The End of Conservatism?

Todd Thurman / April 02, 2009

Dr. Lee Edwards, a Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought, gave a lecture  at the Heritage Foundation that asked the question: Is Conservatism dead? One could make a strong case that it is. Conservatives suffered a crushing defeat in the 2006 elections and, more recently, the 2008 elections. However, things have been worse. Much worse.

The 1964 election of Lyndon Johnson by a landslide caused critics to ring out that Conservatism was dead. Liberals had a 2-1 margin in the House and Senate. A greater margin than even today. Yet, the principles of Barry Goldwater endured. He easily won his Senate seat back in 1968 and Lyndon Johnson had become so unpopular that he did not even seek reelection and rejected the automatic nomination of his party. The 1968 election went to Richard Nixon running as a conservative. Mired in controversy liberals were able to take control of the White House in 1976.  After four years of economic collapse, a true conservative was elected to the White House in 1980. (more…)