Earlier this afternoon, Rep. Mike Pence, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, spoke with a weekly meeting of conservative bloggers. It was an appropriate venue for Pence, who, as he proudly pointed out, was the first Member to start a blog. That was two-and-a-half years ago. Today, Pence is committed to limited government, and he shared his ideas on how the Republican majority can return to its limited government roots.

On policy, Pence focused his remarks on campaign finance reform, immigration reform, and energy. He has long been an opponent of campaign finance reform, from McCain-Feingold to the 527 reform recently passed by the House. For Pence, more freedom is the answer to 527 reform. Moreover, he worries that restricting political speech leads down the slippery slope to even more government intrusion in the daily lives of Americans. "We are on the road to serfdom in the American political debate," he said.

Free speech is "one of out blood-bought rights," and Congress is "playing Whack-A-Mole with the First Amendment rights of Americans," he explained

Pence was pessimistic about Senate immigration reform legislation, and he stressed his opposition to amnesty in any form. He is going to introduce his own immigration reform bill--one that provides for a guestworker program without any form of amnesty. (It's based on this paper.)

On energy, Pence explained the need to explore "the hidden costs of regulation" and to increase supply. He pointed to boutique fuels mandates as counterproductive--and they don't make any sense to constituents. He also criticized a recently passed House bill on price gouging. He urged aggressive action on ANWR, and he said that the House should bring an ANWR bill to the floor every week.

ANWR, however, has fallen victim to wrangling over process. Instead of having a debate over the merits of drilling--as Pence would have every week--the discussion has devolved into how to pass the legislation. The Senate, we're told, can only pass ANWR as part of budget reconciliation; the House, on the other hand, can pass ANWR as long as it is not part of budget reconciliation.

The ANWR example highlights the problem of the current Congress: it has placed process ahead of principle. Peggy Noonan said it best in her column last week.

Party leaders say they're aware they're in trouble, aware of a sense of stasis in the country. They are going to solve the problem, they say, by passing legislation. They're going to pass a budget. And they're going to pass an immigration bill, too. People will like that.

But no they won't. The American people are not going to say, "I am relieved and delighted our Congress passed a budget." They will be relieved and delighted if Congress cuts spending. They would be relieved and delighted if Congress finally took responsibility for the nation's borders. They won't be impressed if you just pass bills and call it progress.

Party leaders are showing a belief in process as opposed to a belief in, say, belief. But belief drives politics. It certainly drives each party's base.

Pence still believes that principle should drive politics, which is a lesson that other Members need to remember--especially as public approval ratings continue to drop.

Dick Armey had it right, Pence reminded us: "Good policy is good politics."