I don't think you want political parties that are entirely driven by some extremely doctrinal ideology.

Conservative policies have on the whole worked - insofar as any set of policies can be said to 'work' in the real world. Conservatives of the Reagan-Bush-Gingrich-Bush years have a fair amount to be proud of.

Whenever I hear anything described as a heartless assault on our children, I tend to think it’s a good idea.

It will be an unusual dynamic [in Congress]. It won't be like the rallying behind President [Barack] Obama in 2009 or behind President [George W.] Bush, even at the beginning of his presidency, or even [Bill] Clinton in '93, when he got his budget through on a partisan vote.

I mean, obviously, one of the strongest arguments against evolution and selection of the fittest and progress, which is part of evolution, is the current field of the presidential candidates. We started off with Washington and Adams and Jefferson and then we had Lincoln, and now we moved ahead and look where we are now.

There's a sort of romanticizing of the past. When you actually think about the past, you know it's a little different.

Conservatism as an "ism" is always going to be somewhat in tension with a political party.