What is a conservative?

And who gets to write the definition?
I'm going to propose that conservative ideals go back further than Ronald Reagan. I would like to include the ideas of Adam Smith, whose 1776 tome The Wealth of Nations included the term "invisible hand" to illustrate the power of individual economic freedom. I would include Thomas Jefferson's "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Included should be the wisdom of the Founders to give us a written Constitution, in which was embodied the concept of limited government, federalism, and the mutual constraint of the separation of powers within the government.
I hold that a conservative is a constitutionalist, i.e., he is one who wants to "conserve" the constitution as understood by its' writers. Conservatism is a belief that the Federal Government should be restricted to the "enumerated powers" and that any other governmental power should be retained by the states or the people. It is a recognition that the national defense is an important and legitimate concern of the Federal government, but that many things being done by the government are not legitimate and should be restricted. It is a recognition that lowering taxes has the effect of giving more freedom back to the people. Conservatism tries "to see the good in you and me" and would allow us to succeed or fail on our own rather than enforcing government solutions for every problem. Conservatism realizes that Freedom of Speech is a concept of political freedom and says that unrestricted political debate is more important than unrestricted commercial speech; namely that laws limiting campaign financing and debate are unconstitutional, while anti-obscentity laws may not be. Conservatism would welcome foreign trade but would insist on fair treatment of our traders and producers as well as our consumers. Conservatism honors the Judeo-Christian foundations of our laws and the moral assumptions that are made, e.g. that life is precious and to be protected, that marriage is an institution defined by the uniting of a man and a woman, and that the ideal that children are best served and protected by having two parents is worthy of encouragement. A true conservative would welcome the current opportunity to incorporate conservative principals into solving the problems of today, rather than continually referencing an act of bravery exhibited in his younger days as an example of his "leadership".
Ronald Reagan may not have been the original author of the conservative cause, but he was certainly one of its' great spokesmen. For many years he most clearly enunciated the issues of Freedom and Conservatism. He once said, "...Government is not the solution to our problem, it is the problem." Washington has taken away our freedoms by creating campaign finance "reform". (McCain-Feingold) It would like to raise our taxes. (McCain-McCain) It refuses to enforce our borders. Instead of creating a reasonable program to supplement our workforce while enrolling workers into our tax system to cover legitimate services, it has driven migrant workers underground and then attempted to bribe them into a political fiefdom by welcoming them into our welfare system without assimilating them into our society, forcing them to remain in their downtrodden condition. (McCain-Kennedy) It wants to allow Americans to unilaterally fund the "global-warming problem" by raising our costs of living and doing business while allowing our trading partners to enjoy the competitive advantage of ignoring the whole issue. (McCain-Lieberman).
In this current crisis a spokesman for conservative principals is once again needed. We need someone who recognizes and can elucidate the great conservative values that enliven our nation. In a rough and tumble election battle, I think Mitt Romney has shown that he can be that spokesman and leader.