Thank you for the kind words! I think this is what you mean.
That's it! I may even steal a phrase or two someday...
By debating evolution, we are, in point of fact, contending for the philosophical soul of the conservative movement.
It is my belief that conservatism should be based upon objective moral principles rather than upon any received wisdom, and should not be tied to any particular religious dogma, especially when certain peripheral claims of that dogma conflict with established scientific fact.
That is not to say that conservatives should not be Christians, or even primarily Christians. What it means is that when conservatism comes into open (and so unnecessary!) conflict with science, it discredits itself in the minds of educated people, for reasons having nothing to do with the rightness or wrongness of its moral philosophy. Conservatism, in my opinion, needs to break itself of such self-destructive indulgences as creationism, or it will marginalize itself utterly, to our nation's peril.
By all means. In honor of my hero, Richard Mitchell, I grant you permission even to plagiarize.