[Traditional Vet]

Is it my imagination, or are Steyn's columns more and more, well, burdened, grave, sad lately?

Perhaps so, but I sense he is (like so many of us Conservatives) approaching a point of frustration due to his perception of different factions not willing to cooperate and the results becoming debilitating for the party.

His is a clarion call for all factions within the party to start to work together if we are going to reclaim a majority in Congress in 08 and most of all, IMHO, he is calling for something akin to a Reagan Era/1994 Contract direction which we could all support.

Sadly, beginning with the "top" their is not much in the way of such a movement, direction, philosophy or goals toward achieving that end.

[goldstategop]

"If we don't hang together we will all assuredly hang separately." The way out of the morrass as I see it, is to apply what we're doing in Iraq at home: shrink government's non-core functions as fast as we can so we can evangelize freedom abroad by the power of example. Wilsonian idealism is really the essence of conservatism but not in the way the Left understands the term. For conservatives, freedom is about individual self-determination and keeping government's encroachment on that sphere of life to the absolute minimum. Its principled, sound policy and a political winner. To put it differently, you can buy votes but you can't keep people free with that practice. If we want people to be free we have to stop promising to do for them what they ought to do for themselves.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus

[McGavin999]

The thing is we have to work together because the lack of success of one faction spells disaster for the other.

Sooner or later President Bush is going to have to learn to trust the American people and tell us what is going on instead of spouting platitudes over and over and over until most of the people doze off.

I love this president, and I know he's trying to "protect" us from the truth, but we're big boys and girls and will stand by him if he will trust us.

[larryjohnson]

We cooperate on FR