Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

themaguffin

(3,826 posts)
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 06:20 PM Mar 2014

Conservative is the dirty word & the root of the problem

Conservatives and their polices have caused great damage.

With the help of the conservative media. Btw, the conservative media is the vast majority of the media, not the fringe.

It's long past time that "conservative" became the label that conservatives applied to liberals... because in the reality, it's them
that have caused so much and in fact INTEND to cause harm.

We all know this. Many things are devices that the have used as means to their ends. Religion, economic policy etc etc


10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

reformist2

(9,841 posts)
1. Conservatism is a necessary counterbalance to liberalism. They are usually wrong - but not always.
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 06:22 PM
Mar 2014

And the times they are right, they are hugely valuable to society.

MurryMom

(107 posts)
5. Definition of "conservative"
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 06:38 PM
Mar 2014

Being conservative used to mean supporting a balanced budget; conserving natural resources; and a cautious approach to international relations. But not any more. So-called conservatives are radicals who oppose the 14th Amendment, want a flat tax, support wars in the Middle East, and expect drilling for oil to solve the country's energy problems.

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
4. that's a narrow view of political possibilities
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 06:36 PM
Mar 2014

Conservatives in the U.S. would be considered something like fascists in other western democracies, while what is called "liberal" in the U.S. is aligned with "conservative" in other western democracies.

So, by saying we need conservatism as it exists in the U.S. means you're saying we need a fascist-minded political party here.

I entirely disagree.

Obama himself has admitted he would be considered a moderate Republican in the 1980s.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/272957-obama-says-his-economic-policies-so-mainstream-hed-be-seen-as-moderate-republican-in-1980s

So, in this nation you have liberals and more left than liberal citizens who have a choice of voting for an ideology that aligns with Republicanism or Christofascists (because the Republican Party has been co-opted by the most IGNORANT members of this society until it really bears little to no resemblance to the Republican Party since the 1950s. In the 1950s, the President of this nation, a Republican, was more open to govt. investment than some Democrats, and more than any Republican.

This nation has a long, long history of flirtation with fascism.

That's not a political stance I want to see represented in the U.S.

On the other hand, it's impossible for an actual liberal to win the nomination for a democrat because of this ignorant, knee-jerk, fundamentalist stupidity that is supported in this nation by the politicians who cater to them and who are complicit in making this nation an embarrassment.

This nation is more liberal than either party realizes, and certainly more than either party governs.

http://www.democracyjournal.org/arguments/2013/09/politicians-think-american-voters-are-more-conservative-than-they-really-are.php

When we compare what legislators believe their constituents want to their constituents’ actual views, we discover that politicians hold remarkably inaccurate perceptions. Pick an American state legislator at random, and chances are that he or she will have massive misperceptions about district views on big-ticket issues, typically missing the mark by 15 percentage points.

What is more, the mistakes legislators make tend to fall in one direction, giving U.S. politics a rightward tilt compared to what most voters say they want. As the following figures show, legislators usually believe their constituents are more conservative than they actually are. Our attitude measurements are most accurate on the questions about same sex marriage and universal health insurance – and in both instances the legislators’ guesses about their constituents’ views were 15-20 percent more conservative, on average, than the true public support for same-sex marriage or universal health care present in their districts.

Our study also found that politicians don’t learn in the normal course of events. After November 2012, we posed the same questions again to some candidates. Even after conducting campaigns and seeing the results, politicians did not arrive at more accurate perceptions of constituent views—not even those who had spent more time talking to voters. Much remains to be learned about why U.S. legislators think constituents are more conservative than they truly are, but researchers have found that politically active citizens tend to be wealthier and more conservative than others. Politicians who want to represent all the people in their districts need to keep this in mind.


Just another way our government is not really representative of its citizens at all.

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
7. so you agree that we don't need conservatives
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 06:44 PM
Mar 2014

at least not as they are currently defined.

If Obama represents conservatism for this nation, what voice to liberals have in this nation - when we are the majority of the population, when Republicans have gerrymandered voting districts to give them seats in the House - even when they do not represent the majority opinion - and this in the political body that is supposed to be most responsive to the will of the voter?

We have a simulacrum of representative democracy, but not actual representative democracy.

reformist2

(9,841 posts)
9. We DO need conservatives. We don't have any, is what I'm saying.
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 06:53 PM
Mar 2014

The people you are calling conservatives are not conservative. They are reactionaries, lunatics, and worse.

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
10. so the Republican Party needs to disappear
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 07:59 PM
Mar 2014

and the Democrats who are on the conservative end of the spectrum can represent conservatism, then those who are more liberal will be able to form a party in opposition to non-freakin-insane Talibornagains and the pols who love them...

...okay, we're in agreement! lol

Frankly, the current Republican Party seems like a political vestigial organ that is of no use to modern politics but sometimes sends the body politic to the emergency room when they infect the political discourse.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Conservative is the dirty...