This afternoon Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R.-Tex.) hosted a conference call with conservative bloggers to unveil the RSC’s new proposal for an American Taxpayer Bill of Rights. California Rep. John Campbell and Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn also took part in the call.

First, I’d like to note the significance of the call itself. The RSC decided to turn to bloggers to release the details of the proposal. Capitol Hill reporters will have to wait until tomorrow to talk to the congressmen. That alone signals a positive change.

As for the details of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, it includes four priorities — or as Hensarling described them, “four corners of the house.”

1) Taxpayers have a right to have a federal government that does not grow beyond their ability to pay for it.

2) Taxpayers have a right to receive back each dollar that they entrust to the government for their retirement.

3) Taxpayers have a right to expect the government to balance the budget without having their taxes raised.

4) Taxpayers have a right to a simple, fair tax code that they can understand.

Throughout the course of the year, conservative members will be introducing legislation to accomplish each goal. While the likelihood of success remains difficult in a Congress controlled by Democrats, Hensarling and Campbell said they would be using Republican presidential candidates as leverage to shine the spotlight on their priorities.

Bloggers participating included Erick Erickson of RedState, James Joyner of Outside the Beltway, N.Z. Bear of Porkbusters, Brendan Steinhauser at FreedomWorks, Fausta Wertz, Bruce “McQ” McQuain of QandO and Ragnar Danneskjold of The Jawa Report.