Since 1946, how many adult supervisors nationwide have the Boy Scouts had to kick out because of sex-abuse concerns?

A. 30

B. 507

C. 5,100

D. Go away.

The answer is C, but Scouting’s leadership prefers D.

According to an article in Thursday’s Seattle Times, supervisors have been booted at a rate of one every other day over the past 15 years. Scouting officials note that there are 1.2 million adult volunteers, so the number ejected is a small fraction of the total. Fine, but if it’s no big deal, then why was the “Ineligible Volunteers File” kept from the very sex-abuse advisers the Scouts hired to craft a youth-protection program? Those advisers urged officials to study the list to see whether prevention measures are working. It never happened.

That’s comforting.

Loyalty badge. The previous item might be best explained by science fiction author Jerry Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy. Bureaucracies have two types of people: Those dedicated to the goals of the bureaucracy, which in Scouting’s case is “to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes.” And those dedicated to preserving the institution itself.

It’s the second group that always gains control.

Central planning. Two cliches are regularly invoked to head off federal solutions to thorny issues: 1. “Let the states decide.” 2. “One size doesn’t fit all.”

What’s interesting is that when states have decided to expand health care for children, the Bush administration has ignored those conservative bromides and pushed back. The same thing happened when states, including Washington, started passing clean-car legislation. Suddenly, the administration found wisdom in one-size-fits-all rules and defended them.

Now, it’s Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s turn, as he lays out his health care plan. His answer? Let the states decide. But part of his plan involves a federal cap on damage awards in medical malpractice cases. This is an issue that Washington state voters have already decided … against.

This practice of readily ditching federalist principles shows that conservatives really do believe in a strong central government. As long as they control it.