Conservative Student News

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The November general elections this year brought change in control among both houses of Congress. In a recent Washington Post article discussing the elections, former Howard Dean campaign manager, Joe Trippi, remarked, “Wham! The 2006 midterm elections are over and the modern conservative era has come to an end.” To which I reply, “Really, Mr. Trippi?”

To understand why Trippi has completely missed the point of the ‘06 elections, consider the representatives who lost their jobs and then the ones who will replace them.

Incumbent congressmen in the majority were not running on a platform of “I am a small government conservative who is seriously interested in cutting government spending and solving problems such as illegal immigration.”

No. In fact, most of the incumbents’ messages consisted in something like, “Please let me keep my job!” and “I didn't have anything to do with that scandal.” Voters overwhelmingly didn't buy what they were selling and turned these tired politicians out of office. (It should also be noted that many good congressmen and local officials were wiped out in this anti-incumbent title wave from a ripple-like effect.)

Who is replacing the soon-to-be former congressmen? The answer reveals a considerable victory for conservatism.

The conservative representatives who lost in 2006 were from states like Indiana, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Texas, Arizona, Kentucky, Virginia, Montana and Kansas. None of these are known to be traditionally "liberal" states with the debatable exception of Pennsylvania. The new men and women elected in 2006 to fill these seats are anything but Nancy Pelosi or San Francisco material. Rather, they are conservative on a variety of issues.

Many of the new congressional leaders who are on their way to the House of Representatives are like Indiana's Brad Ellsworth; pro-life, pro-gun, pro-tax cuts, pro-strong defense, and pro-traditional marriage. Electing a Congressman like Ellsworth is not a win for the liberal agenda.

How about the Senate? Pennsylvania’s Bob Casey is pro-life. Virginia's Jim Webb is a former Reagan appointee who on seemingly all defense issues other than Iraq is conservative and very independent overall. Montana's Jon Tester is speaking of compromise on tax cuts and gun rights that favor conservatives.

Meanwhile, some “new” liberal Senators are not new at all. Right here in Minnesota, for instance, Senator-elect Amy Klobuchar, an extreme liberal, is replacing another extreme liberal, Mark Dayton. Would you call this a major win for liberals? It’s the same story for Rhode Island, where the liberal senator-elect, Sheldon Whitehouse, is replacing liberal, Lincoln Chafee.

The only real change, if you could call it that—is the change of party identification, which is of course less relevant than a candidate’s individual positions in the battleground of ideas between conservatives and liberals.

Perhaps the biggest win for conservatives is found in the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi—the most liberal person ever to hold this position in the history of our country.

Why would I view all of this as a win for conservatives? Look back to the last time liberals had this much power. The years were 1993-1995, when liberals not only controlled both houses of Congress, but also the Presidency. What happened was an attempt to pass socialist programs like universal, government-run health care. Near disasters like this brought a new day for conservatives in the 1994 election, when Newt Gingrich lead a team of people committed to the Contract with America—a much different group than the politicians running in 2006, even though some of the 2006 candidates where 1994 holdovers.

Then, there is Pelosi, who hasn't even assumed the Speakership and she’s already trying to lead her caucus to the far left. The Speaker-elect decided, against both conventional wisdom and common sense, to support the anti-war and ethically challenged Congressman John Murtha over the hero of moderates, Congressman Steny Hoyer for Majority Leader. Consequently, even liberals are getting worried by Pelosi.

The conservatives have purged the corrupt, the weak, and the ineffective from their midst. Speaker Pelosi’s first act was to promote a protégé with a checkered past to be Majority Leader. The best cure for this cronyism and corruption, a secret ballot by the newly elected conservative in her part, was the result. With Pelosi continuing to move to the extreme left, a bright day awaits conservatives: Nov. 4, 2008.