I heard about Michelle Malkin's comment on the U.S. Constitution being the only statement of principles that conservatives need. Now that I have seen the post in which she wrote this, I do not believe that this was actually her main point in the post, even though the title and conclusion used that kind of language. In the post itself, I see a legitimate and reasonable point: these principles mean very little unless we act on them, and that will require us to stop supporting politicians who violate them. (In defense of John McCain, though, he was one Republican who did vote against the 2003 prescription drug bill because of what it would cost taxpayers. That is important! Also, this is something that most Republicans did not have the courage to do. Admittedly, McCain would probably get the credit he deserves for things like this if not for his repeated, notorious, inexplicable support for government (or internal Senate) action contrary to conservatism.)
But since she did include language stating that the Constitution is the only statement of principles that we need, I will respond: would the framers of the Constitution have understood the Constitution to be the only statement of principles that we need? Did they believe that? (Every other day, it seems, I find someone quoting John Adams specifically stating that the Constitution would be inadequate for use in the governing of a population that is not moral and religious.) The Constitution is excellent, but it is only a governing document -- a federal governing document, at that. Also, most of the statements of conservative principle that I have seen, including the Twelve Points, make a point of calling for a return to constitutional government. This is something that needs to be done, and in order to accomplish this, the goal certainly needs to be stated in some sort of communication, such as a statement of principles.
I agree on the importance of the Constitution and the need to act on our principles instead of simply stating them, though.
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