The Sad Demise of American "Conservatism"

[RBInMaine]

Whatever happened to American conservatism? "Conservative" once meant just that: to conserve. In the earlier Republican Party tradition, it meant conserving our finances, conserving over-arching federal governmental power, conserving American traditions and ideals, conserving the environment, and conserving the U.S. role in international affairs. It meant the advancement of liberty and the manifestation of American ideals through progress, innovation, and reform socially, industrially, and governmentally. This was the "conservatism" of the likes of Lincoln, T.R., and Eisenhower. Indeed, the brand of conservatism W ran on in 2000 harkened back to this brand: "No nation-building. Working across the aisle. Reforming Washington. 'Compassionate conservatism.' "... So what did we get? We got pro-rich, anti-everyone else corrupt corporate economics. We got fiscal irresponsibility that could make a billly goat sick. We got warped, twisted, anti-Democratic policies ranging from consolidating the executive power beyond measure to entirely anti-conservative federal overreach. We got a go-it-alone, coyboyist, imperial-oriented foreign policy. We got corruption and outright criminality. We got convoluted notions of Christian thinking (which should never have been part of the policy dialogue in the first place). (Tell me, Mr. "Christian" President and you so-called "Christian" Republicans: Just how many countries did Jesus Christ want us to invade? Just how many women and children did Jesus want us to bomb? Just how many corrupt corporate executives did Jesus want writing our laws? Just how much destruction did Jesus want us to wreak on the natural environment? To what extent did Jesus want one American divided from another? How many horrible lying attack ads did Jesus want you to run?...)

Indeed, the Democrats are far more "conservative" than those on the other side who claim to be "conservative." The Republicans have become nothing more than a mass of warped, radical, reactionary, neocon, pro-corporate, ultra-right wing ideologues of the worst kind bent on lying, stealing, and screwing the American public and their very ignorant own rank-and-file so they can continue to consolidate power and money at the expense of everyone and everything. They are void of conscience. They are void of morality. And they are entirely void of American "conservatism".

[dtotire]

1. The Bush People aren't Conservative

They should be labeled "Reactionaries". Real conservatives would favor a sound fiscal policy, a more isolationist foreign policyh.