Conservatives in denial

By Richard K. Barry

Speaking at CPAC on Thursday, Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry isn't buying that silly idea that there is anything wrong with conservative ideas.

The popular media narrative is that this country has shifted away from conservative ideas, as evidenced by the last two presidential elections. That might be true if Republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012.

The obvious implication is that Republicans would have done a lot better if they had nominated real conservatives.

Perhaps the best response to that came from South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham just after the 2012 election as he commented on Romney's failure to capture the White House.

If I hear anyone say it was because Romney wasn't conservative enough, I' going to go nuts. We're not losing 95% of African-Americans and two-thirds of Hispanics and voters under 30 because we're not being hard-ass enough.

No. No you're not.