Jonah Goldberg laments all the conservatives lamenting the passing of the so-called giants of conservatism.

Jonah quotes David Klinghoffer who said:

“Once, the iconic figures on the political right were urbane visionaries and builders of institutions — like William F. Buckley Jr., Irving Kristol and Father Richard John Neuhaus, all dead now,” Klinghoffer lamented. “Today, far more representative is potty-mouthed Internet entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart.”

It is very easy to , and I am a fan, lament the incivility of others. As a Catholic blogger with a certain audience I am often accused of decrying that which I exhibit on day to day basis. Guilty as charged. That said, double standards inherently imply that there is at least some standard.

That all said, let me further quote Jonah.

The best conservatives are always dead; the worst are always alive and influential. When Buckley and Kristol, not to mention Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, were alive, they were hated and vilified by the same sorts of people who now claim to miss the old gang. The gold standard of the dead is always a cudgel, used to beat back the living.

Jonah is on point. Those old conservatives are always better. I agree. So the question is, who do we have now?

I am a Catholic. I am a conservative. I not only believe that the two are not mutually exclusive, I believe that the two are axiomatic for those who have one foot in heaven and the other foot on earth.

Who can a politically conservative Catholic hang his hat on? There is Sarah. Sarah has shown remarkable skill in tapping into the zeitgeist with certain je ne sais quoi? Without a doubt, Sarah has it! She is also completely unelectable. Comments to the contrary will fall on deaf ears.

Jeb, as awesome as he may be, is a non-starter. Romney has an economic edge to him that is a real advantage during this time but…

Romney. Do I really have to go into this? Massachusetts? Romneycare? His pro-choice past? Dead conservatives may always seem better, bit Romney isn’t even the living dead. Zombies are more reliable.

The next two elections cycles may be historic for conservatives. Do we really want to put up a candidate that Bob Dole probably feels queasy about? Haven’t we learned that lesson?

So leaving Sarah and Mitt out of it, who? Huckabee is all but a pro-life Democrat. That is not to day he is a Stupak. No. He really believes in life. He also believes in Big gummint. No bout a doubt it.

Mitch Daniels….Don’t get me started.

So who?

Say we take back one or even both houses of Congress. What then?

I do not ask the question as one with the answers. The opposite. I am stumped. Who? Who?

As per Jonah, it is a truism that the old dead conservatives have always look better than the living. After this generation of conservatives, this truism may be on the ropes.

Who am I missing?