Perhaps to the suprise of some, National Review has come out and said that it might be time for conservatives to declare their independence from the Republican Party. Mind you, they don't go so far as to advocate abandoning it, but rather suggest asserting a willingness to leave if necessary while trying to steer it back on course.

While some on the right will say "Big deal, we've been telling people to get out for years," it's no small thing for National Review to make such a statement. There are few organizations that have been more consistently Republican than the National Review, and it seems to me highly significant for them to make such a statement at such a time.

The article, attributed to the "NR Editors," crystalizes a frustration with the G.O.P. and the Bush administration which is growing daily among conservatives:

The defeats on racial preferences, gay rights, and the role of the courts generally reflect a conservative political failure that predates this administration. Republican politicians have never been comfortable talking about moral or race-related issues, and have been eager to slough off these responsibilities to the courts. Their silence is not, however, only an abdication of responsibility; it is also politically foolish. Opposition to racial preferences and gay marriage is popular in every state of the Union. And if the courts are going to block social conservatives from ever achieving legislative victories — and Republicans will not even try to do anything about it — social conservatives may well conclude that there is no point to participating in normal politics. There goes the Republican majority.

The piece ends with a subtle call to arms which conservatives who are not ready to entirely abandon the Republican Party would do well to heed:

The Pennsylvania Senate primary offers a choice between a candidate who is conservative on both economics and social issues, Pat Toomey, and one who is conservative on neither, the incumbent, Arlen Specter. The White House and the party establishment has rallied behind Specter. But President Bush's goals would be better served by a Senator Toomey. And as recent events underscore, this is not a bad time for conservatives to declare their independence from the GOP establishment.

Hopefully the White House will recognize the National Review as something of a barometer of conservative opinion. Otherwise, they may well guarantee a Democrat president in 2004.