Pragmatic is another word for unprincipled. Unprincipled is another word for liberal.
Then go stand in the line waiting for the perfect, principled candidate. Bring a book ...
Total nonsense! Ronald Reagan was a master at principled pragmatism. He accomplished all that could be accomplished under the circumstances and didn't waste time fighting unwinnable battles.
The master of principled politics was Barry Goldwater. List one thing that he accomplished. Not three, just one!
Like it or not, successful politics is the art of compromise. That is the primary reason Conservatives never accomplish much of anything, as pure as their convictions might be.
Pragmatism’s danger is revealed in Chesterton’s Fence, paraphrased as the wisdom of examining what something is designed to prevent before dumping it. Cutting to the chase may release the hounds of hell. On the other hand, if we try to prevent everything that’s preventable we end up with things like the Federal Register, the annual growth of which is measured in pounds, not pages.
Put me down as a pragmatist who believes in sun-setting laws to reduce the proliferation of barnacles that reduce the potential of the economy from a speed boat to a barge.