Is the US more conservative or more liberal than the 1930s? (vanity)

self | 4/17/02 | TenthAmendmentChampion

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

I've pondered this question for a number of years since I woke up from being a stupid puke liberal and converted back to conservatism. That was in 1992.

Looking back at history, it's amazing how Socialist the government was in the 1930s, in FDR's cabinet. Some of them (including the vice president) were out and out Communists! Thank God for Harry Truman.

But overall, are we becoming more conservative (like Rush says, "We are winning.")? Or are we becoming more socialist, with more and more people buying into cultish ideas like the environmentalist lunacy? Do you see the kids (teens and twenty somethings) as more liberal, or are they more conservative, or even libertarian?

It seems the battle against socialism is becoming more overt, with news outlets like Fox News and the Internet, and a couple of conservative weeklies like the Washington Times taking on the ABCCBSNBCCNNWPNYT and succeeding! Do you think this trend reflects a hunger for more conservative outlook on daily news stories, and if so, are we winning?

[Cold Heat]

What are you trolling for tonight?

[Cold Heat]

socialism=political correctness

[RLK]

It must be understood the unemployment rate was at times 24% during the 30s. Many of those who were employed for 1/4 wages. Almost nobody understood anything about economics. There was panic in the streets. Many people were conservative, but were willing to try anything in desperation.

Several weeks ago Bill Clinton gave a speech saying he was dedicating the remainder of his life to redistributing the world's, with specific emphasis on America's, wealth. You can find the speech in a search here.

We all know Clinton is a Marxist madmad. Right. This statement ptoves it.

At nearly the same time our dear beloved Georgie Bush gave a speech declaring we had a duty to "share our wealth" with other nations. You can find the speech here. This speech didn't faze half the clucks on this forum who consider themselves strong conservatives. Forty-five years ago if a president said this there would be riots in the streets agains communism in the White House --and for good reason.

In the last 40 years we have given up massive amounts of personal rights in subjection to social servitude. Ten years ago at this time we were about to see the slaughter of what was for practical purposes a small village of people who had never hurt anybody at Waco, Texas. Nobody has been brought to justice over the issue to this time.

Rush is a pleasant person, but he is an ignorant blowhard. We are losing everything and every bottle.

[Cold Heat]

Fascism, by definition stems from the masses. It is more a function of liberalism. They use socialist type propaganda to irritate and exite the masses to do their bidding.

Now having said that, just who in this country would be more of a fascist? Bush (on homeland security) or Dasshole?(on stealing money from seniors and taking care of the rich first)

[dalereed]

This country is a socialist/communist sewer compared to the 30s and 40s that I grew up in and it's getting worse at an incredible speed.

[planter]

Steel tariffs, endless regulation, fiscal burden of government 2X greater than "Communist" China, etc. his one is hopefully obvious, if not: stem cells, sodomy laws, drug laws, attempts to state sponsor churches.

I agree that the steel tariffs and drug laws are bad ideas. The other claims are a bunch of nonsense, with the possible exception of stem cells. That issue is not as cut-and-dry as you would have us believe.

[CharacterCounts]

No. The thirties were just the start of a 50 year descent into big government. By the 70's the population pretty much accepted big government and and socialism economically. For example, John Kenneth Galbraith was the economist of record in the 70's and conservatives were ridiculed. The tide started changing in the 80's and has been picking up steam ever since. Today, at least enough people identify themselves as conservatives that the media provides some token conservative viewpoint.

We are not winning as Rush says, but we do have the momentum.

[FastCoyote]

Well, given that liberalism died long ago in this country, the choices remaining are Socialism and Fascism as represented Dems and Repubs. Generally speaking the Dems are far more conservative than the Repubs....knee jerk status quo, everytime...The Repubs are anti-free market, like to legislate morality, and practice a bizzare form of State controlled Capitalism

---

Well said, but it takes an encyclopedia to explain everything you have in there, so good luck convincing the uninformed.

[Cold Heat]

And Hitler was not a liberal?

[FastCoyote]

The one hope is that liberals can never win in free debate forums like the Internet or Talk radio. However, they thrive when allowed to present canned and spun news. The later form have been perfected by Donohue and Rather et. al.

[OK]

The way the term liberal is used to day is completely different than the historical use of the term. Today it means leftist, while historically it meant libertarian.

It is better to refer to the leftists as leftists instead of letting them get away with the softer and less accurate label of liberal.

[weikel]

Some of them are( and Im pretty PO'd at the party now myself) but to tar them all with that label makes me think you are from the DU.

[OK]

The scary thing about Fascism, is how well it works, and how popular it is in democracies.

Indeed. Not only that, but it is the preferred system in China, Russia, and the EU at this time. Democracy has morphed into fascism, while communism also morphed into fascism. The next step is to morph all of us into a global fascist government...

[Roy Tucker]

Not having been alive in the 1930s but being a keen student of history and a lot of respect for my parents who grew up in that era, I would say the following:

1. We are less free

2. The US is more statist than it was then

3. Political correctness dictates behavior far more today than it did then.

4. Socialism and communism were more in vogue then but welfare statism now dominates the landscape globally.

[Cold Heat]

In the simplest of terms, conservative thinking tends to hang on to the status quo with incremental changes to laws and policy.

Liberals go for every social change they can in order to please their supporters. They stay in office by promising a chicken in every pot.(for example)They use the publics inherent greed to fatten their own wallets regardless of where the money comes from.

I believe you think that Pat Buchannon is representative of conservative thinking or some thing.

Liberals are the only ones who would degenerate into marxist madman thinking.

Look at Hillery!