But we could use some of Locke s fearlessness today. Maybe stuck in the permanent seat on Crossfire . Conservatives won t change minds and won t win elections by downplaying our philosophy. We will win elections only by applying our philosophy to the political, economic and social problems of the 21 st Century. In my opinion, this means more than simply restating the arguments of federalism or repeating the words of the 10 th Amendment.
Federalism is important.
Send power to the states is not a compelling policy message, as we discovered in the 1996 presidential election. Voters respond to Harry Truman s the buck stops here. Our approach too often sounds like, The buck stops over there. Nor should conservatives simply repeat the mantra of smaller government. Locke wrote about the contract of government.