As a fiscal conservative, I have spent most of my adult life voting Republican, believing—as Republicans historically claimed—that government should be smaller, leaner, and live within its means.

That brand is now bankrupt.

I believe that, like a responsible adult, government should spend no more than it earns and should not borrow from our children to pay for current consumption. By definition, this makes me a fiscal conservative.

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees due process to all persons, is the issue.

There was a time when the Republican Party could be counted on to defend the free market. Sadly, not anymore.