A Route Out of Despair for True Liberals : Look how far conservatism has come since the ’64 Goldwater election debacle.

The latest whipping at the polls has brought liberalism to a new low. But the Republican midterm victory teaches a hopeful lesson for liberals if they remain true to their beliefs.

Thirty years ago, Barry Goldwater’s defeat by Lyndon Johnson marked the nadir of conservatism. Rebuffed but refusing to surrender, conservatives discovered power in opposition. They found their voice in conservative columnists. They poured money into think tanks that rethought conservative ideology. They recruited conservative-minded university graduates and hired them as speech writers. They repackaged old ideas and sold them like toothpaste. And they took negative advertising, which Johnson used to scare mainstream voters from supporting Goldwater’s “extremism,” to new depths. (Remember Willie Horton?)

This 30-year investment paid off big on Nov. 8. Republicans now control Congress and the majority of governors’ offices. And for the first time since the 1950s, more voters declare themselves Republican than Democrat.

The conservative strategy may disgust liberals, but it offers them a map to follow out of the desert of defeat. Some guidelines:

Ask questions. Why did voters repudiate such liberal icons as Mario Cuomo and Tom Foley? What message are working people sending to Washington, Sacramento, Albany and Austin?

Get back to fundamental principles. The knee-jerk reaction that government is good is not necessarily a liberal notion. Indeed, as “three strikes” makes California the biggest prison camp in the country, and Proposition 187 orders educators to turn over undocumented students to l a migra, government is becoming an engine of repression.

The fundamental principle of liberalism is to support the underdog--to resist injustice and fight bigotry and hatred.

Resistance against evil, as each of us perceives it, is a noble duty. A teen program director who is fighting government cutbacks told me: “When I was a little girl, I wondered if I would have had the courage to join the resistance against Hitler. Now, America is waging an undeclared war against poor children and their families. I am proud to be in the resistance against this war.”

Recruit bright young idealists. Proposition 187 brought out the first major student demonstrations since the war in Vietnam. It forced students to confront racism and government oppression. Among the demonstrators are the idealists who will lead in the future.

Get back to roots. Getting knocked on your butt is a good way to get grounded. In the day-to-day struggle, it’s difficult for us liberals to remember why we got involved in the first place. What has happened to the beliefs that first energized us?

Question lies. Who has convinced the American people that nothing works, that it’s all a waste of money and helping people only hurts them? What is the hidden agenda of this ideology of failure? What interests benefit when common Americans give up on making things better?

Stand up for what you believe. Goldwater’s 1964 motto, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice,” comes back to haunt 1994. For what was once branded right-wing extremism is the credo of the new leadership in Congress. Their victory came from a courage of conviction that liberals dare admire, even as they fight back.

Rekindle faith. Not in government, for that is only a vehicle, but in justice. Not in dogma, for freedom of religion is America’s great contribution to civilization, but in the pluralism of faith.

Assert values. It is a lie that only conservatives have values. A champion of the poor speaks up for the tradition of helping others help themselves, being there when others need assistance, providing opportunity for those denied it. These values are deeply American, and they will be in great demand as conservative economic and social policies wreak havoc in our communities.

Let Nov. 8 mark more than one change. No whining and hand-wringing. Fight back, toe to toe, punch for punch. Stand up for principle. Get down in the mud and slug it out. Relish a good fight.

Or, to switch metaphors: In the marketplace of ideas, liberalism’s stock is at an all-time low. Now is the time to buy.