Fiscal vs. Social Conservatism

Have a seat, I’m gettin’ out my stump and climbing up. Today’s rant, defining conservatism. Let me put forward two definitions of conservatism, although there are many derivations, to capture the political realities of today, fiscal conservatism and social conservatism. These terms are often used interchangeably in political debates and lead to misguided or misunderstood followings.

Fiscal conservatism is economic in nature. It calls for fiscal prudence in the governance of the economy. The preference of fiscal conservatives is to allow the free market to provide goods and services to the polity. Republicans use this form of fiscal conservative ideology to label their Democratic counterparts as “tax and spend” fanatics.

Social conservatism is social-cultural in nature. It seeks to influence society by implementing policies that conform to a “desirable” social-cultural norm. A “return to traditional” values or “moral ideals” are sought to get the polity back on the “right” track. Political issues such as marriage and sex education fall under the rubric of social conservatism and rally particularly vocal factions.

Now for the stump part…Tennessee Republicans stop being hypocritical. Stop blaming Democrats for deficits and then using this smoke screen to implement your social agenda. Here are a couple of examples of note:

SB2580 Welfare Drug Testing, a Republican sponsored bill that allows for selective drug screening of welfare recipients passed this year.

HB2411 Lawmaker Drug Testing, a Democrat sponsored bill that allows for the drug testing of state lawmakers failed this year.

So how do we interpret this seeming contradiction? Is it OK to do drugs if you are earning a living wage? Or, if you aren’t making a living wage it is because you are doing drugs? Perhaps it is too costly to pay for the drug testing of state legislatures? Here is an option: if you receive public monies then you must submit to a drug test.

Here is a no brainer for fiscal conservatism, SB1372 Per Diem Freeze. SB1372 was a Democrat sponsored piece of legislation that would freeze the per diem expense allowance for state legislators. SB1372 would not eliminate the reimbursement, just put a cap on the allowance amount for specific activities. Surely this is something that fiscal conservatives could rally behind, but it failed to pass the Republican controlled state legislature.

What happened to the fiscal conservatives? Have social conservatives usurped them? Have we entered a new phase of politics where social conservatism is an easier agenda to push than fiscal conservatism? If we have, then let’s stop the hypocritical posturing and call a duck a duck.