When It Comes to '08, Conservatives are in Big Trouble

When I was in college I was involved with an organization called Young Conservatives of Texas. It was, and appears to remain, an excellent organization for young people to think seriously about politics and to affect change based on that worldview. I'm one of the old timers, recruited by the founder, Steve Munisteri, himself. Recently there was a reception in Houston, Texas for the alumni of the organization.

I attended the event with the hope of hearing some encouragement about the upcoming election. What I got was a great deal of disappointment as virtually every member told me, flatly, they had no idea who they were going to support. I joined YCT back in 1980. As you can imagine, the choice was easy and every member I knew proudly and tirelessly supported Ronald Reagan. What makes me nervous is that Young Liberals (if such a group exists) appears to be in uniform agreement behind Barack Obama (with rare exception). When I was with YCT we weren't always correct, but we were certainly always RIGHT (sorry, I just had to say that and yes, we were correct about Reagan). And the enthusiasm for Reagan wasn't like anything I had seen, until the recent rise of Obama.

It is still early in this election cycle and victory is anything but sure for the Democrats. But Conservatives better get a clue or they could easily find themselves with a moderate nominee that will lack the grass roots appeal that is necessary for winning a Presidential election. After all, I'm sure we all remember Bob Dole.