The End of Conservatism?
Michael Barone--whom Base10 believes is the smartest guy in American politics--writes in RCP that this is the belief of many conservative intellectuals. But Barone counters:

Uncomfortable questions for conservatives remain. Do citizens in this society, whose economy offers so many choices, want choices in their public services? Polls suggest that young citizens would welcome choices in individual investment accounts in Social Security, but that change was blocked by united opposition from Democrats, while seniors -- the Americans least adept at going online and clicking to get what they want -- grumble about the array of choices in the Medicare prescription drug plan.

And what about the long-term danger of ever-larger entitlement programs? Social Security and Medicare are scheduled to gobble up a larger share of the economy as the population ages and the ratio of workers to beneficiaries falls. Someday, those trend-lines will have to be altered. But that day seems to have been delayed, which means the alteration will be more painful when it comes.

Even so, the character of the society still seems more in sync with conservatism than liberalism, and conservatives, of all people, should know that their goals cannot be achieved by the federal government alone.

Perhaps the end isn't here just yet.
- posted by Base10 @ 9:36 AM