Isn't bragging about being the most conservative candidate tantamount to boasting of being the biggest ideologue?

As defined in the dictionary, conservative and liberal both describe valid, useful ways of looking at policy issues. New challenges often require new, liberal approaches, whereas it’s safer to solve problems we have faced and dealt with successfully before by using the tried-and-true approach. The best policy always flows out of a balance between the two.

Formulating good policy demands you be able to apply both conservative and liberal thinking. Neither alone is going to always yield rational policy. Being stuck on one or the other is as effective as taking a test by consistently answering yes without even reading the question the question. So why is bragging about being an ideologue, whether right wing or left, a positive. Aren’t such candidates basically telling us, :My mind is already made up, Don’t confuse me with the facts.”?