Does true Conservatism still exist in America?

[JZcrayZ]

I thought Conservatism involved limited government, lower spending, and use of the military only for protecting our vital interests?

In its stead we've been given so called "NEO-CONSERVATISM" which takes the worst parts of American Liberalism, namely big government, high spending, and optional wars, and displays it under the banner of Conservatism.

Some may even argue that "NEO-CONSERVATISM" of the Bush administration is a lot like Fascism. It is heavily supported by corporations, limits civil liberties, and starts wars in order to unite the public in putting full faith in their government.

Fortunately for America, the Heritage co. peeps are on their way out. Hopefully the defeat of Ron Paul will be like the defeat of Barry Goldwater and will open the way for a new Ronald Reaganesque figure in the conservative movement.

Until then

 

[editec]

I think there IS true conservatism in America.

I don't think those people will ever get into power, again.

True conservatives truly want smaller, less intrusive government, not only less intrusive for business and corporations, but for everyone.

The Reganistas and neo-cons are not true conservatives, as I understand the term.

I say this because when these guys did have the power, they acted much like the power mad liberals they so hate.

I think the last truly conservative POTUS we had was IKE.

He was, and continues to be my model of a decent and truly conservative Republican POTUS.

My other model of a truly conservative POTUS is Teddy Roosevelt.

But of course, his brand of conservatism was so much more liberal (because his time was so different than ours) that expecting any Neo-con to want a man like him in office (one who busts monopolies and creates national parks and so forth) is ridiculous.

 

[William Joyce]

Nobody gives a shit about the issues conservatives claim to care about. It's a big joke. People are idiots. America is a big, bloated hunk of dick-stupid. It's turning into a third-world country where nobody speaks English and everybody shits in the street. I long for the cleansing fire.

 

[Gunny]

I thought Conservatism involved limited government, lower spending, and use of the military only for protecting our vital interests?

In its stead we've been given so called "NEO-CONSERVATISM" which takes the worst parts of American Liberalism, namely big government, high spending, and optional wars, and displays it under the banner of Conservatism.

Some may even argue that "NEO-CONSERVATISM" of the Bush administration is a lot like Fascism. It is heavily supported by corporations, limits civil liberties, and starts wars in order to unite the public in putting full faith in their government.

Fortunately for America, the Heritage co. peeps are on their way out. Hopefully the defeat of Ron Paul will be like the defeat of Barry Goldwater and will open the way for a new Ronald Reaganesque figure in the conservative movement.

Until then

Define "true conservatism in America." Your version is relative to what you've been told it is.

You bitch about "neo-cons" taking the worst of the liberals, then turn around and pray for another Reagan. Reagan is the Democrat-turned-Republican that started the current trend of the GOP expanding government, spending big, and rallying round the flag at every chance.

Before you start praying for something, you should at least know what it is you are praying for.

 

[midcan5]

Conservatism today seems mainly a reaction to liberalism. It started not long after FDR turned around the results unfettered (unregulated) capitalism caused. Reagan, considered by many as the icon of conservatism is the beginning of another decline in America in my opinion. The working class and the sense of caring for America have been lost since Reagan. Consider Bush only vetoed childcare and you wonder how we got here. I have yet to see a positive result from conservatism: war, deficits, more poverty, religious interference in our lives, separation of rich and poor grows, corporate corruption and outsourcing, environmental destruction, are not good things yet the believers still believe. So tell me what a true conservative is and what they have done that is good for Americans?

 

[greenpartyaz]

Conservatism is a dying breed. It may have served us well at one time, but it has no place in today's society. As a nation, if we are to survive the next hundred years, we need to change the way we look at each other. Pull yourself up by your boot-straps mentality only harms the nation, and we are degraded as a whole. In Canada, they have a different approach, "We are all in the same boat", "We are all Canadians", "You help your people when they are sick", that is how you build a good society. "We are all in this together." Any time you draw a gun first and shoot first, you have degraded us as a whole. Any time you rob social security to pay for the bloated military budget, you have robbed us of our heart. Any time you ignore poor black people in the Mississippi delta after a disaster, you have taken our soul.

 

[Paulie]

Conservatism is a dying breed. It may have served us well at one time, but it has no place in today's society. As a nation, if we are to survive the next hundred years, we need to change the way we look at each other. Pull yourself up by your boot-straps mentality only harms the nation, and we are degraded as a whole. In Canada, they have a different approach, "We are all in the same boat", "We are all Canadians", "You help your people when they are sick", that is how you build a good society. "We are all in this together." Any time you draw a gun first and shoot first, you have degraded us as a whole. Any time you rob social security to pay for the bloated military budget, you have robbed us of our heart. Any time you ignore poor black people in the Mississippi delta after a disaster, you have taken our soul.

