When some Cultural Conservative leaders met in Denver, 75 of 83 endorsed John McCain for President. They also agreed to send a letter to John McCain urging and suggesting Mike Huckabee as a running mate. But perhaps, the most important thing they did is adopt ten key principles styled after the Declaration of Independence called, “The Declaration of American Values” The principles and goals they outlined are as follows:

1. To secure the sanctity of human life by affirming the dignity of and right to life for the disabled, the ill, the aged, the poor, the disadvantaged, and for the unborn from the moment of conception. Every person is made in the image of God and it is the responsibility and duty of all individuals and congregations to extend the hand of loving compassion to care for those in poverty and distress.

2. To secure our national interest in the institution of marriage and family by embracing the union of one man and one woman as the sole form of legitimate marriage and the proper basis of family.

3. To secure the fundamental rights of parents to the care, custody, and control of their children regarding their upbringing and education.

4. To secure the free exercise of religion for all people, including the freedom to acknowledge God through our public institutions and other modes of public expression, and the freedom of religious conscience without coercion by penalty or force of law.

5. To secure the moral dignity of each person, acknowledging that obscenity, pornography, and indecency debase our communities, harm our families, and undermine morality and respect, we promote enactment and enforcement of laws to protect decency and traditional morality.

6. To secure the right to own, possess and manage private property without arbitrary interference from government while acknowledging the necessity of maintaining a proper and balanced care and stewardship of the environment and natural resources for the health and safety of our families.

7. To secure the individual right of owning, possessing, and using firearms as central to the preservation of peace and liberty.

8. To secure a system of checks and balances between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches within both state and federal governments, so that no one branch - particularly the judiciary - usurps the authority of the other two, and to maintain the constitutional principles of federalism which divide power between the state and federal governments.

9. To secure our national sovereignty and domestic tranquility by maintaining a strong military; establishing and maintaining secure national borders; participating in international and diplomatic affairs without ceding authority to foreign powers that diminish or interfere with our unalienable rights; and being mindful of our history as a nation of immigrants, promoting immigration policies that observe the rule of law and are just, fair, swift, and foster national unity.

10. To secure a system of fair taxes that are not punitive against the institution of marriage or family and are not progressive in nature, and within a limited government framework to encourage economic opportunity, free enterprise, and free market competition.

Why is it necessary to re-affirm principles that most social conservatives already believe in? It’s necessary because it defines a key set of fundamental principles. If Cultural Conservatives stick to the ideas in this Declaration, future nominating contests will go better.

I’ve observed the last three times Republicans have had an opportunity to pick a nominee, the cultural conservative movement botched it through petty squabbles and division between multiple candidates. The key reason: the inability to separate the important from the inconsequential. If one looks for perfection in politics on every little issue, you won’t find it.  If  you look for dedication to core principles that matter, you can actually get something done.

2012 or 2016 could find an entirely different result with a more united and clear Cultural Conservative contingent.

Podcast Show Notes

While more than 1,000 U.S. Troops show their patriotism on Independence Day, a liberal blogger questions whether it would be better if Americans had remained part of Europe. (Hat Tip: Instapundit.) Meanwhile Americans question whether the Founders would be proud of their nation if they could see it now.

Christian Conservatives declare their values in Colorado.

Meanwhile Obama’s got base trouble.  He’s attacked by the New York Times, (Hat Tip: Newsbusters.)  booed by the NEA (Hat Tip: Right Mind.) and Clinton voters aren’t so sure about voting this November.  (Hat Tip: Outside the Beltway.)

Plus Guest Hatton Humphrey joins and points us to the story of efforts to censor anti-Obama blogspot sites.

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