At this year’s meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.—the largest annual gathering of the nation’s conservatives—there was much disappointment and despair among the rank and file. The speeches from the likes of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, Newt Gingrich, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and many others, provoked the usual applause and cheers but had little lasting effect. In the corridors, lobbies and dining halls, among the groups of huddled activists who took stock of conservative prospects, the tone was somber. “I’m feeling pretty suicidal right now,” said one long-time devotee in jest as others nodded in agreement. Conservative leaders have not yet fully addressed the ugly truth of our times: The conservative movement has failed.

Instead of confronting this boldly and honestly, many of the CPAC speakers provided claptrap and phony optimism. Worse still, the speeches could have been delivered ten or twenty years ago—a repetition of tired conservative slogans, harangues that are woefully out of step with the times. During his keynote dinner speech, Mr. Sanford was often ignored as many diners continued to talk amongst themselves. Conservative columnist George Will, who sat at a table several feet away from the governor, stretched out his long legs, leaned back in his chair and even fell asleep. In his address, the South Carolina Republican tried to boost flailing spirits with the mantra “yes, we can.” Perhaps no other single moment of the conference encapsulates how bereft of creativity and vision is conservatism: One of the so-called “bright lights” of the movement could do no better than to parrot the winning motto of the world’s most famous liberal—really pathetic indeed. Conservatives have not only drowned; those left standing cannot even find the corpses in the murky depths.

And yet, the worst of the conference was radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. He has soared to even greater popularity in the wake of President Barack Obama’s election by stating—in an attempt to be provocative, as is his trademark—that he wants Mr. Obama to fail. Mr. Limbaugh defended himself at CPAC by insisting that he wants Mr. Obama’s liberal policies to fail and the nation to succeed. Yet the damage has been done: Conservatives look like sore losers. We used to stand for civility, grace, decorum. In defeat, Mr. Limbaugh makes us look petty and mean—and all the worse in combating an eloquent opponent whose rhetoric calls for magnanimity and national harmony.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg of Mr. Limbaugh’s rambling, sometimes nasty speech that did little to accurately define the problems conservatives face or effectively point the way forward. Mr. Limbaugh is being hailed as the de facto leader of the conservative opposition. However, he is not our man. In fact, he embodies some of the traits that led to the November rout, especially a complete inability to deal with reality.

For example, in his speech Mr. Limbaugh constantly blamed liberals and Democrats for Big Government. Yet, since World War II, Big Government has been as much created by Republicans and conservatives as it has by liberals and Democrats. Even the great Ronald Reagan—still the conservative gold standard—presided over a vast expansion of government. It is therefore not liberals or Democrats, conservatives or Republicans who are responsible for Big Government: It is Americans. Mr. Limbaugh misdirected his fire; his comments were a lie.

He also insisted at several intervals in the speech that “victims,” “minorities” or a dependency culture that is fostered by Democrats causes excessive government spending. This may have been accurate during the Clinton years, but no longer. Has he not fully taken stock of the events of the last few years—and especially the last few months? It is now bankers, the giants of Wall Street and the Big Three automakers—the very pillars of capitalism—that have been clamoring for government help, again and again. They have been joined by many middle-class Americans asking for mortgage assistance. Thus, it is not one segment of the population that has abandoned capitalist ideals. Americans of every size, shape and stripe have by and large turned their back on their own heritage. Mr. Obama’s socialistic stimulus plans are just the cherry on a sundae that American voters ordered.

Furthermore, Mr. Limbaugh tried to tell us that the 2008 defeat was really not so bad because 58 million people voted for John McCain. In any case, he said, we didn’t really have a conservative candidate. This is more myopia. His statement begs the question: Why was not a more conservative candidate chosen to lead us? Because Republicans didn’t want one—or can no longer even recognize one. And if being knocked out of all three branches of government in favor of a candidate that said he would reverse every conservative policy implemented in the last decade is not a humiliating defeat, then what is? Why is it so hard for Mr. Limbaugh to admit how badly we have failed?

Mr. Limbaugh also insisted that Americans must be assessed as “individuals”; he defiantly refuses to recognize gender and ethnic differences among voters, he said. With this attitude it is no wonder that 72 percent of his radio audience is male, according to Pew Research. Yet, in the real world—the world that elects government officials—minorities, women, independents and the youth are not being taught conservative values, nor do they care for them when given a choice. Conservatives have failed miserably to expand their ranks. Mr. Limbaugh insists that the movement is not racist, sexist and bigoted. So, why then do we have so much trouble recruiting anyone other than older white males?

The sad reality is that the conservative movement continues to have serious problems regarding race and gender that are not fully and faithfully addressed. As a longtime and diehard conservative female who has moved in many circles in this great nation, I must admit that the liberal charges against us are not entirely without merit. We need to confront these issues with greater honesty and ingenuity.

Mr. Limbaugh said we must simply defend freedom and stand for our principles. And here is the crux of the problem: We are hypocrites. Conservatives in this nation live like liberals—including Mr. Limbaugh who is thrice divorced, has battled an addiction to pain killers and has great difficulty upholding traditional values in his personal life. He tells us not to be afraid to teach our children right from wrong. But as a man without children of his own, it is not surprising that he does not understand that children do not care what parents say; they imitate what adults do. If our youth is hedonistic, permissive, faithless, self-indulgent, morally relativistic and consumed by the values of America’s celebrity culture, it is because the young are imitating their elders: We are responsible. An entire generation of self-indulgent adults such as Mr. Limbaugh—liberal and conservative alike—is to blame for the waywardness of the youth and the current cultural morass we live in.

Mr. Limbaugh concluded with one final big lie: He told us to stop thinking that conservatives are in the minority and instead simply to hold onto our core beliefs and principles. Yet, which of these did he mention in the speech, besides freedom and small government? Both freedom and small government are means to an end, not ends in themselves. Our Founding Fathers knew that; many conservatives no longer do. And Mr. Limbaugh does not seem to realize that principles are useless if they are not supported by daily action.

Conservatives are indeed a minority—and a dwindling one. The November defeat was devastating—and an indictment of our movement. We have failed in every objective we established since the end of World War II, with the sole exception of defeating communism abroad. Yet ironically, cultural Marxism is triumphing in America and socialism is spreading its wings on our soil. Our failure is nearly comprehensive.

These are the ugly facts we did not confront at CPAC; these are the ugly facts Mr. Limbaugh cannot help us to surmount with fake analysis and superficial good cheer.