by Jessica Rettig

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. discusses his new book 'After the Hangover'

In 2006, R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr., the founder and editor-in-chief of the American Spectator, began noticing the fatigue of Republicans in Congress after years of what he regards as bipartisan binging on big-government spending and unnecessary federal programs. Now, eyeing the opportunities to shake up Congress in the mid-term elections, Tyrrell says it's time for Republican leaders to sober up and return to conservative fundamentals.

In his book, After the Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery, Tyrrell describes the factors that will revitalize conservatism in the country -- from the failures of liberals in Washington to the enthusiasm of smaller-government supporters like the Tea Partyers and Sarah Palin -- and outlines the necessary political steps for a true conservative rebound. He recently talked about the movement's most promising leaders and what to expect for the 2010 election. Excerpts:

Why the title? When did this hangover kick in?

From '06 to '08 or a little after, every time I encountered elected Republican officials in Washington, I noticed they were wobbly on their feet, runny noses, eyes watering, bloated, truly crapulent. I thought to myself, "These guys have been on a terrific bender." They've been spending like drunken sailors--and I mean no insult to drunken sailors--but these people are all pretty well hungover. And they need not be. It was apparent to me that once again the conservatives are going to have a comeback.

You say that conservatism has been the longest-dying political movement in American history. What's kept it alive?

The soundness of conservatives' ideas. Limited government and personal liberty--which are at the heart of conservatism--have been a part of America since the Founding Fathers.

What is a reformed conservative?

David Brooks and David Frum and Christopher Buckley. These are people that claim to be conservative and to have prescriptions to bring conservatism back from the dead. Of course, what they really are are opportunists trying to manipulate various liberal prejudices to attract the mainstream media's attention and become famous. How you get ahead with liberal media is by sniping at conservatives.

Aren't they just in favor of bipartisanship?

If you desert your own principles, you're not really a conservative. They're just pontificators.

What is the Tea Party movement doing?

In '08, there were conservatives that just had enough of the spending and enough of the waywardness of the Bush administration and were no longer politically active. Now, the Tea Party has activated some of those people. The Tea Party also brought out people who are of a libertarian impulse, a U.S. constitutional impulse, and an impulse of our Founding Fathers, who had never been in politics before. It's all for the good. To make these people, these good-natured people, out to be some dangerous right wing, shows you that liberalism is frozen in the ideas of 1968. Maybe you could say that in 1968 conservatism was on the fringes of American politics, but since 1980, conservatism has gotten stronger. The dying political movement in America is liberalism, not conservatism.

How do you then explain the perception that conservatism is weaker?

Our political culture has been completely dominated, or polluted, by one point of view, that of liberalism. It's through the pollution that conservatives are forever being misrepresented.

What are political personalities on the right doing for the conservative movement?

There has been a general decline of intellectual life in the country. But, when it comes to talk radio, you have some promising people. Among conservatives, you have a genuine give-and-take among Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and Mark Levin and others, in which they recognize each other, agree on some things, disagree on others, and are informed.

Who are the conservative movement's most promising leaders?

As far as a person who stirs things up and brings things to life, Sarah Palin certainly does that. [Gov.] Mitch Daniels is going to loom larger and larger as a presidential candidate from Indiana. He's governed the state well. He's a respected conservative. [Wisconsin Rep.] Paul Ryan's road map for America's future is a wonderful set of ideas to revitalize the economy and maintain American security. [Indiana Rep.] Mike Pence gives me great hope.

Why should President Obama read your book?

I think he'd be incapable of it. He'd have a heart seizure or something.

What are your predictions for the elections this fall?

It's going to be an overwhelming victory for conservatism.

If people want to know about the road to recovery in 2010, they should read my book, because the ideas in the book are the ideas that will be implemented by this conservative House of Representatives and Senate.

 

Available at Amazon.com:

After the Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery

The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics

Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks

The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House

 

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