AAQ – I don’t know if we can define basic principles to the extent you would like that we can all agree on. The constitution is in a sense the basic principles of how our government operates and there is a major divide on how it should be construed or whether it should be changed in various ways.
I am not going to debate all the principles you laid out for the sake of brevity, but suffice it to say I see numerous issues with those four ideas that I would never want to see them set down as basic principles.
How about just the last one, such as solving problems of higher priority first… If you think about it this principle is how we tend to all think in the first place, but in practical terms it does nothing to solve what is a more important issue. If I think climate change is one of the most critical issues, then perhaps I would suggest we prioritize that over commies. The principle does not itself answer what is higher priority and as a result is of little practical value.
How about the third one… when government gets involved we try not to destroy free enterprise. I think everyone pretty much agrees with this and does not want to hurt business. That said, if I view climate change as a serious concern and you don’t, it will impact how we view environmental regulations relating to that that impact business. The principle again does not tell us how we value the underlying issues that drive policy.
I am not sure this requires debate as I don’t think you are actually arguing for generic principles (at least with these two points… I think extends to the other points as well). Rather you seem to be arguing for certain ideas that you think are important over what others think (e.g. that dealing/competition with China is more critical then Climate Change. Or preservation concerns should essentially be taken off the table), which is unlikely there will ever be agreement on.