Uncertainity
I heard an immigration congressman mention that his concern with the immigration policy in the United States was how uncertain it was; that he wanted to know what the policy was going to be 5 years from now. This could be a defining feature of conservatism, in that any change leads to a devil you don't know, even if that devil is more benevolent than the one we have now. This is fear-driven conservatism. It would be better if the reasons for non-change were based on principles. Let me clarify that, if the principles were better than racial politics.