…of course, said it long ago and much better. E-mail:

…This line of yours reminded me of one I learned from one of my very few liberal professors at Hillsdale: “in the long term we need new and better policies, because the world never sits still and we always have to apply our enduring principles to new circumstances.” I was reminded of this quotation from Chesterton: “all conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change. If you leave a white post alone it will soon be a black post. If you particularly want it to be white you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution. Briefly, if you want the old white post you must have a new white post.” … At any rate, I think you and he are right. If we want to maximize freedom by keeping government limited and the market free, and encourage healthy society through our politics, we better be thinking hard (and quickly!) about how to accomplish that and how to sell it, especially as we face Democratic majorities in Washington and the states…