Anyways, and in FEDERAL COURTS,....
Kelo vs New London and the Washington gun ownership, both Libertarian.
Well, that was easy.
As much as I like FR, it's no CATO Institute, nor a Hoover. There's not a magazine that can touch REASON for pop, hipster, bi costal impact( Oh, yeah, I forgot, another field left to the left by conservatives.) Where's the conservative equal to The Freedman, Liberty, even the opinion page of the WSJ or IBD? Who's the conservative Any Rand?
Hey, I'm glad some group somewhere in some local court is shaking the cage, but let's get real. Conservatives and conservative institutions, unlike the libertarians, are not taking it to the left, on the lefts turf, as it were.
Frankly, Conservatives can't even prevail in the GOP. We know about the Big Gov, Big Tax, Big intervention Nanny State GOP, but....what does that tell you about conservative power, influence and ability to persuade...if it has been a doormat within the GOP for decades? Never mind outside the party and the nation at large.
You didn’t read up on the Federal actions of the organizations I referenced.
The Justice Foundation, besides having won several hearings before the 5th Circuit Court and at least one at the SCOTUS representing women who have been harmed by Roe v. Wade, has worked for liberty and property rights and to control Federal and State Government:
http://www.txjf.org/pages.asp?pageid=27635
Add:
An oldie-but-a-goodie - Phyllis Schlaffly and the fight against the ERA. The Eagle Forum has continued to bar even *international* and Federal social experimentation by law at the UN, notably by fighting the CEDAW from ratification and superseding US law.
Successful lawsuit that struck down part of the Violence Against Women Act by the Independent Women’s Foundation, founded by Lynn Cheney. (the IWF President and one of the Board members - in addition to me, one of the many who have supported the IWF over the years - were appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women in 2002)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A37952-2002Sep4¬Found=true
While leaning toward (big L)ibertarian, historically, the AAPS has been conservative. We won our lawsuit against Hillary Clinton for her closed door meetings on Health care in ‘93-’95.( We were heard, but denied standing in our suit agains HIPPA, for which I wrote a Declaration that was part of the amicus brief)
You critique conservatism as ineffectual, some of which I agree. Particularly in the ream of information and media.
However, conservatives/Republicans are in the political theater, they are in there fighting in large enough numbers to be a factor.
Liberterianism with a big L is not to be found.
They are the pie in the sky “intellectuals” of just one aspect of conservatism. Reagan did a great job of marrying social conservatives and economic conservatives with national security conservatives.
In reality libertarians are simply one aspect of economic conservatism and lost on national security.
So, some of your criticisms are valid but many off the mark. I’d suggest looking to shore up the Libertarian cause first before such wholesale attacks on conservatives.
It shouldn’t be that hard to do because your numbers are so low.
That’s just Randian rational truth.