Where are they? Who are they?

Reading the blogs and op-eds out on the net it is clear that we are reaching a point where the Conservative message is at a crossroads.  A lot of the talk has been about a leadership vacuum.  In my opinion, the Right is currently undergoing a massive manhunt to find the one person (or perhaps a handfull of people) who can clearly articulate that Conservative message.

This begs an obvious question:  What is the Conservative Message?

People are throwing around the usual catch-phrases:  "Limited Government" or "States Rights" or "Fiscal Responsibility".  All well and good, but the problem is that there doesn't seem to be anyone out there who can articulate this message AND survive the attacks on their record which the Progressive / Statist left will undoubtedly unleash in order to discredit them.

Another problem is that way too many of the "conservative" pundits out there are really just watered-down Progressives.  Neo-Statists or Progressive-lite commentators who have accepted that government intervention (vs regulation) is the solution to the majority of the problems we face.  I don't think there are many true Conservatives who would argue for outright anarchy.  Of course there's a need for government.  The question is how much do we need? Are the solutions to be found utilizing the power of the Federal Government, the State Governments, or the Private sector (The People).  Better yet... What is the right mix? The Federalist system our founders handed to us seems to be disappearing before our eyes.  It has taken nearly a century to get to this point, but it is disappearling.  Progressives have successfully framed the debate.  We, as a country, don't even blink when presented with a problem.  We immediately run to the Federal Government.  This wasn't how it was originally intended to work, but that's an argument for a different time.

Back to the question of message. We on the Right need to rally around a single message.  The idea of Limited Government is my personal favorite because it really encompasses what Conservatism is all about.  But we must also remember that "Limited Government" doesn't mean "No Government".  It means going back and checking the playbook (The Constitution) to see which entity should be the force behind implementing a solution.

Where are the leaders who have consistently approached a problem from this perspective?  Who are they?  Who looks at a problem and doesn't immediately think, "Let's create a Federal Program around it"?  Where is the politician who can consistently make the case that nearly every problem we face today is a direct result of Progressive policies that have slowly erroded our Federalist foundation?

Or is there a larger question?  Are we on the Right sure if we really believe that anymore?

I know my answer.  What's yours?