Why Do Republicans Consider Themselves Conservatives

[wellwisher]

I have always wondered why they claimed that title while running up trillions of dollars in debt.

Do Republicans just ignore the fiscal side of conservatism and focus on church, abortion, hating gays and other issues. Is that what conservatism means to republicans?

The Democrats have an easy formula for buying votes with other people's money. This is based on promising freebies at the tax payer expense. This time around, they are promising free health care, free education, and even free wages without work. This is not even the full list of freebie promises.

This freebie approach makes it easy to get votes, compared to asking people to sacrifice, for the good of all. This freebie approach was responsible for the promise of affordable housing, that led to the housing crisis. It made it too easy to buy houses, even if you had no credit and were expected to default. People took the low road of freebies, because it seemed better and easier. They were not thinking about the long term problems, that were just down the road; housing collapse.

Look at any of the Democrats candidates running for president and add up how much freebie incentive each uses as part of their rendition of the DNC template. The traditional Conservative alternative is to ask people to sacrifice, for the common good, for a payoff in the future. However, now this future is vulnerable to even more freebies promises, that can destroy all that was sacrificed and saved.

The Conservative want to store the seed potato for spiring planting, but the Progressives want to throw a party and use the seed potato for french fries. More people seem to prefer to the party approach, than the sacrifice approach. Once the seed potato was eaten, the housing crisis appeared. The same would happen to student loans and free wages.

The Republicans understand the better long term path, but they also understand the better long term path is not possible, if they are not in power. The compromise is to play the same game, while making changes that can assure a stronger future and/or slower death; stop the bleeding.

At one time, Democrats were more Conservative, and their promises of freebies were more connected to surplus; Kennedy, instead of compounding deficits; Obama. Kennedy said, "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". This allowed the old Republicans not to feel as threatened for the future, so they could work toward building a surplus and being cheap with it. Now the DNC uses the opposite slogan which is ask what your country can do for you; freebies. Now the Republicans have to working on stopping the bleeding, even before the patient can start to walk again. They have to be the party pooper, who takes seed potato away, before it is deep fried in oil and lost for spring.

 

[joko104]

havent missed an election since my first in 1980

just didnt vote for a selection for president last time around

voted all the other items....

writing in a candidate that will garner 1/2 of 1% of the vote is a waste of my time and energy

i dont have the patience or attitude to do that anymore.....

so when i cant vote for either selection, i leave it blank

I agree UNLESS an alternative candidate is polling with a realistic chance of winner.

Taking the stance that unless everything is how I want it in a candidate seems like a spoiled-child attitude. At least 1 of the 2 major party candidates is WORSE than the other. So there IS a decision to make - and that will have real consequences. NO ONE could rationally claim the Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump were going to do the exact same things of the exact same consequence.

And it is worst than that. 3rd party candidates are spoilers who often make the winner furthest way from who their voters would have voted for. In fact, both parties use 3rd party candidates as "dark horses" to pick off votes from their opponent. The RNC should have covertly heavily contributed to Jill Stein, as she largely took votes from Hilary Clinton. Ralph Nader made W. Bush President. H. Ross Perot made Bill Clinton president.

 

[Lovebug]

I have always wondered why they claimed that title while running up trillions of dollars in debt.

Do Republicans just ignore the fiscal side of conservatism and focus on church, abortion, hating gays and other issues. Is that what conservatism means to republicans?

Social conservative, fiscal conservative? Why ask?

 

[Lovebug]

You voted for them.

Lack of choices could be one factor, but you are right, far too many vote straight party line. Sad really, that a nation with far over 300 mil can't come up with more than D and R. Sure, there are a few more parties/candidates, but both major parties, while pretending to leave us with choices, do a fine job of keeping power in their very hands.
They rely on us, they take us for granted, and do their best to manipulate independents into thinking that the choice is either D or R.
Independents will, hopefully, become the majority and break away from the 2 party power struggle. Some day.

