While means testing certainly isn’t a litmus test or a defining issue for conservatives, it serves as a microcosm of a larger trend. One can’t escape the fact that conservatives have spent a decade, or so, arguing for means testing — if for no other reason than to get under the skin of liberals. Yet, one can certainly imagine a day when doing so would be interpreted as an act of conservative apostasy. For anyone paying attention (like the media), this is transparently inconsistent. …

To outside observers, this sort of thing just makes a movement appear erratic. And it’s easy to parody. Consider this Tweet I noticed this morning about the Obamacare website glitches: “Basically the new conservative argument against Obamacare is that people can’t get it fast enough.” Clearly, there is something schizophrenic about much of today’s conservative political rhetoric.

The bottom line is that conservatives no longer know what they stand for. And that must change.