Conservatives have taken the bait for 35 years, and lost ground doing so. Part I ended with the quandary of how to take back the reigns of debate and, with it, the agenda. Which produced a new dilemma: Getting the Left to debate issues on Conservatives’ turf.

Many would cite a list of well-known (at least to die-hard conservatives) think tanks and forums: the Heritage Foundation, the Washington Times, the American Conservative Union, the American Enterprise Institute, Hillsdale College, the Weekly Standard, Concerned Women for America, Media Research Center and so on. But if one then were to ask: Suppose one of these organizations decided to host a debate, inviting established speakers and experts from all sides. The topic could be anything: global warming, women alongside males on submarines, gay clubs in schools, displays of Christian crosses on tax-supported properties, Medicare reform, drugging rowdy schoolchildren, private-property rights versus environmentalism, domestic oil drilling, cultural enhancement. What are the chances that any known entity on the liberal side will come to any of these debates at the above institutions?

If you said “slim to none,” you probably have it right. Conservatives have no “turf.” Nada. Nyet. Ain’t gonna happen….

http://www.americandailyherald.com/20110606557/politics/the-agenda-game-part-ii-finding-conservative-turf