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Conservative gathering, liberal dose of pessimism

John C. Ensslin

Published March 27, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Jon Caldara.

Jon Caldara.

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A group of conservative writers and thinkers gathered for a panel discussion Wednesday night at the Oxford Hotel where the beer was free, the talk was fast and the mood - at least when it came to the 2008 presidential race - was a deep blue funk.

The title of the forum - presented by Face the State, America's Future Foundation and the Independence Institute - summed up the general pessimism, "How the West Will Be Lost - Democrats' Strategy to turn the Mountain West Blue and What Libertarians and Conservatives Can Do About It."

The speakers generally agreed that the coalition Ronald Reagan assembled of social conservatives, libertarians, limited-government proponents and free-marketeers is fractured.

They differed, however, on the extent of the split or what can be done to put that coalition together again.

Some, like Jim Pfaff, president and CEO of the Colorado Family Institute, believe that the rifts are not beyond repair. "I would maintain that it isn't a divide at all," said Pfaff. "I consider myself a Christian libertarian." He contends that social conservatives like James Dobson are not just motivated by family and pro-life issues. Economic freedom is also a motivating factor. "I think it's an easier divide to bridge than some might think."

But another panelist declared the battle already lost.

"In the interior West, it's not a question of whether it's going to go blue. It's going headlong into blue," said Ryan Sager, author of The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians and the Battle to Control the Republican Party. He cited the fact that Democratic governors have been elected in five of eight Western states.

One audience member accused the group of being "defeatist" about the pending election, which prompted panelist Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute to quip,

"We're not defeatist. We just have the wisdom to know that we're (expletive)."

Caldara said he will probably wind up "holding his nose" and voting for John McCain.

But then he added, "The problem is not getting Republicans elected. The problem is getting Republicans to act like Republicans."

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