People, Parties, and Power Back  In my years of political
activity beginning in 1960, I have found no shortage of
conservatives willing to tell the political parties what they
should do.  But I have noticed a great shortage of conservatives
willing to take the time, spend the money and pay the political
price necessary to achieve and hold power in a political party.
Unless more conservatives accept the responsibility of political
participation inside the parties, thirty years from now
conservatives will still be complaining that the parties fail to
do what they ought to do. Only a tiny fraction of Americans
participate in party activities. There is a great turnover of
participants and leadership. In the business world, corporate
leadership tends to last for decades; labor union leadership
tends to last for life. Some years ago I looked up the tenure of
all the Republican Party state chairmen in the United States.
The average state party chairman had held that post for about
eighteen months! I believe it is th