I strongly disagree w/ your equating Constitutionalists w/ Conservatives. For example, I respect Rev. Jerry Falwell, & consider hime to be a Conservative. However, he is by no means a Constitutionalist: he suppoorts having the federal government pass laws that the 10th Amendment leaves to the states (anti-drug & abortion laws, for example), & he supports foreign aid to Israel--& no, I'm NOT anti-Israel, but foreign aid to ANY country is flat-out inconstitutional, 'cuz the Constitution doesn't give the federal government the authority to give taxpayer $ to foreign governments. He supports having the feds get involved in education (school vouchers, for example), yet the Constitution never mentions that...& as a matter of fact, James Madison spoke out AGAINST having the federal government involved in our schools. The constitutional answer to this would be to ELIMINATE the unconstitutional Dept. of Education, & give that power back to the state & local governments where it originally belonged.
So conservatives & the Constitution have several points of disagreement, just like modern liberals & the Constitution...albeit on different issues or for different purposes. But either way, the Constitution is being evaded, overlooked, or ignored on BOTH sides of the liberal/conservative debate.