An open letter to social conservatives

Many of us began the same way, fighting the same fights, trying to make sure that the way we were raised would be the way everyone was raised. The difference is, we’ve realized that if we’re really going to fight to limit the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy, it’s going to have to be done across the board.

Social conservatives, for all their strengths, have failed to recognize that their central political mantra boils down to “I want constitutional freedom and liberty for everyone, as long as I agree with the way they use it. If I don’t, well, we’ll need to clamp down on them.” Unfortunately, their numbers are sufficient to hijack the Republican presidential primaries, and it’s damaging those who would actually shrink our bloated government.

Currently, the morality-based ad campaigns of Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry serve as evidence that coddling the terminally uncomfortable has become more important than dealing with substantive constitutional issues.

If you don’t like a person, for whatever reason, that’s fine. That’s your right as an American. If you’re a Christian and you feel that it’s wrong to live a certain way, by all means, live by that creed and pass those morals on to your children. Just remember, your religion also features free will as a central truth. You’re not supposed to control your neighbor’s life, and it isn’t your job to judge everyone else. Your desire to do so has drawn the political spotlight away from provable issues and drawn attention to nebulous moral debates.

The bad news for the moral majority is that there’s a younger breed of conservative headed their way. It’s the future of the movement they claim to cherish, and it’s far, far less concerned with social issues than the old guard. If we’re going to maintain the United States as a constitutionally limited republic, and roll back the transgressions of past decades, social conservatives are going to have let go of a few sacred cows.

It’s time to make a choice: fight for a truly limited government or lose that battle in a failing attempt to present morality as government business.

Robert Laurie is a Michigan-based conservative columnist and freelance writer. He also runs a daily political commentary blog at RobertLaurie.net.