January
16, 2001
The Every
Day War
By Tom Bevan
All across
America conservatives are feeling frustrated. They should be.
Just look at what's happening as the table of political power
turns in Washington. In one corner, liberals have made a quick
transition from playing defense to offense and mobilized massive
media campaigns against Chavez, Ashcroft, Norton and Abraham -
nearly a third of President-elect Bush' cabinet choices. Meanwhile,
in the other corner conservative leaders are standing around congratulating
themselves over the hard fought presidential victory last November
or, in the case of Trent Lott, giving away the keys to the Senate
in an attempt to appease phony calls for "bi-partisanship."
In the last
eight years, conservatives have endured having their views ignored,
if not openly derided, by the Clinton administration. They have
watched their elected representatives portrayed as dangerous extremists
by Democrats and liberal activists. And all of this has occurred
despite constant reminders from polls that show Americans identify
more strongly with conservative values as a whole.
But now that
a self-described "compassionate conservative" is trying
to redirect the ideological ship of state, conservatives are realizing
just how fully liberal forces are aligned against them. They seem
shocked by the sheer power of the assault: the outright distortions
(Norton gives a speech defending slavery), threatening of Senators
(NACCP)
and slanderous accusations (Ashcroft is a racist) all pumped indiscriminately
through massive media outlets like CNN, CBS and the New York Times.
What we see
is one of the most brilliant and destructive legacies of Bill
Clinton and his team: politics is war and the war never ends.
Identify the enemy and then strike early and often. Use whatever
language necessary to control the news cycle, shape the headlines,
get the perfect sound byte on the evening news.
And this
is what frustrates conservatives. How many times will Jesse Jackson
be allowed on television to make outrageous and unfounded statements?
Ralph Neas? Patricia Ireland? How many negative editorials and
news stories can flow forth from the pages of the New York Times
and Washington Post?
In a larger
sense, the cumulative weight and thoroughness of liberal spin
in our culture has created the general impression that being a
conservative equals being a bigot. The rules of this credo of
political correctness are hard and fast: if you're against affirmative
action then you must be racist. If you don't favor hate crimes
legislation you're prejudiced against homosexuals and women. If
you are pro-life then you are a religious extremist.
The fact
that many people in America are embarrassed and even ashamed of
their conservative beliefs is proof of the triumph of liberalism.
It's also proof of the complete failure of conservatives to articulate
their views clearly, with the proper messenger and the proper
tone, to the American people.
Conservatives
will remain at a disadvantage in this ideological war as long
as they continue to underestimate liberal opponents and to believe
their views will receive fair-minded treatment on news shows and
in the press. And though George W. Bush is doing his best to "change
the tone" in Washington, he must use the office of the president
to aggressively communicate his conservative values to the country.
Tom Bevan writes for RealClearPolitics