Way to give up and say you're an idiot who needs your government to walk you through life.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Conservatism will not die. Its an ideology. Its not an easy ideology because it deals with personal responsibility and accountability. Personal responsibility, low taxes, limited govt...enough for security and infrastructure, would do wonders for this country....NOT voting more presents out of the treasury.

 

[Charles_Main]

I consider myself a True Conservative, and I have to say I see very few politicians today that I feel share my core values.

 

[Ravi]

No

 

[Mr. Right]

I thought Conservatism involved limited government, lower spending, and use of the military only for protecting our vital interests?

In its stead we've been given so called "NEO-CONSERVATISM" which takes the worst parts of American Liberalism, namely big government, high spending, and optional wars, and displays it under the banner of Conservatism.

Some may even argue that "NEO-CONSERVATISM" of the Bush administration is a lot like Fascism. It is heavily supported by corporations, limits civil liberties, and starts wars in order to unite the public in putting full faith in their government.

Fortunately for America, the Heritage co. peeps are on their way out. Hopefully the defeat of Ron Paul will be like the defeat of Barry Goldwater and will open the way for a new Ronald Reaganesque figure in the conservative movement.

Until then

I think you make a very good argeument.


Civil liberty I believe is not under attack via Bush.

Look at where it is virtually illegal to smoke and that is where you'll find fascists.


The left is limiting your freedoms.

Smoking is now all but illegal everywhere liberals are in power.

The next big freedom to go is food. You'll only be able to eat what they want you to eat. It's going to be illegal to be fat. What if someone wanted to be fat? Their choices are limited greatly for the "common good".

Does your state have a seatbelt law?

Energy; now you're going to see these ridiculous lightbulbs and battery powered cars that indirectly run on coal which is more of a polutant than oil.

The bottom line is big companies are behind "Global Warming", "Obiecity", "Big Tobacco" etc.

All of these companies are behind those leftists in power. The tobacco companies don't sound like friends of Leftist thought but they also own the food companies. They'd much rather sell corn than tobacco. And if corn is fuel, they win on every level.

Who is to decide what is good for you? If you think the government at any level is better at deciding what you should consume then by all means vote democrat.

I'm still a republican, a real one at that. Yes Bush's time in office grew government.

His administration has liberated 50 million people and we will reap the rewards for that in decades to come. Freedom will spread and those backward countries will moderate and thrive in the world's market. It may take 20 years but Bush will go down as a great president who did great things in spite of large opposition.

Bush is a Nixon type. What we need now is a Reagan or better a Goldwater type. In your hearts you know I'm right...

 

[editec]

Nobody gives a shit about the issues conservatives claim to care about. It's a big joke. People are idiots. America is a big, bloated hunk of dick-stupid. It's turning into a third-world country where nobody speaks English and everybody shits in the street. I long for the cleansing fire.

I know some uber-liberals who long for a cleansing fire, too.

Its a common enough desire in those who feel especially out of step with their society, William.

The trouble with real revolutions is that they never quite turn out the way we'd hope them to turn out.

A race war, (which is what I resume you mean by a cleaning fire) is not, I think, going to give you the White Nation you hope it might.

I expect something more along the lines of a class war fought by police oppression and fought against by little more than crime, -- you know what the Blacks in American already have in part --than an open revolution, BTW.

None of this will not bring much comfort to most of us and since people won't be able to be productive while all this is going on.

S that cleansing fire you speak of is more likely to come in the form of famine and pestilence than any glorious defeat of oppression by right thinking people.

 

[Gunny]

Conservatism today seems mainly a reaction to liberalism. It started not long after FDR turned around the results unfettered (unregulated) capitalism caused. Reagan, considered by many as the icon of conservatism is the beginning of another decline in America in my opinion. The working class and the sense of caring for America have been lost since Reagan. Consider Bush only vetoed childcare and you wonder how we got here. I have yet to see a positive result from conservatism: war, deficits, more poverty, religious interference in our lives, separation of rich and poor grows, corporate corruption and outsourcing, environmental destruction, are not good things yet the believers still believe. So tell me what a true conservative is and what they have done that is good for Americans?

Another brilliant moment from Midcan. True conservatism will ALWAYS react to true liberalism and vice-versa. They are opposing ideals.

What conservatism has accomplished good is keep leftwingnut, socialist screwballs in check.

