Posted on 04/24/2020 10:06:34 PM PDT by kathsua
Conservatives should stop helping ultraconservative Democrats lie by agreeing with the Democrats' false claim that Democrats are liberals instead of ultraconservatives. Conservatives should also stop calling outdated Democratic ideas "progressive".
Conservatives, like many Americans, falsely believe there are only two political "attitudes" in the United States. One attitude is called "liberal". The other is called "conservative". There is a third attitude called "ultraconservative" which has at times adversely affected American society.
Real liberals are open-minded and sometimes overly optimistic about the positive impact of change. Democrats are closed-minded True Believers who tend to believe they are Right about everything and anybody who disagrees is Wrong. Democrats seem unable to comprehend the possibility of any other proposals than theirs. A real liberal believes his ideas will win over your ideas in a fair debate.
A real liberal who believed the global warming / climate change myth might believe warming would be desirable because it would create a longer growing season. A real liberal might belittle claims of climate disasters by suggesting the disaster claims represent ultraconservatives' exaggerated fears of change.
In 1861 ultraconservative southern Democrats started the Civil War. A century later ultraconservative southern Democrats were trying to block efforts by Republicans and liberal Democrats to end the south's rigid system of racial segregation.
Although liberal presidents such as Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy led the Democratic Party in the mid 20th Century, by the 21st Century ultraconservative racists were back in control. Pastor Clenard Childress, Jr. , Dr. Alveda King and Day Gardner accuse Democratic Party supported Planned Parenthood of "Black Genocide."
Conservatives who believe "liberal" is a bad name don't understand that many others [including most political journalists] don't consider "liberal" a bad name. Many journalists seem to think that American politics involves a contest between good guys and bad guys like a 50's tv western. Many also believe that "liberals" are the good guys and "conservatives" are the bad guys.
Most journalists have no idea what a "liberal" is but assume that the people conservatives call "liberals" are the ones they should support. Conservatives have no idea what a "liberal" is but falsely assume that the people who disagree with them must be "liberals". Conservatives don't consider the possibility one or both of them might have wrong information. If both had correct information they might agree.
The conversion of American liberals into ultraconservatives involves a process Friedrich Nietzsche described. "Liberal institutions straightway cease from being liberal the moment they are soundly established: once this is attained no more grievous and more thorough enemies of freedom exist than liberal institutions."
Once liberals create an institution they become protective toward their "baby". Liberal created regulatory agencies may become over zealous, Subsequent liberals may face opposition if they try to reform the institution.
Often one generation's liberals become the next generation's conservatives. Politicians who support old programs are some type of conservative: Thus, politicians who want to expand Medicare are conservatives.
Conservative Republicans need to recognize that they are in the middle between liberals and ultraconservatives. Or, conservative Republicans would be in the middle between liberals and ultraconservatives if the United States had any real liberals. Conservative Republicans aren't on the "far right" as Democrats falsely claim: : Conservative Republicans are actually in the American political main stream as were liberal Democrats such as Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy.
Republicans will have a better chance of winning if they stop helping ultraconservative Democrats lie by agreeing with the Democrats' false claim that Democrats are liberals instead of ultraconservatives.
Republicans should stop using the word "progressive" to describe Democrats or their old 20th Century proposals. Democrats use the term "progressive" because "progressive" is the political equivalent of the consumer product slogan "new and improved". Unfortunately many naive voters, especially young voters, don't understand that the term "progressive" is meaningless. Some politicians even call the archaic concept of socialism "progressive".
Words mean things and I disagree with this guy.
Just call them Progs. It doesn’t mean anything and has an appropriately ugly sound.
Nice read. Too bad it doesn’t mention the real problem.......corruption.
The words liberal, conservative, progressive, left, right are meaningless.
Big Government, Small Government are two terms that mean something. Then we can further divide who is for big government on immigration. Who is for small government in the bedroom. Etc.
To the oppressed, the various tyrants all feel rather similar.
Too confusing. People redefine and reconsider the political spectrum in ways that advance their own ideologies. After a while, it can seem a waste of time. But you have to at least start out by being clear about what you’re saying and making sense.
Doesn’t sound conservative either. The word “conservative” implies holding on to established good and holding back societal evil, which communism is inherently.
As for “liberal”, that has been a synonym for “libertine” for a very long time anyhow, even if the etymology is flawed in that case.
I’ve seen them referred to as the new puritans and regressive too.
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