Successful companies tend to “stick to the knitting,” focusing on things they are good at, note Tom Peters and Robert Waterman in their seminal book about successful businesses, In Search of Excellence. Conservatives could do with taking that advice right now when it comes to economic policy.

What has made conservative economic policy successful is its focus on getting the dead hand of government out of people’s lives and allowing the invisible hand of the market to take over. By focusing on the supply side of economics – cutting taxes, deregulating, and recognizing property rights of businesses that supply goods and services – conservatives allowed the economy to flourish in the Reagan and Gingrich years. These moves petered out under former President George W. Bush, and the result was an economy burdened by an administrative state that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.