Party of Yes convenes at Mt. Vernon

Some ill-informed folks describe conservatives as "the NO party," suggesting that we oppose all proposed legislation without any positive plans for addressing our nation's significant public issues and dire economic concerns. Not so, as we saw this week when conservative leaders gathered to proclaim the Mount Vernon Statement, a strong affirmation of modern Constitutional conservatism. Nor did they speak only for themselves; thousands of conservatives across the land promptly pledged their support.

In clear, bold language, the Mount Vernon Statement declares Constitutional conservatism's principles. "Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law," it begins. "They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government."

Not negative but principled, Constitutional conservatism "limits government's powers but ensures that government performs its proper job effectively."

On public issues, this reasoned, mindful agenda "honors the central place of individual liberty in American politics and life." On our nation's vital economic woes, Constitutional conservatism "encourages free enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, and economic reforms grounded in market solutions."

Thus we conservatives present a united and empowered team, and all Americans can contemplate for themselves, individually, the simple yet profound and compelling logic of Constitutional conservatism.