Dozens of conservative leaders on Wednesday signed “The Mount Vernon Statement,” a declaration that reaffirms first principles, much as The Patriot Post has sought to do for the last 14 years, most recently through our Essential Liberty Project.

The Mount Vernon Statement begins:

We recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding. Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.

These principles define us as a country and inspire us as a people. They are responsible for a prosperous, just nation unlike any other in the world. They are our highest achievements, serving not only as powerful beacons to all who strive for freedom and seek self-government, but as warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere.

The Statement also seeks to unify conservatives, saying, “It reminds economic conservatives that morality is essential to limited government, social conservatives that unlimited government is a threat to moral self-government, and national security conservatives that energetic but responsible government is the key to America’s safety and leadership role in the world.”

Heritage Foundation President Edwin Feulner, who chaired the committee that drafted the document, said, “It is the culmination of a thoughtful deliberation about our nation’s principles.” Indeed, the Statement articulates in a nutshell what conservatives should be advocating: Constitutional Rule of Law.

Other notable signatories include former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, Concerned Women for America President Wendy Wright, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell III, American Spectator Publisher Alfred Regnery, and American Conservative Union President David Keene.

Clearly, there are policy disagreements among conservatives – even among the signers of this Statement. Conservative writers such as Michelle Malkin and Rick Moran, for example, offer fair and thoughtful criticisms. Since we tend to believe that the only policy debates worth having are among those on the Right, we’re encouraged to see such debates taking place.

But the goal of the Mount Vernon Statement is to stop our leftward lurch by uniting conservatives around a common theme, much like Ronald Reagan’s winning coalition did in 1984. While it remains to be seen whether this effort will succeed in 2010, this is another step in the Right direction.