Conservatives are crazy about the idea of requiring their candidates for public office to sign pledges swearing that they will always support a particular position, refrain from a certain activity, etc. For some reason, a lot of conservatives sign those pledges, either enthusiastically or because they're too fucking chickenshit to refuse.
My official position is that the right-wing tendency to require written pledges and the willingness to sign them is a major factor behind the country being as fucked up as it is. Compromise is what makes government work effectively, and compromise requires that sometimes people be willing to change their minds as circumstances change.
The world has changed in thousands, probably millions, of ways great and small since this nation was established in the 1700s. The founding principles were well-conceived and have served us well, but as wise as they were, the founders couldn't have predicted all the changes that have taken place in roughly 230 years or so, and fortunately they provided a means for changing the constitution.
Conservatives are now demanding a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. They're not likely to get one, but it's still irritating that they're willing to change the constitution but not their minds.
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