 

[mrdeltoid]

Yes, you are a conservative. You have many views that democrats have and yet you also still have views that don't give equal rights to all people in all situations. Take your idea of marriage. First off, a church marriage, the church that probably teaches god loves us all...except gays? I don't buy into that idea. You also still seem to hold the idea women are second class citizens in some instances. I personally think/feel religion warps people's thinking. Does a church make a marriage legal or does a state make it legal? I give you credit for not falling into the turn your brain off like so many other conservatives and just follow the talking points of your leadership.

I believe God love us all, including gays. Being a Christian certainly isn't easy. My youngest daughter is lesbian and is getting married in Sept. I explained to her, that I love her without conditions. Then I told her that there is nobody without sin, and God views all sin the same. It's kind of like a mosaic(no pun intended) window. If you break on commandment or scriptural teaching, it breaks them all. So her sin, is no better or worse than my (many) sins. I will attend her wedding, and her fiancé is a wonderful girl, and I love her as my own. I already call her my daughter. My daughter called me and told me her fiance was so happy. She said, "Did you hear your dad call me his daughter?!" Unfortunately, she was adopted, and her parents disowned her when she "came out". It broke my heart when I heard that. She is Asian and felt kind of out of place to begin with. I can't imagine the kind of pain she has been through.
Anyway, to answer your question, I don't think a church wedding makes it legal. That is the states domain, I think. I believe a religious wedding is valid in Gods eyes. I try to live by Christian principles the best I can, which really, is to love my fellow man, and carry the word, for the most part. Women in my eyes, are to be put on a pedestal. I'm very traditional that way. I certainly don't think they're second class citizens. What gave you that idea? Although I know we've come to a point in time where tradition no longer applies, I wish it did. Thanks for you honesty, and being decent in your rebuttal.eace

 

[bongsaway]

I believe God love us all, including gays. Being a Christian certainly isn't easy. My youngest daughter is lesbian and is getting married in Sept. I explained to her, that I love her without conditions. Then I told her that there is nobody without sin, and God views all sin the same. It's kind of like a mosaic(no pun intended) window. If you break on commandment or scriptural teaching, it breaks them all. So her sin, is no better or worse than my (many) sins. I will attend her wedding, and her fiancé is a wonderful girl, and I love her as my own. I already call her my daughter. My daughter called me and told me her fiance was so happy. She said, "Did you hear your dad call me his daughter?!" Unfortunately, she was adopted, and her parents disowned her when she "came out". It broke my heart when I heard that. She is Asian and felt kind of out of place to begin with. I can't imagine the kind of pain she has been through.
Anyway, to answer your question, I don't think a church wedding makes it legal. That is the states domain, I think. I believe a religious wedding is valid in Gods eyes. I try to live by Christian principles the best I can, which really, is to love my fellow man, and carry the word, for the most part. Women in my eyes, are to be put on a pedestal. I'm very traditional that way. I certainly don't think they're second class citizens. What gave you that idea? Although I know we've come to a point in time where tradition no longer applies, I wish it did. Thanks for you honesty, and being decent in your rebuttal.eace

I was born in the early fifties, went to catholic school for ten years and believe nothing I was 'taught' about religion. The idea that you found only one woman barely able to do 'the job' makes me think maybe you aren't as open minded as you think concerning women. I'm not saying all women can do any job but they should at least be afforded the opportunity to prove they can't do the job before condemning them. As for the rest, other than religion you sound much more like a democrat. As I mentioned, I think religion warps some people's thinking.

 

[mrdeltoid]

I was born in the early fifties, went to catholic school for ten years and believe nothing I was 'taught' about religion. The idea that you found only one woman barely able to do 'the job' makes me think maybe you aren't as open minded as you think concerning women. I'm not saying all women can do any job but they should at least be afforded the opportunity to prove they can't do the job before condemning them. As for the rest, other than religion you sound much more like a democrat. As I mentioned, I think religion warps some people's thinking.

