To Conservatives: What is a "Conservative"?

[Destroyer2]

Since I see a lot of posts on this forum about "fake conservatives" and "RINOs", it makes me curious as to what conservatives think about the following:

What, to you, is conservatism?

What are the bare minimum requirements for you to consider someone a conservative? A liberal? Neither?

Do you believe today's Republicans are conservative on every issue? Do you believe today's Democrats are liberal on every issue?

Do you believe the Founding Fathers were conservative, liberal, neither, or a mix of those three? Please explain.

More questions than I originally had in mind, but whatever. I'd appreciate answers.

 

[Avatar4321]

Preserving and fighting for the Constitution of the United States and the liberties it protects.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Wanting Dems to like us =/= not Conservatism

 

[Agit8r]

This is how conservative our founders were:

"if my Countrymen should ever wish for the Honour of having among them a Gentry enormously wealthy, let them sell their Farms and pay rack'd Rents; the Scale of the Landlords will rise as that of the Tenants is depress'd who will soon become poor, tattered, dirty, and abject in Spirit. Had I never been in the American Colonies, but was to form my Judgment of Civil Society by what I have lately seen [in Ireland and Scotland], I should never advise a Nation of Savages to admit of Civilisation: For I assure you, that in the Possession and Enjoyment of the various Comforts of Life, compar'd to these People every Indian is a Gentleman: And the Effect of this kind of Civil Society seems only to be, the depressing Multitudes below the Savage State that a few may be rais'd above it"
-- Benjamin Franklin; from letter to Joshua Babcock (Jan. 13. 1772)

"I have always believed that the best security for property, be it much or little, is to remove from every part of the community, as far as can possibly be done, every cause of complaint, and every motive to violence"
-- Thomas Paine; from 'Dissertations on First Principles of Government' (1795)

"The earth is given as a common stock for man to labour and live on. If, for the encouragement of industry we allow it to be appropriated, we must take care that other employment be furnished to those excluded from the appropriation"
-- Thomas Jefferson; from letter to James Madison, (Oct. 28, 1785)

"there are various ways in which the rich may oppress the poor; in which property may oppress liberty; and that the world is filled with examples. It is necessary that the poor should have a defence against the danger."
-- James Madison; from Note to Speech on the Right of Suffrage

"We must not conclude merely upon a man's haranguing upon liberty, and using the charming sound, that he is fit to be trusted with the liberties of his country. It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may judge by the whole tenor of their actions, mean nothing else by it but their own liberty, — to oppress without control or the restraint of laws all who are poorer or weaker than themselves"
-- Samuel Adams; from an untitled essay in the Independent Advertiser (1748)

 

[Two Thumbs]

What, to you, is conservatism? The acts of preserving the country and a way of life that made us the beacon of the world. Choosing freedom, warts and all.

What are the bare minimum requirements for you to consider someone a conservative? Understanding freedom is more important than winning. A liberal? Neither?

Do you believe today's Republicans are conservative on every issue? clearly not. conservatives are infested with tyrants that want to push their beliefs on others, in the name of something else. Do you believe today's Democrats are liberal on every issue? no, most have gone statist or progressive to the point of socialist.

Do you believe the Founding Fathers were conservative, liberal, neither, or a mix of those three? Please explain. in their time they were liberals, they fought for liberty. What comes from them became conservative. Does that mean everything they did or said would be something I would completely agree with? course not. Only liberals fear to go off script.

 

[norwegen]

What are the bare minimum requirements for you to consider someone a conservative?

A brain.

A liberal?

Laziness.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

This is how Marxist our Democrats are:

"You didn't build that!" -- Liz Warren, Fake Indian, but real Democrat

"You didn't build that!" -- Barry Soetoro, first US President with an AKA

 

[Contumacious]

Since I see a lot of posts on this forum about "fake conservatives" and "RINOs", it makes me curious as to what conservatives think about the following:

What, to you, is conservatism?

The same as "liberalism" - government supremacists who want to screw us , but in the name of god.

Why?

 

[CrusaderFrank]

How Fascist are Liberals?

Is Obama's use of the IRS to target his enemies (Conservatives) more like early Hitler or early Stalin?

 

[deltex1]

I seem to recall the use of the term "virtue" in the days of our founders. Don't hear that anymore. If we all lived virtuous lives, their would be no need for libs and cons. If we all lived virtuous lives there would be no confusion about what to do, how to do it, and for whom it should be done. Virtue....look it up.

 

[BlackSand]

What, to you, is conservatism?

Conservatism is the desire to look at the closest most efficient way to accomplish a task without overburdening productivity with the application of unnecessary additional meddling in attempts to achieve that simple goal.

Politically .. Conservatism looks towards the individual before it looks towards the government.
That look includes an emphasis on personal responsibility and responsibility towards others we share our community with.
In both cases … The core of the responsibility is on the person and not the government … It is our responsibility to assist those around us and avoid the desire to neglect our responsibilities or delegate them to the government.

Smaller government leads to more freedom … More freedom to succeed and more freedom to fail.
A conservative understands and accepts their responsibilities while believing the government should handle the job of ensuring our liberties, maintaining infrastructure and providing a national defense.

What are the bare minimum requirements for you to consider someone a conservative?

The ability to recognize a problem or a need … And the initiative to address that circumstance in the most beneficial and forthright manner.
The desire to achieve their best … Provide for themselves … Assist others when possible … And accept their responsibilities.
The ability to sift through mounds of political garbage … And listen to people complain about corruption in government when they were stupid enough to give the government power over them.

Do you believe today's Republicans are conservative on every issue? Do you believe today's Democrats are liberal on every issue?

Today's Republicans and Democrats are neither Conservative or Liberal … They are a bunch of politicians playing political games with other people's money and lives.

Do you believe the Founding Fathers were conservative, liberal, neither, or a mix of those three? Please explain.

The Founding Fathers were a mix of many ideologies and disagreed with each other at times.
Sometimes it was to the point that a knock-down drag out was of the order.
Still … They saw a need, informed themselves and established a government that they could all accept to a degree that the Constitution was written and ratified by the States.

By majority I would guess that they were more Liberal for the time they were in … But certainly not Socialist.
There are many things they identified as problems that they also agreed they could not receive enough support on to include in the Constitution.
They limited the Federal government with the understanding that people could be better represented and have more control over legislative matters at the State and Local levels.

If you examine measures that have received more traction towards what even Liberals profess to nowadays … It is at the State level where people are better represented.
It is also more often than not the Federal Government or Judiciary that impedes the will of the people.

 

[occupied]

The dictionary states that a conservative is a person who prefers change to occur slowly or not at all, not sure what to make of these people who call themselves conservatives, another title is required that more accurately describes their behavior.