The American conservative movement has suffered major setbacks in the last few years. First President George W. Bush, who was seen as a true conservative by many, increased the size of government and U.S. Debt. Second, the Republican Party lost the elections for Congress in 2006, later followed by other electoral defeats in 2008. They lost the White House and they only barely succeeded at hanging on to a filibuster-able minority in Congress.

The above setbacks resulted in infighting among conservatives. Groups who all form an important part of the conservative moment had a go at each other, declaring everyone but themselves to be the cause for the defeats. Moderate conservatives, libertarian conservatives, fiscal conservatives, traditional conservatives, social conservatives and Christian conservatives all argue that if only they were in charge of the GOP all would be well.

Fiscal and moderate conservatives believe that especially Christian / social conservatives have hurt the movement and their party. The latter passionately support Governor Sarah Palin. The former considered her a liability and are attracted to other candidates such as Governor Mitt Romney who has trouble courting Christian conservatives because he is a Mormon.

Not only are modcons and fiscons critical of Palin, they also dislike talk radio show host Rush Limbaugh tremendously. He represents all that is wrong with the conservative party these groups say.

At the same time there are individuals and groups – socons especially – who have had enough with the other groups whom they often accuse of not being conservative enough.

What they all forget, however, is that every single group and individual is an integral part of the conservative movement. It would be far less successful if Limbaugh did not exist, and it would also have less appeal and less depth, knowledge and appeal if fiscons and modcons (and all the others) were pushed out of the Republican Party. Every single conservative group needs the other.

As Benjamin Franklin once said: “We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we’ll all hang separately.” The conservative movement has suffered and has made mistakes in the last few years. But ending the alliance between various conservative groups can only result in the demise of the movement as a whole; conservatives of all stripes are in this together and need each other. Marginalizing any single group or individual is more dangerous than most imagine; it will enable Democrats to govern America for decades to come.

Disappointments and defeats are not the right time for a purge; they are ideal, however, to unite, to embrace, and to work hard for a major comeback when the circumstances have changed for the better.