What's in a Conservative Conscience?

Erick Erickson at RedState explains the values Republicans need to return to:

If the GOP plays its cards right, it will have a winning issue in 2010. But it is going to have to get back to “leave me the hell alone” style federalism where the national government recedes and the people themselves will have to fight to take their states back from special interests out of touch with body politic as a whole.

OK got it. Special interests have taken over the state (Washington state, that is), and Repubs need to reduce federal power--and therefore their own, if they're in power!--so that regular folks can do things right.

What's this all-powerful special interest group? The Washington Lake Protection Association.

WALPA has grown to more than 200 members that include lakeside residents, lake associations, recreationists, scientists, educators, legislators, and local and state agencies.

Among the all-powerful special interests colluding with the federal government to control the Washington state government are lake associations, recreationists, etc. Got it. (The WALPA board is similarly infested with water-quality conspiracists and the like.)

So what might the suffering NORMAL residents do?

At what point do the people tell the politicians to go to hell? At what point do they get off the couch, march down to their state legislator’s house, pull him outside, and beat him to a bloody pulp for being an idiot?

My word! They must be put-upon indeed! From a thousand directions! What's this particular issue?

A ban on selling phosphate-containing dishwasher detergent. Seriously.

At some point soon, it will happen. It’ll be over an innocuous issue. But the rage is building. It’s not a partisan issue. There is bipartisan angst at out of control government made worse by dumb bans like this and unintended consequences like AIG’s bonus problems.

Are the people also mad that AIG bonuses are threatened? I'm confused. And where's the federal government in all this Washington state soap stuff? No matter--

Were I in Washington State, I’d be cleaning my gun right about now waiting to protect my property from the coming riots or the government apparatchiks coming to enforce nonsensical legislation.

Wow! Me too, brother! We've got to schedule a major tantrum around minor issues so that we can reclaim Republican power! To Hell with water quality!

Update: Non-sarcastically, the federal government isn't involved here. Erick's just looking for a "core conservative conscience" reason to get Republicans back at the trough. It's always been this way.