No, actually, I didn't. I thought what you put at the end of that post was a reference to the website you linked. It didn't occur to me that it is your name.
And again, no, I don't know what a "real" conservative is — are you talking about religious conservatives, or economic conservatives, or social conservatives, or constitutional conservatives, or traditional values conservatives, etc? From your broad definition, I would think you mean constitutional and traditional values conservatives are "real," but perhaps that the others might not be.
I am not so presumptuous or condescending as to question someone's political convictions simply because they may come at their conservatism from a different perspective than my own. Yet that is precisely what I see numerous folks with your point of view doing daily on these threads.
Actually, I was talking about all of the above. Personally, I am not into denominational religious distinctions--for reasons that in that sense are not Conservative--but try to encourage people who are to support the Conservatives in their Faiths. I am a God fearing person, and believe in the God of the Bible, just not in the total written dogma. (I simply do not believe that we are given to know as much about God as most religions claim.) But I believe that the Fifth and Tenth Commandments are essential to any secular society, as well as to any Society based upon Western Religious values. (And I am not disparaging the others. It is just that the Fifth and Tenth have been under especial attack from Leftist theorists, promoting social deconstruction of our heritage.)
But there is no real difference between social Conservatives and economic Conservatives, except a question of priorities. Traditional values have an economic and social value; and our economic system, premised upon individual responsibility in a Constitutional framework, where Government facilitates individual decision making by providing stable money, uniform weights and measures, and Courts to enforce contracts, etc., is very dependent upon the same predictability in Constitutional Law, that is right for every other purpose, etc., as well as our social (and religious) values.
I have always tried to encourage those who have different priorities, but still support most of the Conservative principles and social values, to make common cause with us; and will tailor the message to any particular group, to an effort to demonstrate how their unique interests and perspective is well served by the general principles of the American tradition. It is not hard to do, if one keeps in mind (1) why it is so important; and (2) the clear understanding of the Founding Fathers: Why they resolved issues the way that they did.
William Flax [Instead of the gate to the Web Site, let me offer that to the Debate Handbook, which addresses a raft of issues, many of them in different ones of the categories that you suggest.]