Whether because of the convergence of tea party activists in Washington, D.C., last week or the glare of inside-the-beltway cable news types, Republican House freshmen took the stature of government down a peg or two, if that’s even possible. They engaged in political hijinks while mature lawmakers were doing the hard work — trying to hammer out a continuing budget resolution compromise to keep our federal government from shutting down.

So while Republican House Speaker John Boehner was negotiating with Senate Democrats and the White House and getting more concessions in budget cuts than anyone thought possible, some Republican freshmen went for the limelight by going to a door of the U.S. Senate seldom used except for ceremonial purposes. There, with great ceremony, they affixed a letter addressed “Mr. Reid” (a la Martin Luther) challenging him to consider their proposal to cut $61 billion from the budget. Some have also mounted regular protest rallies on the Capitol steps.

Except Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid already considered their bill. To our amazement, he brought their proposal to a vote in that august body. It was defeated, 56-44. You can blame Democrats for voting against it, but to claim he ignored it is disingenuous. (In fact, some Senate Republicans also voted against the GOP proposal, though for much different reasons — they wanted even more cuts.)

Sadly, U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, R-Bryan, has been part of this circus, even as Boehner has been working miracles out of the limelight. Even though Democrats cried foul at Boehner’s demand $32 billion be cut from the current budget, they finally cried “uncle” last week and agreed to that figure. But, GOP freshmen are saying it’s all or nothing — which means that, with the spirit of give and take fast eroding amid political preening, Boehner’s budget-cutting efforts may be undercut by some in his own party.

This is the second time we’ve taken note of Flores’ involvement in activities we believe are beneath him. To shun the hard work required in statesmanship, to instead fiddle to various fringe groups, is to mistake the message of the 2010 election. This means shucking careless political rhetoric. It means working with the political opposition to find solutions that at least move the conservative agenda of Central Texans forward. It means not playing games with the Constitution, which some Republicans actually proposed suspending this past week, just to get their way.

We take conservatism seriously. We believe the road to fiscal sanity can best be found in the Bowles-Simpson deficit commission plan. We believe entitlements must be reformed, preferably now when they can be enacted with little discomfort. We believe federal subsidies need to be re-examined.

We believe tax loopholes must be eliminated as part of meaningful tax reform. We believe many programs, beloved though they may be, should be re-evaluated as national funding priorities. And we believe we must get past wrangling with continuing budget resolutions so we can discuss all of these issues in regard to the next full budget.

We’ve found Bill Flores to be a gentleman of great intellect, breadth and diplomacy. But we are bothered by his willingness to turn around and engage in stunts and showmanship more worthy of a chili cookoff than our national interests. We want to see our congressman rise to the level of a thoughtful, sober statesman of which past meetings confirm he’s capable. We want him to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.