This is why Ed Morrissey gets paid the big bucks and deserves the title Captain. In one mighty stroke of the pen (peck on the keyboard) he reminds us that issues like gay marriage are ancillary to the first principle of conservatism- limited government. He also explains how the GOP(s) embrace of a "bloated and overbearing federal government" has contributed to its demise.

With every added issue, conservatives gain allies but also opponents. A narrow focus on reducing government would attract many more people than it repels. Most Americans believe that the federal government spends too much money, is too corrupt, is unaccountable to the citizenry, and creates massive inefficiencies. The first principle of conservative governance addresses all of that, and policies based on that principle would return both responsibilities and monies back to the states and local communities where they belong, so that citizens can more effectively oversee the issues in their own neighborhoods.

Trying to advance a broad agenda of issues that contradict the principle of limited government obviously hasn’t worked. All that produced was a spending spree that further bloated government and left the public with the impression that little difference exists between “conservatives” and “progressives” except in who gets the cash. If we tried actual, real conservatism by focusing on a return to smaller, less intrusive federal governance, the side issues will become more manageable in our communities. It would provide credibility to a movement that by its very nature should demand that government stay out of the bedroom and the boardroom and treat its citizens like sovereign adults rather than recalcitrant children unable to make their own decisions.

A dissenting view: A First Principle of Conservatism? Not Really.

Labels: the good guys