I was a captain in the FD. When I went to a new station, I would always put the crew through the paces, to see what I had to work with. My 2nd duty station as a Capt., was a single engine company with 2 men and 2 women, not counting myself. When one of the men were off, I had 2 women and a male driver. The first drill I had the driver pull up to the rear of the station, pull an attack line off, and told the two females to throw a ladder to the roof, then climb it with the attack line. I started the stopwatch as they approached the pumper to pull the ladder. I stood there and watched as the girls struggled to get the ladder off the hooks. After a good 10 minutes of this, I stopped the drill. The driver and I had the ladder off the hooks and up in under 2 minutes. I was at another station when we took the engine out to service hydrants. I watched as a female struggled to take the 4 1/2 inch cap off to flow the hydrant. After a few minutes of her yanking on the hydrant wrench, then standing on it and jumping up and down on it, I told her to stop, and took it off in about 30 seconds. I spoke to the Battalion chief about it. He told me it was my job to train them to do it. He said, "They passed the academy, they should be able to do it." So, it has nothing to do with being open minded, and for the record, when it comes to that, I'm not. I put in a transfer immediately after the first incident.

 

[Vadinho]

I was a captain in the FD. When I went to a new station, I would always put the crew through the paces, to see what I had to work with. My 2nd duty station as a Capt., was a single engine company with 2 men and 2 women, not counting myself. When one of the men were off, I had 2 women and a male driver. The first drill I had the driver pull up to the rear of the station, pull an attack line off, and told the two females to throw a ladder to the roof, then climb it with the attack line. I started the stopwatch as they approached the pumper to pull the ladder. I stood there and watched as the girls struggled to get the ladder off the hooks. After a good 10 minutes of this, I stopped the drill. The driver and I had the ladder off the hooks and up in under 2 minutes. I was at another station when we took the engine out to service hydrants. I watched as a female struggled to take the 4 1/2 inch cap off to flow the hydrant. After a few minutes of her yanking on the hydrant wrench, then standing on it and jumping up and down on it, I told her to stop, and took it off in about 30 seconds. I spoke to the Battalion chief about it. He told me it was my job to train them to do it. He said, "They passed the academy, they should be able to do it." So, it has nothing to do with being open minded, and for the record, when it comes to that, I'm not. I put in a transfer immediately after the first incident.

Well, I have a very close family friend who was one of the first female firefighters in our city, began in the late 80s. She is 6-1, about 170 pounds of muscle and she can do anything any man can do. The rest of her female associates were just as strong and capable. I know plenty of her male firefighters that have worked with her and the other women for decades. Not a single one of them thinks they were below standard or less then a man on the job. Your example is one of being more selective in the academy and is not representative of women firefighters here in SoCal. These ladies kicked butt.

 

[What if...?]

I still want to know what do conservatives conserve?

The GOP is fighting like hell to try to get back to the fifties.

Without the unions, of course.

 

[bongsaway]

Without the unions, of course.

Amen.

 

[Waddy]

I was a captain in the FD. When I went to a new station, I would always put the crew through the paces, to see what I had to work with. My 2nd duty station as a Capt., was a single engine company with 2 men and 2 women, not counting myself. When one of the men were off, I had 2 women and a male driver. The first drill I had the driver pull up to the rear of the station, pull an attack line off, and told the two females to throw a ladder to the roof, then climb it with the attack line. I started the stopwatch as they approached the pumper to pull the ladder. I stood there and watched as the girls struggled to get the ladder off the hooks. After a good 10 minutes of this, I stopped the drill. The driver and I had the ladder off the hooks and up in under 2 minutes. I was at another station when we took the engine out to service hydrants. I watched as a female struggled to take the 4 1/2 inch cap off to flow the hydrant. After a few minutes of her yanking on the hydrant wrench, then standing on it and jumping up and down on it, I told her to stop, and took it off in about 30 seconds. I spoke to the Battalion chief about it. He told me it was my job to train them to do it. He said, "They passed the academy, they should be able to do it." So, it has nothing to do with being open minded, and for the record, when it comes to that, I'm not. I put in a transfer immediately after the first incident.

