Posted on 08/23/2011 4:46:35 PM PDT by madmominct
Last night I got into a huge discussion with a liberal drone who thought he knew everything (don't they all?). Among his claims were that Hobbes was the father of Conservatism - who was an elistist who felt that people should be ruled by a strong government and allowed to participate as little as possible. He also claimed that Reagan was the first president to take money out of social security. He also kept referring to something called the "happiness index" and claimed that according to this index, people in Western Europen socialist democracies are the happiest. I intend to look this stuff up myself, but thought I might put it out there and see if there are some thoughts/arugments I could make and good websites for solid data. This guy also felt that money is the biggest problem in government - especially campaigns, and that the Supreme Court just passed something that will allow big corporations to donate unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns and that Republicans are responsible for more campaign money than Democrats - in spite of Soros. Needless to say, I had a headache after talking with this guy. Any thoughts, sources, websites appreciated!
The father of modern Conservatism would be Barry Goldwater.
>>He also kept referring to something called the “happiness index” and claimed that according to this index, people in Western Europen socialist democracies are the happiest.<<
Tell him to go to Western Europe — that will increase his happiness index and increase the USA happiness index as well.
Or maybe William F. Buckley?
Yes...Goldwater - and Buckley too, no? But it seems to me that as far as the true father of Conservatism - wouldn’t that be Edmund Burke? It seems to me that Levin has talked about Hobbes negatively and described Burke as the father of Conservatism.
“Tell him to go to Western Europe — that will increase his happiness index and increase the USA happiness index as well.”
Good point. Why do these people never go live in these wonderful utopias they so love to tout?
My thoughts: get a new friend.
Lol...he wasn’t my friend, but a friend of a friend. She had warned me about him, and I had promised not to get into it with him, but he brought up politics and it was downhill from there...
“and that Republicans are responsible for more campaign money than Democrats”
Obama raised multiple millions from credit card donations under $25. I heard some guy from the middle east named Mickey Mouse donated $25 more than 200 times.
Hobbes was a monarchist which hardly makes him a conservative.
There was never any money to take out of Social Security by design so the question is a non-sequitur.
:-)
I agree with all you say. You could also say Ayan Rand because she was a great inspiration to Buckley.
Aristotle, the true father of the individual mind.
The father of conservative philosophy is Edmund Burke, the father of the modern American conservative movement is William F. Buckley, “Standing athwart history, yelling STOP!”
Reagan signed the first ever tax on SS benefits. Clinton increased the taxable amount from 50% to 85%.
+1, now go back to who Rand was inspired by.
The founders of conservatism are our Founding Fathers...per the Constitution. Nuff said.
To every bald assertion of a liberal twit, your response should be, “I don’t believe that for a minute. Show me the data. And ‘everyone knows’ doesn’t count.”
"If money is the root of all evil, what is the root of all money?"- Ayn Rand
Money is just a tool. Who uses it and how it is used is a reflection of the user. You can't blame the user.
correction, you can’t blame the tool...
Mises and Smith, but I intended to limit this to modern conservativism because I didn’t think the lady was looking for history lesson on free market economic theory.
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