The false conservatives

Mr. Robert D. Novak believes that the only "true" conservatives are those who are for a small, limited government with a low tax burden.1 He calls the "moral" or "social" conservatives "Republican acolytes," and states that we are a "danger" if we support one of our own instead of a "conventional conservative."2

I do not know if it is true or not to say that the commitment of the Republican party to the pro-family and pro-life is newer than its commitment to small, limited government. Nor do I think it really matters.

Mr. Novak is concerned the ex-Governor Mike Huckabee is not a "real" conservative because as governor of Arkansas he embraced the tax-and-spend policies that liberals are renowned for. This is, indeed, a very real concern.

But an even bigger concern is the way Mr. Novak dismisses the anti-family and pro-death stance of the more "conventional" Republican candidates. If they represent what it "really" means to be Republican, then I will have to take my vote elsewhere, and the split between "moral" and "economic" conservatives will only grow wider, for all that the family does in fact truly benefit from limited government and a low tax burden.

It is a real shame when we do not have a candidate that unambiguously supports both "planks" of the platform all conservatives should share. But until we do, I will have to work against the greatest evils, those that cost lives every day, even if progress on that front makes my finances more difficult.