"More conservative"? Another form of holier than thou?

Among the Republican candidates for President there seems to be a race to be "more conservative" than the other candidates, especially "more conservative" than Mitt Romney. There also seems to be some attempts to show that they are "more Christian" than the other candidates, especially "more Christian" than Mitt Romney, a Mormon. Most of this "more Christian" seems to be quite the opposite of the teachings of Jesus: Golden Rule, "be not like the hypocrites who pray in public", "let he who is without sin cast the first stone", and many other teachings that show humility and forgiveness.

This "more conservative" seems to mean that a candidate is more following "more religiously" a laundry list of stances that seem to be more aligned with corporate and certain religious interests. "More conservative" seems to have nothing to do with more cautious consideration of issues. Or to take a definition from George Will, "more conservative" does not seem to mean "more prudent".

Electing "more conservative" officials also means electing "more dangerous" officials. If they are following a laundry list of issues, will they be able to change as circumstances change. In other words, can they follow the advice of the last great Republican President, Abraham Lincoln: "As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew."