Conservatives

Last November, Republicans finally took control of the Mississippi House of Representatives, the final victory of the party's long Southern strategy. Not since Reconstruction had the GOP controlled every facet of political life in the state. It wasn't just any Republicans, either. Former Gov. Haley Barbour is considered a moderate now. Gov. Phil Bryant is a creature of the tea party. Though this is not a border state, every aspect of political life was aligned to follow in the footsteps of Arizona, Alabama, and Georgia with sweeping laws against illegal immigration.

There is a pathetic and disturbing lesson in the apologetic posture of American conservative leaders and intellectuals toward the crisis of white authoritarian rule in South Africa. The lesson simply put, is this: American conservatives find it hard if not impossible to support viable equality of status for blacks. At no point in the 20th century have claims by black people - whether here or in Africa - for political and social parity with whites gained support or sympathy from American conservative leaders and intellectuals, whether religious or secular.

John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge are writers for the Economist One of the secrets of conservative America is how often it has welcomed Republican defeats. In 1976, many conservatives saw the trouncing of the moderate Gerald Ford as a way of clearing the path for the ideologically pure Ronald Reagan in 1980. In November of 1992, George H.W. Bush's defeat provoked celebrations not just in Little Rock, where the Clintonites danced around to Fleetwood Mac, but also in some corners of conservative America.

So the Moonies are financing the hard right, pouring millions of dollars into the movements of such prominent conservatives as Richard Viguerie, and into organizations like the National Conservative Political Action Committee and the Christian Voice lobby. A first reaction to Frank Greve's intriguing and disconcerting report in Sunday's Inquirer is: How ironic! Here are conservative all-American organizations that wrap themselves in the flag accepting money from a Korean- based church.

Maybe it's Harrisburg's version of compassionate conservatism, the way House Majority Leader John M. Perzel (R., Phila.) has taken on former Rep. Joseph M. Gladeck Jr. as a consultant. Mr. Gladeck stands to earn nearly $110,000 a year at the monthly rate of $9,166. This comes after the Montgomery County Republican's 22-year Harrisburg career unraveled following a decidedly ungentlemanly - not to mention, uncompassionate - shoving session with his girlfriend in 1999. The GOP managed to hold onto the House seat when Mr. Gladeck decided not to run again, and now a grateful party will seek his advice on redrawing congressional and legislative districts.

Jonah Goldberg is a nationally syndicated columnist The bile accumulating on the right toward the White House has reached China Syndrome proportions and is starting to melt through the floor. Suddenly, conservatives are starting to question whether George W. Bush is one of them at all. One of my heroes, Robert Bork, recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal that "George W. Bush has not governed as a conservative. This George Bush, like his father, is showing himself to be indifferent, if not actively hostile, to conservative values.

IT'S BEEN A banner moment for conservatives. Naturally, the earthquake in Haiti elicited some thoughts. Rush "Mr. Compassion" Limbaugh enlightened us about the mistake we'd be making by contributing money to the victims. We couldn't be sure that any money contributed via a White House Web site would ever reach the victims. No doubt he was referring to the notorious band of villains ("Pelosi's Plunderers") who've been known to rob the penny jars from orphanages and transfer the funds to their secret campaign to resurrect FDR. Pat Robertson, that paragon of Christian values, displayed the actual document signed by Haitians and the devil.

I THINK IT IS time for Americans to move into the 21st century. The debate about contraception should be over and done with, and it's time to focus on the real issues facing the middle class. This is not about the federal government telling us how to conduct our lives. It is blatant hypocrisy. In my opinion, President Obama is doing the right thing by not discriminating against women, but others believe that he is trying to rule our personal choices. Is that different from people like Rick Santorum saying that contraception does not coincide with traditional American values?

THE EXPERTS tell us that our main political choice is between conservatives who want to leave things to the market and liberals who want the government to redistribute income. The experts are wrong. In fact, both liberals and conservatives want the government to intervene to redistribute income. The difference is the direction of the redistribution and that conservatives are smart enough to hide their role for government. The conservatives' role for government can be seen in almost any policy they support, once we look a bit below the surface.

