IMHO, libertarian philosophy has eroded traditional conservative values.
Thank you Russell Kirk.
That would make libertarians more pwerful and influential than conservatives, wouldn't it?
We've had threads trying to get Conservatives to define themselves and those threads go stale quickly because Conservatives have a hard time defining themselves. They spend more time being anti-libertarian than pro conservative.
In fact, on many Conservative issues like the IRS, the second amendment, Social Security, and small government, libertarians are far more 'conservative' than the mainstream conservatives.
The biggest rub comes in areas of individual control. I'm not sure if conservatives really believe in letting the individual make choices for himself (aka Freedom) or if they believe that governmental control is best. I see both arguments from conservatives. Conservatives have a tendency to want to make public policy out of their religious views. I can understand their desires and their motivations, but I don't agree that that is a good idea.
Conservatives seem to think alcohol is ok because it is legal but marijuana is bad because it is illegal but gambling is no longer immoral because it is now legal. Of course, conservatives only use alcohol in moderation and never abuse it and never, ever use marijuana, right?
IMHO, conservatives have a very hard time defining themselves AND showing consistency with what they say and what they do, justifying contradictions with political expediency talk.
IMO, principles are non-negotiable, methods to those priciples can be.