The moderate-conservative Republican opines: "The challenge the political right faces today, and that it failed in 2012, is the one of earning American confidence during a crossroads period, when the country is middling along and neither left nor right seem to bear exclusive responsibility for the train wrecks around us Of late, conservatism has failed to offer its own account of how the middle class became poorer and less upwardly mobile, much less how to turn their fortunes around. It has seemed incapable of defending its cultural values without resorting to derision or wishful thinking. It has seemed tongue-tied about the immorality of financial markets that squander investors’ capital with not an inch of respect for the restraint that orders the lives of smaller, less entitled businesses, much less the standards around kitchen tables."
He continues his commentary: "The way back will require not just a sharper, more articulate critique of the myriad weaknesses of Barack Obama’s leadership, but an engagement of why we deserve to chart this country’s path as it turns an uncertain corner. Conservatives needs to identify with the aspirations of Americans who aren’t winning, who aren’t building, and whose anxieties are less about the loss of liberty and more about the depletion of their savings. We need to shake enough of our reflexive aversion to government to get serious about reforming government, from the archaic way it structures its schools, to the inevitably unsustainable way it manages our entitlements. We shouldn’t shrink from our aspirations of a civic culture that privileges life and responsibility and faith, but with a respect that Americans can share our decency without sharing every vestige of our worldview. The public shares much of our critique of liberalism, yet it distrusts our capacity to lead. We conservatives need to restore confidence that we see a future that is broader than the agenda of our donors and our loyalists."
Artur Davis Op-Ed: A New Year's Resolution For Conservatives
