First of all, I agree with your prescription. I don’t think the Tea Party should take up social issues. Nevertheless, in a forum such as this, it is provocative and entertaining to speculate about what a Tea Party social policy might look like.
The other food for thought I have for you is this. I certainly agree that social issues are, for the time being, peripheral. That said, wouldn’t you agree that the underlying philosophical differences which inform different social views are tremendously important?
I didn’t have space to get into it more deeply here. But I think a large part of the reason we face the economic and legal crises we do today is because we lack a widely held philosophy of government which would dictate fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets. Even among people who agree on the economy and the Constitution, I have detected philosophies which if implemented would not preserve Tea Party principles into the future. So many people know what they want, but not why they want it. To my mind, that is a problem which discussion of social issues can help reveal. Of course, you need to be in company dispassionate enough to discuss it honestly and openly.
