On Friday, Tim Goeglein, special assistant to President George W. Bush and deputy director of the Office of Public Liaison, who spoke to young conservatives during a White House briefing Wednesday, picked up where he left off, discussing the role of conservatives in today’s society.
“I would argue that not since 1964, has it been so exciting to be a conservative in America,” Goeglein said. “What is particularly striking now is that the conservative movement is a movement of ideas.”
Some of these ideas have pushed students to become more politically active and attend events such as the Young Americas Foundation conference in Washington, D.C., where students heard the public liaison speak. It has also led to a level of activism that Goeglein and others have noticed.
“If you want to understand why the center right has had so much success, you have to look at the center of activism behind it,” he said.
Around the time Goeglein was born in the 1960’s, much of the country did not identify with the ideals and ideas that are so important and central to the conservative movement today and this activism was unheard of. “I do think it’s important to understand where we have come from and where we are going because, frankly, you are the future,” said Goeglein.
He took students back in history by noting the influence of past presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, but also discussed Bush and Ronald Reagan as well.
Goeglein asserted, however, that American liberalism is “well spent,” and that there are very specific reasons as to why conservatives are flourishing throughout the country. Additionally, the fact that the Republican Party has control over so much of the government is “not nothing” and is something conservatives should always keep in mind and work to keep.
“You are the conservatism of the 21st century,” Goeglein told students, and urged them to understand why we have come so far.
