“conservatism” on The Daily Caller

In the wake of a divisive GOP presidential primary, the right desperately needs a uniter — someone who, in the mold of Ronald Reagan, can bring together the entire conservative movement. Although most Republicans now support Mitt Romney, he’s not the kind of figure who’s likely to inspire the grassroots right. (more)

Daily Caller readers reacted intensely to last week’s story that Republican lobbyist and quirky socialite Edwina Rogers would be representing the Secular Coalition for America. Many seemed befuddled. How could the conservative lobbyist represent such a leftist group? The Secular Coalition, after all, overwhelmingly supports liberal and government-centered policies, such as requiring religious organizations to provide contraception, through insurance, to their employees. (more)

How can someone who writes compelling nonfiction be so terrible at fiction? I’ve just read the first few chapters of David Frum’s new novel, “Patriots.” It is bloody awful. It also defeats the purpose that Frum claims he intended for it, which was to write a novel that tells deeper truths than journalism. In fact it retreads ground Frum the journalist has gone over many times before, most notably his increasingly shrill belief that conservatives are nuts. (more)

In 2008, young voters were inspired by Barack Obama and helped elect him president. But Obama’s failure to live up to his promise (and his promises) has led to widespread disillusionment not only among the young, but with voters of all ages who were captivated by him four years ago. Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney now has the opportunity to claim the mantle of idealism that Obama has fumbled. In so doing, Romney could capture a significant and potentially decisive share of the voters who handed Obama the presidency last time out. (more)

When Time, Newsweek, The Huffington Post and the balance of America’s left-wing scribes hailed Barack Obama as the smartest man ever to enter the Oval Office, they may have been underselling him. Furthermore, I retract every critique I’ve ever made of our 44th president, hail him as a genius of the first order, and humbly bow my head in awe at his singular accomplishment. I’m embarrassed to admit that it took me so long to understand the intellectual majesty behind Obama’s actions as our nation’s commander-in-chief. (more)

For the hordes of Republicans left thinking post-2008, “Had only we run a real moderate!” yesterday’s news that Rick Santorum is dropping out, thus clearing the way for Mitt Romney, was quite a relief. Finally we’ll be able to prove that stubbornly unprovable theory that the only way to beat Democrats is by running Republicans who sound and govern just like Democrats. (more)

A lot of conservative voters and pundits are feeling depressed about the endless and destructive GOP presidential primary. (more)

The untimely passing of the great Andrew Breitbart has invoked moving tributes from the conservative movement. It seems like everyone has a story or a photo documenting their run-in with Hurricane Andrew. It’s a testament to how friendly and accessible he was to everyone. Like many people, I’m still in shock. When a person is everywhere, it’s hard to imagine we will not see him somewhere again. His death has reminded me that very often our strongest allies and leaders are converts — or “flip-floppers” — from the left. (more)

It might seem silly to judge a person simply on the basis of a single word, yet we do it every day. Political labels are tools that help us identify immediately who is a friend and who is a foe. If someone calls himself a liberal, that must mean he’s pro-choice, anti-war, and in favor of gun control. If I am also most of those things, he is a good guy; if not, he is either stupid or evil. (more)

Allegedly it is even more difficult to identify the GOP establishment than it is to define a truuuuue conservative. Some say the establishment is made up of wealthy RINOs. Some say it’s Beltway elites. Some say it’s those who only really care about winning elections. (more)

Mark Levin is one of the most intelligent talk radio hosts in the business. He is also one of the most philosophically inconsistent. This is especially true when it comes to interpreting the U.S. Constitution. It is even truer when Levin criticizes Ron Paul. (more)

This week, Sen. Jim DeMint offered some advice to the Republican Party: “The debate in the Republican Party needs to be between libertarians and conservatives. … There’s no longer room for moderates and liberals because we don’t have any money to spend, so I don’t want to be debating with anyone who wants to grow government.” (more)

Mitt Romney’s back-to-back victories in Iowa and New Hampshire reveal two discouraging facts. The first is that this year’s field of Republican candidates is unusually weak. The second is that the weakness of this field has created the impression that Romney himself is only marginally less weak a candidate than the others. (more)

Whenever I see liberals gloating over the chaos that is the Republican primary, I think of the Battle of Lepanto. It’s a good reminder that it’s better to be a member of a quarreling, splintered beehive of free people than a member of the mindless Borg ship that is liberalism. (more)

Conservatives come in all shapes, sizes and colors. We come from every education and income level. We come from every sexual orientation and every faith. With that in mind, let me introduce myself. My name is Becky. I am a conservative and a Wiccan. (more)

The media can’t wrap their heads around Newt Gingrich. His recent rise to the top of the polls contradicts everything they profess to know about the political world. He has taken just enough unorthodox positions to make conservatives squirm. His reputation from the ’90s makes it unlikely that independents will see him as a centrist candidate. He is far from being the new kid on the block for whom the anti-politician, anti-Washington demographic yearns. (more)

An editorial in the August 1960 edition of National Review described the conservative youth activists who agitated to get Barry Goldwater on the ballot with presidential nominee Richard Nixon: (more)

Is it time for the Buckley Rule to go the way of geocentricism, spontaneous generation and alchemy? (more)

If you buy the current narrative being peddled by the media, then former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has all but won the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. (more)

For much of the time I’ve been a conservative, I’ve often thought “What’s the point?” Not that I was going to start believing any differently, or go off and be a liberal or something — but what was the overall point of worrying about politics when nothing ever really seems to change? (more)