Every 20 years, the populist movement attempts to break out and form its own third way.  Whether it is the old Populist Party, Bull Moose Party, America First, America Independent Party, or the Reform Party, this is a percolation we have seen time and time and time again.

Yet if political trends in the United States merely reflect what goes on in the Old World in 5-10 years, the far-right populist parties aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.  No, Republicans should not be silly enough to say that they will reflect the neo-Nazi parties that cling to the populist movements in Europe (such an ideology simply has no root here in a multicultural America), but the revanchism will be a defining feature…

Conservatives need not fear the coming divorce.  What conservatives ought to be doing is articulating a clear path forward, one that is constitutional in size and libertarian in scope, that will not get us to that shining city on a hill tomorrow… but lays out the path for the next 20 years in bold, responsible language that unleashes the American economy and inspires a generation.  The opportunities for a center-right coalition are immense if we only have the courage to grab it.

So let it come.  Classical liberalism deserves a renaissance in this country.  The principles that made America great once before can make her great again… that is the Jeffersonian conservative tradition in practice, and the retrograde populists seeking to defend the social welfare state that happens to be working for them (for the moment) could not be a bigger roadblock.