Echoing the sound bites and TV ads of their candidate, some are touting their guy as the "true" conservative and the other guys as not being "conservative enough," Moreover, they have a tendency to question the credentials of other conservatives with whom they disagree.

 

Whoa!

What's a "true" conservative? By who's definition. By what definition? A true or false test? A pop quiz? An Inquisition?

These litmus test zealots would have no room for the civility, tolerance and intellectual heft of William F. Buckley, Jr.  In their kind of Republican Party, I seriously doubt whether Barry Goldwater or Ronald Reagan could even contend for the 2012 nomination.

Today's Republican Party is hardly synonymous with conservatism or its heritage.  All too often, the strident, "true" conservative purists engage in rigid ideological rhetoric which isn't remotely related to basic conservative principles.

The truth is there's no such thing as a "true" conservative. We come in all sizes and shapes

Conservatism is a big tent, diverse fellowship, composed of at least five distinct brands: Cultural, Fiscal, Neoconservative, Paleoconsevative and Social conservatives. There are also Constitutional, Libertarian, Populist and Tea Party conservatives in the tent too.

I love 'em all and read none out. I'm not a my way or the highway, purge 'em conservative.

Russell Kirk, was the preeminent conservative thinker of the 20th century. In his masterful book, The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot, he puts the first core principle of conservatism as a:“Belief in a transcendent order or body of natural law, which rules society as well as conscience..."

Our fundamental message - crafted over some three centuries by among the greatest thinkers and statesmen of Western Civilization - begins with:

Individual liberty; the sanctity of personhood. And unlike the liberal-left, we come down on the side of freedom; we come down on the side of the individual; not the state, not the collective; we come down on the side of limited government, not big, intrusive, nanny state government; we come down on the side of fiscal restraint, not profligate spending; and we proudly come down on the side of free market capitalism - free markets, free people.

Conservatives are famous for our family squabbles, especially during presidential primaries. But let's stop this "true" conservative, finger-pointing nonsense.

In the end, what binds most conservatives of all stripes in the big tent is Russell Kirk's first principle of conservatism - a belief in a transcendent, natural law.

It was first expressed by the father of conservative thought, Edmund Burke:

“There is but one law for all, namely that law which governs all law, the law of our Creator, the law of humanity, justice, equity - the law of nature and of nations.”

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"A Look At the Legends: From Burke to Reagan," (Red County, June 28, 2011)