Conservatism, Kirk sets forth ten canons that outline the basic principles that compose classic conservatism. In today’s society the values of classic conservatism have been splintered and manipulated to serve the interest of groups such as the neoconservatives and the evangelical right. This has put the conservative movement in America in dire straights and for it to survive there must be a return back to the core values of conservatism.

But as Republicans now know, electing Obama was not the end of the world. Or America. (At least not yet anyways.) Sure, the economy may have tanked, Gitmo is closing, and Rahm Emanuel took control of the media, but at least we still have Keith Olbermann foaming at the mouth each night with Bush Derangement Syndrome, right? (Not even humor can change our current situation!)

Enter the state of the party: We lost the mandate. Once fancying itself as the exuberant voice of the ‘real’ America, the Republican Party has become the very enemy it sought to fight against: big government with high spending. But not only that, in the process we succeeded in becoming the party of stagnant, senior citizens.