“In short, theWSJ editors are guilty of exactly the charge they lay before Santorum: they pretend to be putting forward a “strictly” economic platform, which actually embeds a social policy of its own.”

Let me just add to this a little bit. There’s a popular notion among many on the Right that we have to separate social issues from fiscal issues in politics. I can halfway accept that if we are talking about what a candidate should talk about on the campaign trail.

But my candidate sure as heck better understand that the fiscal issues that face us are the result of bad social reasoning. All governments crave ever more power. Does anyone think that once we hand the state the power to redefine the very meaning of life and marriage, that it will suddenly put itself on the Atkins diet when it comes to the far lesser reaches of power such as its annual budget? Ha!

Personally, I would love the elimination of all tax deductions in exchange for, say, a 17% flat tax, that’s beside the point.