David Weigel of the left-leaning Washington Independent has compiled an excellent list of “Ten Conservatives to Watch in the New Year.” I was particularly struck by the entires on Rand Paul, son of Ron and a serious Republican primary candidate to succeed Jim Bunning in the U.S. Senate, and Tim Pawlenty, who is growing on me.

Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota since 2003, has played down his 2012 aspirations, but the claims are classically unconvincing. This past year, Pawlenty’s actions said otherwise: The public saw Pawlenty’s increased outspokenness and conservatism — he has argued that health care reform might violate the 10th Amendment to the Constitution — and he joined the conservative speakers’ circuit and raised funds for his Freedom First PAC.

I’m particularly struck by the 10th Amendment argument. It seems pretty clear that the Supreme Court, including my new favorite Samuel Alito, won’t buy the argument that the Democratic health reform plan is unconstitutional. Yet upholding the Constitution isn’t the sole responsibility of the judicial branch, and I’m heartened by the fact that arguments that follow from constitutional principle seem to hold more sway among conservatives now than they have at any time since the mid-1990s.

Of course, there’s a less noble explanation for this phenomenon, which has defined the Tea Party movement. During the Bush administration, civil libertarianism helped define netroots progressivism. And while at least some on the left have attacked the Obama White House for its concessions to the national security establishment, the criticisms have been fairly muted. It seems as though Americans care about constitutional niceties only when the other guys are in charge. This is one reason why I have more than a little sympathy for the Ron Paul movement. I disagree with the good doctor on any number of issues, but their suspicion of concentrated power runs deep and it’s something that mainstream conservatives ought to embrace.