My experience was similar to yours. I owned a construction company. Over the years I had a couple of women who could definitely pull their weight with the guys. But generally, they just didn't have the physical strength or stamina. Funny thing is, the one or two women that could do the heavy lifting were the hardest on the ones who couldn't.

What women could do better than the guys was detail work. They just had much more patience than most guys. So I put them on things like trim, wallpaper and many complex painting jobs. All jobs requiring attention to detail more than speed or strength. I don't see how that would work at a fire department though.

 

[Individual]

I have always wondered why they claimed that title while running up trillions of dollars in debt.

Do Republicans just ignore the fiscal side of conservatism and focus on church, abortion, hating gays and other issues. Is that what conservatism means to republicans?

Do Republicans consider themselves Conservative?
While I can't really define myself as a Republican, Democrat, or supporter of any other political affiliation, I can easily be defined as a Conservative, who can at times be liberal within the means I posses, not religious, but tolerant of others religious views as long as they don't impose them on me, accepting ALL people as simply other humans regardless of race, colour, sex, gender, politics, etc., as long as they respect our equal right to live our individual lives without forceful imposition upon each other.

As I've said before, Liberal and Conservative, as I define them is simply the equivalent of wasteful and frugal.

Our government has become very Liberal, regardless of its' political affiliation at any moment of time.

 

[Felis Leo]

I define myself as a cultural and fiscal conservative. I also have some socially conservative leanings but I do not believe the government should be used to impose those viewpoints.

 

[mrdeltoid]

Well, I have a very close family friend who was one of the first female firefighters in our city, began in the late 80s. She is 6-1, about 170 pounds of muscle and she can do anything any man can do. The rest of her female associates were just as strong and capable. I know plenty of her male firefighters that have worked with her and the other women for decades. Not a single one of them thinks they were below standard or less then a man on the job. Your example is one of being more selective in the academy and is not representative of women firefighters here in SoCal. These ladies kicked butt.

You are absolutely right. The academy under our liberal administration here was more concerned with political correctness than hiring the most qualified applicant. I took the entrance test 5 times. Many of my friends did as well. Every now and then I would go visit the academy when they were running the physical strength and agility test. One part of it was lifting a 100 lb dummy, go up a flight of stairs, set it down, pick it up, turn around and carry it back down the stairs. The groups went from testing area to testing area. When the females got to the tough parts, the men were taken into a room and weren't allowed to watch. Like I said, I never had a problem with the woman that could do the job. I have a problem with hiring applicants that can't do the job. Male or female.

 

[mrdeltoid]

My experience was similar to yours. I owned a construction company. Over the years I had a couple of women who could definitely pull their weight with the guys. But generally, they just didn't have the physical strength or stamina. Funny thing is, the one or two women that could do the heavy lifting were the hardest on the ones who couldn't.

What women could do better than the guys was detail work. They just had much more patience than most guys. So I put them on things like trim, wallpaper and many complex painting jobs. All jobs requiring attention to detail more than speed or strength. I don't see how that would work at a fire department though.

You bring up a good point. There are a lot of very good female paramedics in the dept. Back in the day, we would put the men that seemed a little on the weak side on the medic. Now days the EMS is very technical . We had 2 female paramedics in my station. They were pretty good. They were not very strong, so a lot of times they would request an engine to assist with carrying the stretcher down steps, etc. I didn't mind too much, unless I was asleep in my bunk.

 

[Vadinho]

You are absolutely right. The academy under our liberal administration here was more concerned with political correctness than hiring the most qualified applicant. I took the entrance test 5 times. Many of my friends did as well. Every now and then I would go visit the academy when they were running the physical strength and agility test. One part of it was lifting a 100 lb dummy, go up a flight of stairs, set it down, pick it up, turn around and carry it back down the stairs. The groups went from testing area to testing area. When the females got to the tough parts, the men were taken into a room and weren't allowed to watch. Like I said, I never had a problem with the woman that could do the job. I have a problem with hiring applicants that can't do the job. Male or female.

Well hopefully they learned a lesson. I guess we were lucky over here.