Here is an excerpt of Senator Jim DeMint’s speech from CPAC:

Our mission is to preserve and promote those things that have proven to work for the betterment of individuals and our nation. Conservatism is supported by many core values, but there are three values in particular that we should constantly be working towards: individualism, capitalism, and volunteerism.

The first is the preeminence of the individual: for freedom to work, people must have the capabilities to succeed in a free society. And more than just being capable, individuals need to have good character. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.”

This is the kind of individual that will flourish in a society with free markets. Capitalism is the purest form of democracy because consumers can make their own decisions. As the late Milton Friedman said, “The free market is the only mechanism that has been discovered for achieving participatory democracy.” But individualism and capitalism alone are not enough.

The third core value of conservatism is the important role of good citizenship and volunteerism. At this moment, all across America, millions of citizens are meeting on volunteer boards, United Way committees, church groups, Boy Scout troops, arts councils, community groups, business associations, and countless other groups that work to make America a better place. Volunteers and voluntary associations are the strength of America. They care about others and their communities, not because of government coercion; they work for the good of others because they are capable, responsible individuals who want to serve their God and their fellow citizens, as well as themselves.

We believe in individualism, capitalism and volunteerism because these are the things that have made America great. These are also the prisms through which we must evaluate all of our policy decisions. Do our policies encourage, or discourage these ideals?

Our government is not the source of our greatness. Our mission as conservatives is to fight for these things that have proven to make life better for Americans. Liberal solutions are theoretical. They sound good, but they have never worked! Conservative values work, but they don’t sound as good … until we translate them into a compelling vision that inspires and gives people hope.

My only issues with what he said is the use of the word “conservative.” Conservatives do not stand for the individual, capitalism or volunteerism.

The new brand of conservatism has been hijacked by the religious right and who have molded it to mean altruism (“compassionate conservatives”), who raid the public treasury to exchange handouts for votes, while they continue to run up obscene deficits and forcefully take one-third of what we earn…all this rapes the individual sense of liberty, pride and property.

Admittedly, I am a fan of DeMint, but “conservatism” is just as bad as it’s counterpart.