A group at Fresno Pacific University called the Sunbird Conservatives sent out a notice yesterday publicizing an inaugural (of course they used the grammatically incorrect term “first annual”) Conservatives Conference. The e-mail proclaimed, “Conservatism is not a policy but rather a way of life.  It is a life based on principles and values that transcend time and political parties.”

Really? And what is this way of life? Watching FOX News, listening to Rush Limbaugh and stockpiling guns? Language like “transcend time and politics” involve bigger ideas than a political party. Such universal principles are what a national identity, or a religion, is founded on. Religions and political parties have very different purposes. One seeks to understand truth, articulate a worldview, and win converts. The other tries to influence a broad coalition in order to win power (if you can’t tell which is which, see your priest). Unfortunately too many have confused the two. Too many are trying to create theological purity in this new faith and purge the ranks of the heretics.

These are dark days indeed for the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. In fact, would any of this great trio recognize, or be welcomed, in today’s Republican Party?