Extreme social conservatives tend to be statists as well of course. What we need to do is educate social conservatives on the principles of federalism. If they don’t agree, then we can say they’re not welcome in our federalist movement. I’m a social conservative for the most part but I’m a federalist first.
Amen, brother. I so wanted McCain or Palin to slap down any questions about gay marriage and abortion by saying "I'm running for President/Vice President and I believe those issues have always been settled at the state and local level, as our Founding Fathers intended. I support federalism and the rule of law, as decided by legislative bodies and the people and not by robed judges decreeing what they think the law ought to be."
It's time to return to federalism, the rule of law and states and the people reasserting their rights over the federal government and laws written from the bench. All conservatives and Republicans should agree on that much, however much we disagree on social and cultural issues.