Welcome to The Young Reaganite!

I thank all of you for reading my first blog. As an introduction I would like to say that as the name implies, this is a conservative blog. I will do my best to address current domestic and foreign affairs, federal and Virginia politics, and of course campaigns. As a lead into my first post, I am going to write something that has been on my mind for a long time.

Is Limited Government Conservatism dead?

In 1964 conservatism became the dominant ideology in the Republican Party with Barry Goldwater getting the nomination. It was not until Ronald Reagan won the nomination in 1980 that conservative leaders in government rallied behind Reagan to promote the conservatism many Republicans claim to be. Reagan’s vision for small government conservatism overwhelmed the Republican Party. This vision carried over in 1994 when Republicans in the House lead by Newt Gingrich started the Contract with America, causeing the Republicans to win the majority for the first time in 40 years.

Now fast forward to 2006, and Democrats have taken both chambers of Congress. What was left behind in the 12 years of Republican control? We now have the biggest government America has ever seen, and spending so out of control many believe Democrats have become the party of fiscal responsibility. We saw in 2006 many Republicans running to the center, some running as moderates, others bringing their brand of “big government conservatism” as a campaign platform. Many Republicans feel that does not matter any more, with the mentality of “anything but Democrats” running through voters mind, most do not care whether or not a conservative values limited government or not.

2008 has brought no sign of the Republican front runners really promoting a message of limited government among other things. But the question remains, will big government conservatism win elections, or will principle ever come back to the Republican Party with more heavy losses to Democrats? I can only hope the Republican Party can find its Ronald Reagan of the 21^st century.

Thanks for reading, and all comments are welcome