Republicans Attend "Making Conservatism Credible Again." Are they kidding?

What can you do when everything you ever believed turned out to wrong? How hard is it to come to the realization that all of your theories about economics and free trade led up to the disaster we’re living with today? Even more difficult, how do you repackage what you know has failed into something that deserves another try? Read in wonder just how that strategy is being constructed by the ‘up and comers” in the new Republican Party. Can you say Paul Ryan, corporate America’s next Ronald Reagan (not a compliment).

Journal Sentinel-Speaking at a forum on the state of conservatism, GOP Rep. Paul Ryan called for a ceasefire of sorts between two of the movement's key factions, traditionalists and libertarians. Ryan said, "Why anyone would think a minority could grow into a majority by splitting itself in half is a political and mathematical mystery to me," he said.

Hey Rep. Ryan, try doing the same math on your private health care plan. Surprise, is doesn’t work out! You have to love the name of this “back to roots” gathering.

Ryan was one of two Midwestern conservatives featured at the gathering "Making Conservatism Credible Again," hosted by the Hudson Institute's Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal.

“Making conservatism credible again” is a good indicator that maybe the party’s past ideas WEREN’T CREDIBLE.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said conservatives need to be activist … but friendlier in tone. He skeptically noted President Barack Obama's much-discussed desire for "empathy" … (suggesting that) empathy is a quality that the right needs to display. "The ability to put oneself in the place, and to feel deeply about, the concerns and the hopes and the dreams and the fears of other people," said Daniels.

There’s that word again, “FEAR.” Isn’t it interesting that Republicans need to at least “display” empathy, even if they don’t quite know what it means. In driving home the idea of fear, they couldn't overlook the topic of fearing Obama:

Like other gatherings of its kind, it featured a mix of horror about the Obama agenda (spending, deficits, government ownership of car companies); faith that conservative principles remain popular with the public; confidence that Democrats are overreaching; anxiety about how long it will take to come back politically; and gallows humor about the plight of the GOP. …Ryan lamented what he described as the threat (FEAR) to Western civilization posed by the erosion of market freedoms, and Daniels decried the "shock-and-awe (FEAR) statism of the last few months."

You might remember Gov. Mitch Daniels, he was the director of the Office of Management and Budget under George W. Bush. He predicted that the Bush tax cuts would not effect the Clinton budget surplus, surpluses he insisted were as far as the eyes could see. Now he's the Governor of Indiana, where he leased out the states toll way, taking one time money for decades of lost profits and escalating tolls. Daniels knows how to play the FEAR card:

Daniels said conservatives need to be single-minded about addressing their political arguments to young voters, who voted overwhelmingly for Obama in the last election. He cited as one example the "terrifying deficits" in the Democratic budget and "the threat that poses to every young person in this country." Daniels said conservatives and Republicans would have to show political patience because of the GOP's loss of credibility while in power. "We're going to have to spend some time in the penalty box," he said.

It’s too bad Daniels didn’t spend some time in the penalty box before he became governor so soon after wiping out the Clinton budget surpluses, and eventually crashing the world economy.

Ryan has picked a great partner in the party’s restructuring.