 

[Gunny]

Conservatism is a dying breed. It may have served us well at one time, but it has no place in today's society. As a nation, if we are to survive the next hundred years, we need to change the way we look at each other. Pull yourself up by your boot-straps mentality only harms the nation, and we are degraded as a whole. In Canada, they have a different approach, "We are all in the same boat", "We are all Canadians", "You help your people when they are sick", that is how you build a good society. "We are all in this together." Any time you draw a gun first and shoot first, you have degraded us as a whole. Any time you rob social security to pay for the bloated military budget, you have robbed us of our heart. Any time you ignore poor black people in the Mississippi delta after a disaster, you have taken our soul.

What a load of manure. We are NOT all in this together. The common bond you claim to be looking for is conservative, junior, not liberal, and it is liberalism that has destroyed that common bond in our society.

 

[Gunny]

Conservatism is a dying breed. It may have served us well at one time, but it has no place in today's society. As a nation, if we are to survive the next hundred years, we need to change the way we look at each other. Pull yourself up by your boot-straps mentality only harms the nation, and we are degraded as a whole. In Canada, they have a different approach, "We are all in the same boat", "We are all Canadians", "You help your people when they are sick", that is how you build a good society. "We are all in this together." Any time you draw a gun first and shoot first, you have degraded us as a whole. Any time you rob social security to pay for the bloated military budget, you have robbed us of our heart. Any time you ignore poor black people in the Mississippi delta after a disaster, you have taken our soul.

What a load of manure. We are NOT all in this together. The common bond you claim to be looking for is conservative, junior, not liberal, and it is liberalism that has destroyed that common bond in our society.

 

[Gunny]

Conservatism is a dying breed. It may have served us well at one time, but it has no place in today's society. As a nation, if we are to survive the next hundred years, we need to change the way we look at each other. Pull yourself up by your boot-straps mentality only harms the nation, and we are degraded as a whole. In Canada, they have a different approach, "We are all in the same boat", "We are all Canadians", "You help your people when they are sick", that is how you build a good society. "We are all in this together." Any time you draw a gun first and shoot first, you have degraded us as a whole. Any time you rob social security to pay for the bloated military budget, you have robbed us of our heart. Any time you ignore poor black people in the Mississippi delta after a disaster, you have taken our soul.

What a load of manure. We are NOT all in this together. The common bond you claim to be looking for is conservative, junior, not liberal, and it is liberalism that has destroyed that common bond in our society.

Any time you rob our wallets to pay for socialist handout programs to prop up the weak and unwilling you have robbed people of their hearts. Your socialist, utopian idealisn has NEVER worked, and it never will. Perhaps you want to be a drone wallowing in medocrity driving your cookie cutter ecologically correct car from your cookie cutter, pays the same as everyone else job to your cookie cutter house that looks like every other house, but I don't. Better to be dead than have no soul.

 

[Ravi]

Social programs have made the US the superpower that it is.

 

[Lode]

You have your Ron Paul guys.

I'm not a fan of course. He's a postal abolitionist.

But there are several wings of conservativism.

Theres fiscal conservatism, which the modern GOP is not at all. The economic policy of this administration has been to spend more money, while lowering taxes. To make up for it, they print more money. The value of the money goes down and theres massive deflation.

That along with speculation and growing demand is responsible for the outrageous price of gas.

Then you have your social conservatives. The GOP is fairly in line step with these people.

And there are your neocons and I suppose "paleocons." The neocons have an aggressive interventionist foreign policy and the paleocons are more isolationist.

So on two of the three fronts, the GOP has moved away from traditional conservative values. IMO.

I'm a liberal, so I'm not concerned either way.

 

[Lode]

Any time you rob our wallets to pay for socialist handout programs to prop up the weak and unwilling you have robbed people of their hearts. Your socialist, utopian idealisn has NEVER worked, and it never will. Perhaps you want to be a drone wallowing in medocrity driving your cookie cutter ecologically correct car from your cookie cutter, pays the same as everyone else job to your cookie cutter house that looks like every other house, but I don't. Better to be dead than have no soul.

Theres a middle ground gunny, between social welfare programs and mandated communal housing.

A middle ground that yes, should help the weak. I don't think paying a few taxes robs you of your heart.

 

[Gunny]

Social programs have made the US the superpower that it is.

Not even close. Social programs bailed us out of the Great Depression. They were at the time, a necessary means to an end. They have since morphed into bureaucratic nightmares that are bottomless pits and excuses to jack our taxes. None of them meet the needs for which they were originally designed.

You cannot survive on social security and you won't live long solely on medicare. You can't survive on a union retirement check.

They're just props for that self-perpetuating beast we call a government to rob at will.

So just what is it exactly they have done to make us great? I can make the money robbed from my check for social security and medicare work FAR better than its going to where it is.