Freedom Conservatism Is Different, and That Matters

I’m grateful for Michael Brendan Dougherty’s sympathetic discussion of the Freedom Conservatism Statement of Principles, published last week. Michael accurately assesses that there is overlap between the FreeCon statement and the one published last year by national conservatives (“NatCons”) onto which he signed.

But Michael errs when he asserts that differences between the two movements “resemble the finer cracks on the surface of an imperfectly baked cheesecake.” And there is more going on here than what he belittles as “competition for think-tank patronage or jobs in a future administration.” I’m not looking for a job, nor for patronage. And speaking for myself as a FreeCon signatory, there are real differences — and real principles — at stake in the debate between FreeCons and NatCons.