obvious Child

A user here has argued that liberals are for
1) Small government
2) Low government spending
3) Getting government out of our lives

And that Conservatives are for
1) Massive, huge government
2) Ridiculously obscene government spending
3) Large amounts of government in our lives

Now, I thought that conservatives were for the first list and liberals for the second, anyone willing to help me straighten this out?

__________________
"They are the key to my eventual rise to the throne. Why would I abandon them?"

"Because I have asked you. And because your loyalty to our people should be greater than your ambition. And because I have poisoned your drink."

The silenced majority

Conservatism is not an ideology. Conservatism can mean different things for different times. Conservatism is in fact the opposite or resistance to ideology when ideology promises to rapidly take society in a new radical direction for the betterment of all. Ideology of this sort has driven us to a massive government, huge spending & an intrusive government.

Classic liberalism is a belief in small government, low government spending & federalism. These are the objectives of the true modern Conservative.

obvious Child

Of course. I just think it's amusing when a pretend conservative who supports the monostrity of liberalism that is the Bush Administration calls someone who refutes them a liberal when the refuter clearly believes in actual modern American conservatism.

1069

Historically, conservatives were for smaller government, less government spending.
The past decade or more, this is no longer the case.
That's why some conservatives make a differentiation between "neocons" and
"traditional republicans" or "paleo-conservatives" or whatever.

Conservatives aren't really very conservative any longer, since they crawled into bed with the fundamentalist Christians and other shady characters.

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"I do love this idea that one can scream and scream and scream, with that utopia just one more scream away."
~ Scucca

obvious Child

The former conservatives who've abandoned the ideology can't be considered Conservatives. What kind of "Conservative" blackmails the FDA into lying about a multitrillion dollar socialistic drug bill? Oh wait, not a Conservative.

Agreed. Clinton's administration was more conservative in many aspects then Bush's. But then again, the average American's understanding of the spectrum is pretty pathetic.

1069

My understanding of the spectrum of conservative politics is probably "pretty pathetic" as well.
I do see the basic problem, but I also think many people- including some old enough to know better- might be overestimating how great the GOP really was back in the good old days. I remember people saying the same crap about Reagan, about Bush Sr.
My family is staunchly Democrat, so of course I grew up hearing a lot of bad stuff about these guys, but still. I doubt things were really so idyllic within the conservative party as they seem in retrospect.

But I agree that Clinton's administration was more conservative than the current one, in many ways. Clinton was a moderate, a centrist.
I don't see too many of those around, these days. They must be a dying breed.

Doc Howl

I love this decade.

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HIMEOBS: More fun than you really wanted.

P/N

This from someone who didn't even know who Tim Russert was? Dismissed...

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Have you ever wondered if your mom kissed you goodnight after giving your dad a blow job? You are now.

Hatuey

Can you say what is wrong with her assertion that traditionally conservatives are for small government/less government spending while in this decade neo-cons have proven they aren't for ANY of those things?

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McSame/Moose Field Dresser 08!

P/N

Nope, but this is wrong:
I am a conservative and I haven't crawled into bed with anyone. I've been betrayed by my former party, but I'm still a conservative and I'm not alone in feeling betrayed. 1069 doesn't have a good grasp on this issue or any other. I'll give 1069 partial credit, but it's still a failing grade.