Palin increased taxes on oil corporations to achieve her ends, and when that generated excessive windfalls, she redistributed that wealth as a "tax credit" to the citizens of Alaska, rather than giving it back to the tax payer.
That is a pointedly UN-conservative method.
She also failed to make a stand against gay partners of state employees receiving benefits due to Alaskan Supreme Court ruling. Her office complied without a peep, even though legislators were ready and willing to stand with her to fight it.
Even though she lowered tax rates, people pay more in taxes now than they did before her arrival, both in Wasilla, and in Alaska. She likes gigantic projects, even if they are better left for later.
She recently stated support for amnesty, and for global warming.
Jindal and Steele are proving to be of the same mold as Palin. McClintock, Hunter, Tancredo, and a few others also fit this description.
Jindal, Steele, and Palin aren't in the same league as McClintock, Hunter, and Tancredo, the latter actually being true Conservatives, and men of the highest sort of caliber. The former are not worthy of support. If you will rise to support the latter I will join with you instantly.
If they aren't conservative, you must be using a different definition than the rest of us.
No, that would be you. You are the one who doesn't seem to know what the definition of "Conservative" is.
Wikipedia: Conservatism in the United States
Reagan Conservatism, the de-facto definition today (supplanting the Goldwater Conservatives), joined all three major conservative pillars together as one. That is a marriage of Social Conservatism, Fiscal/Libertarian Conservatism, and Defense/Foreign Policy Conservatism, as one indivisible thing, each one as important as the other, each discipline as valued as the next.
Palin, Jindal, and Steele are *not* able to support all three pillars of Conservatism, and are therefore *not* big "C" Conservative. They will not attract and turn out the entire Conservative base.
What we are trying to conserve is the Constitution, our Republic, and our Freedoms.
What you describe is merely libertarianism- While important, it cannot extend itself to encompass Conservatism.
Contrast Reagan's deficit spending with Palin's balancing of the Alaskan budget to a point where it is the only State in the Union currently in the black on it's balance sheet.
Yeah. Beauty day. Let's all just tax the big nasty corporations. For the life of me, I do not see how the hell that is seen as a Conservative model.
As far as Reagan's spending goes, it was largely defense, and is but a drop in the bucket:
USGovernmentSpending.com: "US Government Spending As Percent Of GDP"