The British have an election campaign coming up, though no firm date seems yet set. Right now, the Prime Minister is quite unpopular, and Parliament is embroiled in a scandal. Some have anticipated an easy win for the opposition Conservative Party in the election once it happens. However, as more details of this scandal come to light, even the Tories are not free from criticism and excess.

This has relevance for American conservatives at the moment too. As with Parliament in the United Kingdom, the U.S. Congress is running through a scandal of sorts, with talks of coming inquiries into this and other controversies. Many in the States are now asking what Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi knew and when with respect to the more controversial of the previous administration’s security policies.  

Despite lingering questions over Speaker Pelosi’s knowledge of the interrogation methods she now condemns as torture, Republicans should tread cautiously. As long as the Speaker is in the news for possibly having been caught in a lie, so too will be the previous administration and its many excesses, domestically and abroad. This is a problem for the GOP, and may be one which may linger for years.

Republicans face a long road ahead. As noted by another NextGenGOP contributor, the federal senatorial campaign apparatus of the party is not helping matters. Perhaps Crist is the right candidate for Senate, or perhaps it’s Rubio, as the base of the party suggests. Regardless, having both focused on the Senate and no one of significance for governor is troubling, and the NRSC has only worsened the situation.

But beyond immediate campaign considerations, the GOP and the conservative movement more generally face lingering questions. It is a problem that the intellectual conservative may be heading the way of the dodo.  It is a problem that merely a quarter of Americans identify with the Republican Party. It is a problem that party leaders give answers like these (click here) to basic questions posed by journalists.

Republicans are strongest when they champion the liberty of individuals, the sciences, and responsible spending habits. Yet, after the past dozen or so years, it is difficult to know if Republicans really still stand for these things. Members of Congress can obfuscate if they wish, but many of them were there when Republican leaders ceased holding to these values.

For the sake of posterity, let not the Republican Party wander aimlessly in the woods for the dozen years that the Conservative Party has in the United Kingdom. In the United States, as is true across the pond, reining in the excesses of past governments will be a difficult feat. Sadly, the Tories, like the Republicans, may be ill-equipped to regain power at the present juncture.

Last 5 posts by James Kane

• A November to Remember - November 8th, 2010
• On hope and fear - October 18th, 2010
• Expecting Different Results - September 12th, 2010
• A glaring omission on Iraq - August 31st, 2010
• Employing a losing strategy - August 7th, 2010