Most positions that make sense to me coincide with conservatism. I believe that the culture of the street, not racism, is to blame for crime and poverty in the inner cities. I want more tough cops and sterner judges. I loathe the cult of victimization. I oppose affirmative action and all forms of patronizing condescension with which liberals view Hispanics. And I think the best setting to bring up a child is the traditional family - dad, mom, the kids, and a grandparent or two. So I have always felt more comfortable with conservatives than with liberals.

Spencer Hawes one day will consider following a certain right-wing right tackle into elected office. In 2010, Jon Runyan parlayed his fame as an Eagle into a congressional seat in New Jersey -- a tack Hawes can see taking: "If the opportunity presents itself ... " For now, Hawes, 24, will just play center for the Sixers as they seek their first title in almost 30 years. He said he has a hard time finding informed debates with his less civic-minded peers in the NBA. "They don't last very long.

Last November, Republicans finally took control of the Mississippi House of Representatives, the final victory of the party's long Southern strategy. Not since Reconstruction had the GOP controlled every facet of political life in the state. It wasn't just any Republicans, either. Former Gov. Haley Barbour is considered a moderate now. Gov. Phil Bryant is a creature of the tea party. Though this is not a border state, every aspect of political life was aligned to follow in the footsteps of Arizona, Alabama, and Georgia with sweeping laws against illegal immigration.

BERLIN - Voters in Germany's most populous state strengthened a center-left regional government which Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives had portrayed as irresponsibly spendthrift, and inflicted an embarrassingly heavy defeat Sunday on the German leader's party, projections showed. The center-left Social Democrats and Greens - Germany's main opposition parties - won combined support of about 51 percent in the election in North Rhine-Westphalia state, according to ARD television projections based on exit polls and early counting.

WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney will need independent voters in November, but he isn't abandoning his "severely conservative" record. The likely Republican presidential nominee has embarked on an aggressive campaign against President Obama that straddles two sometimes-conflicting political ideologies. On some days, the former Massachusetts governor is a social conservative and social moderate, a right-wing conspiracy theorist and promoter of political compromise. It's an evolving balancing act that, so far, is leaning decidedly right.

LONDON - Britain's governing Conservatives took a bruising Friday in local elections as voters punished them for biting austerity measures and a stalled economy. Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives suffered heavy losses in the 181 local authorities in England, Wales, and Scotland that held votes, losing about 400 local seats - including some in the district that Cameron represents in Parliament. While the results won't put Cameron's leadership in jeopardy, they prompted grassroots Conservatives to urge him to ditch some of his more liberal policies, including the planned introduction of same-sex marriage.

Pennsylvanians, give yourselves a hearty pat on the back! You may believe Tuesday's primary means squat, coming many moons after the Iowa caucus, but you would be wrong. Our votes turned out to matter even before they were cast. When histories are written of the 2012 election, the commonwealth's role earlier this month in extinguishing the presidential ambitions of recovering Pennsylvanian Rick Santorum and thereby ending the lengthy, costly, and frequently entertaining GOP circus will be duly noted.

INDIANAPOLIS - Sen. Richard G. Lugar sounded wistful in his gratitude when he thanked supporters packed in the skybox of the Indiana Pacers' home court, as though he could see the approaching end of a political career that has spanned nearly half a century. "I thank all of you, the 50 or 60 of you who are cosponsors of the rally. We appreciate very much your willingness to put your own names on the line and be helpful in bringing together this assembly," said the 80-year-old Indiana Republican who was first elected to the Senate in 1976.

Rick Santorum met Thursday with conservative leaders in Virginia to brainstorm possible paths forward in the Republican presidential race, as Mitt Romney cruised across Pennsylvania with a presumptive nominee's focus on the general election. For Santorum, the April 24 primary here looms as a make-or-break moment after he lost three states Tuesday to Romney. Two new polls showed Santorum at risk of losing the popular vote in the state he represented in Congress for 16 years. During a 15-minute morning stop in Harrisburg to tour his new campaign headquarters, Romney did not mention Santorum and barely acknowledged a primary.

FOUR OF the five men seeking the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen Bob Casey Jr. in the November general election clashed Wednesday night about their conservative credentials. It was a fight egged on by the state Democratic Party, which issued a news release before the debate at the Union League, noting that candidates Steve Welch and Tom Smith are former Democrats. That matters in a Republican primary because both men are fighting for the role of front-runner.