Democrats have joyfully jabbed conservatives who have hoped to use any potentially legitimate path of government power to save Terri Schiavo. "Don't you like limited government?" "What about federalism?" "I thought you hated judicial activism!" There is some validity to these criticisms. Not as much as the Democrats would like, considering that states' rights was their strongest issue for a long time, but some validity nonetheless. If I were going to suggest the Republican distinctive, I would say it's the dignity of the individual in a moral universe. Fits with being against slavery, for the women's vote, against socialism, for...