If the primary reason you support a candidate for office, a pundit, a thought leader or a political activist is that he is a "fighter," your priorities are wrong. The first two qualifications for those we support in politics should be integrity and ideology. Whether he is a "fighter" should be a distant third - or perhaps in fifth place after relevant experience and knowledge of policy.

Putting what ought to be much farther down the list of qualifications into the top spot is why the conservative movement is so messed up today. We have gotten to the point where we do not care about personal character, ability, experience, or even whether our "hero" actually agrees with us on issues so long as he "fights" against the other side. It is sad, it is childish, and it is ultimately self-defeating.

This is not to say that being a fighter is unimportant. We need people in the conservative movement who will not run away from conflict or tremble in fear of what is said about them. We need people who will stand up to the Left, defend our values, and be willing to go on the attack when that is necessary. But that cannot come at the expense of personal integrity or conformity with conservative values.