I think Thom misses a component of the Religious Conservative Worldview. Yes, Liberals see Man as Good and needing only to be backstopped by Government, And, yes, Conservatives see Man as Evil and needing to be restrained by Government. But today's Religious Conservatives see an exception to the latter rule - themselves. They see themselves as restrained by their Faith amd backstopped by their Faith-Based Institutions. They see everyone else as unrestrainable by law, only by incarceration or execution.

It's an important distinction. It affects their view of legislating: they want a minimum number of laws, and want to target laws at things that matter little in their lives - like crack and not prescription drugs. And it affects their view of law enforcement: they want severe and mandatory sentences to remove lawbreakers from their society.