gopqed wrote:
What makes a person a "real" conservative?
As someone who looks in from the outside, I would be interested in finding out what a "real American conservative" is as well. In most countries, conservatives are still interested in measured social progress and don't glorify their personal advancement at the expense of the the whole or less fortunate. In the U.S. there are probably people who think along those lines but it seems to me "real conservatives" are now defined as:
- Those who believe in small government when it comes to determining their personal affairs (providing those affairs are currently successful) but want lots of government intervention in the affairs of people they disapprove of.
- Have no fixed ideology except that if the other side wants it, it must be bad even if it was good when they wanted it.
- Believe in the rule of law providing the law is interpretted according to how you want it at the time.
- Consider themselves to be Christians as long as they can bend God to their will and are not required to live by the actual teachings of Christ.
- Figure blowing a lot of people up should make them love you.
- When a corporation sends it's jobs overseas, blame the unemployed for being unemployed and then seek a tax cut for the corporation so that it can create more jobs - likely overseas.
- Claim personal responsibility but oppose corporate responsibility in the form of regulation.
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