I hope that as we conservatives traverse these very difficult roads, we will always remember who the political enemy is. Our internecine fighting of late has given President Obama a bit of needed cover for his primary culpability in our nation’s budget crisis. Conservatives seem to be evenly divided on whether or not to support House Speaker John Boehner’s budgetary plan to avoid a debt-ceiling impasse. But the level of vitriol back and forth is increasing, with one side calling the other “crazy” and the other shouting back “RINOs,” or Republicans-in-name-only.

I believe both sides are acting honorably; they mostly agree on goals and disagree on tactics. But it’s a bit more complicated than that. They also differ somewhat in their operating assumptions.