( CNN ) -- If President Barack Obama 's inaugural address was any indication , his second term will be a doubling down of the progressive , big government agenda . With that in mind , here is some advice for conservatives and the Republican Party for the next four years of Obama 's presidency : . Do n't blame the GOP leadership . First and foremost , if we are to prevail , we can not afford to continue firing upon and wounding or maiming our own soldiers and officers . We need everyone in the fight . It is more difficult to be in a position of governance , such as John Boehner , Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan , than a journalist , pundit or conservative talk show host . Trust me , I 've been in both arenas . It 's much harder to be Boehner and the Republican leadership than it is to be Sean Hannity , Rush Limbaugh , Michael Medved , etc . Unlike those who operate solely in the arenas of commentary , opinion and philosophy , Republicans in Washington bear the responsibility and burden of actual governance , where ideological purity must often yield to compromise . Much of the blame placed at the feet of Republican leadership by many in the party or the commentariat lies not with the party or its leaders but ultimately , as in all things with a democratic republic , with the choice of the people . Opinion : Guns were last straw for me with GOP . Face reality . William Buckley aptly described conservatism as the politics of reality . As such , we must recognize the realities of political governance . You can not govern unless you have power . That is , Republicans can not govern with control of only one half of one third of the branches of government . They can block and prevent , but they can not impose . Our agenda , our goals and our expectations should be oriented to these facts of reality . It 's the culture , stupid . Conservatives are losing the culture war when , according to a 2011 Pew Research poll , 49 % of Americans ages 18-29 have a positive view of socialism while just 46 % have a positive view of capitalism . Such views are the products of our education system and the movies , music and entertainment young Americans consume . We must change those cultural institutions before we can truly change our political institutions in the long term . The roots of our cultural and educational outreach must be as far reaching as the left 's . This means broadening our scope of influence outside Fox News and conservative talk radio and into the left 's strongholds of Hollywood and higher education . Perhaps some of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on PACs could be better spent taking back the culture . Play offense . In politics , as in sports , you 're either on offense or you 're on defense . Be on offense . This is a simple maxim , but one too often neglected . He who initiates sets the terms of debate and forces the dialogue on his terms . Gov . Scott Walker 's aggressive fiscal reforms in Wisconsin are an example of effective political offense . Elevate the next generation . During the 2012 presidential primaries , conservatives often lamented the absence of rising Republican stars such as Sen. Marco Rubio , Gov . Bob McDonnell , Gov . Bobby Jindal , Gov . Susana Martinez , Gov . Scott Walker , Rep. Paul Ryan and so on . Our bench is strong , but now it 's time for the bench to take the field . Politics : After inauguration , political reality returns to Washington . Consequences of big government . The American people must realize for what they voted when they re-elected Obama and a Democratic-controlled Senate . So far , they 've been immunized from many of the consequences . But now , with the expiration of the payroll tax cut and the gradual implementation of ObamaCare , the taxes of almost all Americans have risen , along with many of their health care premiums . Conservatives must draw the direct link between higher taxes and premiums and Democratic policies . As St. Paul instructs , misery teaches lessons that success does n't . The American people voted in big government , and they will be punished and made to pay for it in immiseration . Do n't become cynical . Do not make people more cynical or pessimistic about politics or the political system . Every day on my radio show , I hear of people withdrawing from the political arena into a cocoon of disengagement and discouragement . We can not allow this to happen . We must encourage the American people to be active and involved in important policy decisions . It was the great novelist Walker Percy who warned of America 's downfall , not at the hand of a great outside power , but from crumbling within . Politics : Republicans assess Obama 's address . `` Probably the fear of seeing America , with all its great strength and beauty and freedom ... gradually subside into decay through default and be defeated , not by the communist movement , but from within , from weariness , boredom , cynicism , greed and in the end helplessness before its great problems , '' Percy said . We must get our heads up . As Margaret Thatcher said to us often , `` Do n't go wobbly , '' and , `` Cheer up . America is a strong country . '' The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of William J. Bennett .
William Bennett : Here is some advice for the GOP in the second Obama term . Bennett : Do n't just blame GOP leadership ; the choice of the people also matters . He says conservatives must win the cultural war to change political institutions . Bennett : The American people voted in big government , and they will be punished for it .