I received some pushback on my recent essay where I stated that conservatives need to win before they can implement their principles. I felt vindicated when Jack Posobiec echoed my sentiment at the National Conservatism Conference this week:
If you have power but not principles, you are a tyrant. If you have principles but not power, you are delusional.
There has lately been a spirited debate among Idaho conservatives about principles, compromise, pragmatism, and how to win. Most of the conversation, however, revolves around abstract ideas rather than concrete policy positions. I want to present a thought experiment to illustrate what it means to turn our principles into actual policy wins.
Let’s say you own a professional football team. To make it to the Super Bowl, you need to win games, and to win each game, you need to score more points than your opponent. Scoring those points requires gaining yards.
Not every play results in a touchdown or even a first down, but the team must still step up to the line and do its best every time. Sometimes, the right choice is to punt — to give up the chance for short-term gains in order to improve your field position and thereby your long-term chances. Throwing a Hail Mary on every play is not a winning strategy.
Let’s apply this to a specific principle. If your goal is to abolish the income tax, you don’t necessarily start by drafting a bill on day one. First, look at the Legislature — can you get consensus on this idea? You’ll need allies who can help persuade others. Eventually, you can draft a bill, but then you must gain the support of a majority in both the House and Senate committees, as well as a majority of both the House and the Senate. Even then, it’s over if the governor vetoes it.
Maybe it’s time to punt, put off the bill until next year. But what if you could get some of what you want? Instead of throwing the Hail Mary, maybe you could gain ten yards on first down by cutting income taxes in half. Is that worthwhile? Some say yes, because it brings you closer to your ultimate goal and benefits the people of Idaho at the same time. Others say no, because it’s a compromise.
As we discuss principles, pragmatism, and compromise, let’s get specific. Rather than operating in generalities, let’s talk about what policies we want to implement and what we’re willing to compromise to achieve them. Some things, like tax rates, can be negotiable. Others, like abortion, should not be. Only you can decide which ideas are beyond your red line.
Even with non-negotiable issues like abortion, sometimes the best way to achieve our goals is to think strategically. I believe putting abortion on the national ballot right now is a bad idea and will set the cause of life back rather than forward. That doesn’t mean I’ve changed my opinion on abortion or that we should adopt more moderate principles. It means I’m trying to think strategically about how best to end the barbaric practice. I’m looking at the situation on the field and calling a five-yard run play rather than heaving the ball downfield.
We should not abandon our principles, which is something that happens far too often in politics. However, we should not settle for constantly losing. We’re either moving the ball downfield or we’re losing ground. I want to gain ground this year.
The 2025 legislative session starts in less than six months. During that time, we will have many opportunities to discuss principles and strategy. Let’s focus on specifics: What policies do you want to see come out of the 68th Idaho Legislature? What can we do now to prepare to get those policies to the governor’s desk?
If you have ideas that you want to see translated into bills, now is the time to talk with your legislators. Hammer out those ideas, build consensus, draft the bills, and be ready to hit the ground running in January.
Politics is the process of turning principles into action, so let’s figure out what we want and make it happen.
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