Conservative/Liberal -- Republican/Democrat

[dawgball]

As mentioned several times I don't follow politics all that much, but I do read many of the posters here. If everyone can control the overposting, I would like to see everyone's opinion on the ONE fundamental thought that seperates Conservatives from Liberals and Democrats from Republicans. That will probably be two thoughts from each person. One for the political side and one for the idealogical side.

What got me thinking about this is that I would consider myself a Conservative and a Republican (neither on the fringe). Many people on here view me as a neo-con (insert definition here), but my wife's family (we've discussed before) view me as a liberal which I think is ludicrous (sp?).

So let's hear it.

1. What is the ONE most fundamental belief that would separate Liberals from Conservatives?
2. What is the ONE most fundamental belief that would separate Democrats from Republicans?

Please let's keep this conversation civil. No need to reply to another's opinion. I would actually just like to see everyone's thought without bashing or mud slinging.

 

[Chadman]

I think this is a great post. I will give it some thought and post mine today. Thanks for a thoughtful thread idea.

 

[SixFive]

conservative = views issues with a morality based background and uses that as a guide to help make decisions first then considers other information.

liberal = views issues on a humanitarian level first and foremost. If somebody is poor and needs help, help them. If somebody is sick and needs care, provide that care, etc. Decisions are made with this in mind first then other aspects are considered.

This does not mean that a conservative can solely make decisions based on morality (right/wrong) and won't consider other issues and the same goes for a liberal.

republican/democrat=whatever your father was, lol!! I think conservative/liberal are the better tags as the rep/dem tags are too broad and too old to keyhole a whole group of people. Not all republicans are conservative, and not all democrats are liberal. I would say most republicans areconservative, BUT, a smaller percentage of democrats are liberal, ie, there are a lot of conservative democrats. I would guesstimate that 80% of republicans are conservative and 60% of democrats are liberal.

Pre WWII times, I would venture to say that the majority of Democrats were conservative as was most of the nation. My grandfathers were staunch Democrats. Today, they would more than likely be Republicans. Party dynamics are vastly different, especially the leaderships.

 

[gardenweasel]

this is overly simplified...

traditionalistic/progressive...

nationalistic/globalist.....

capitalistic/socialistic...

religious/secular

of course these are "broad-brushed" generalizations that are never 100% accurate.. in some instances,these are contradictory...

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

Still trying to figure how to make answer short--
In agreement with Clint that few rebs would be liberal but maybe as much as 40% of Dems conservative.

Rebs/Dems
Be resposible/be resposible for those that are not responsible
Conservative/Liberal
Tradtion-values-will of people/ anything to diminish the preceding.

 

[StevieD]

A Conservative is someone who tries to preserve something they were against 10 years before.

Major difference I think is a conservative puts corporations before people while a liberal puts people before corporations.

 

[AR182]

my brief response is...

liberals are full of doom & gloom...

conservatives think that their way is the moral way.....sometimes for everybody else except themselves....

 

[smurphy]

conservative = outdated, uninventive, unenlightened, frightened of everything they are not familiar with.

liberal = vibrant, progressive, smart, thoughtful, with a slight tendency towards flip-floppiness.

:mj21: :mj21: :mj21:

 

[smurphy]

liberals are full of doom & gloom...

i'm afraid your confusing liberals with goths :s4:

 

[djv]

Latley it's hard to tell them apart. Some times they look and sound just oposite of tradition. Many times you find that in election year to help secure a win.

 

[dr. freeze]

Conservative:
1. believe in such things as self-reliance
2. independence, freedom from government
3. rewarding hard work and success,
4 believe in family values,
5. encouraging healthy living and charity,
6. believe that businessmen and doctors do more for us than trial lawyers
7. believe in helping the poor by providing incentive to achieve and pursue the American dream
8. believe that helping the poor is best achieved through teaching them how to work and providing their needs through charities with accountability
9. believe in property ownership and that ownership breeds good stewardship of the land
10. believe that we should have freedom of religion and to express our beliefs
11. believe that all men are created equal

Liberal:
1. believe in in such things as government-reliance, irresponsibility,
2. rewarding laziness and encouraging nonproductivity,
3. encouraging unhealthy ways of living and selfishness,
4. believe in no such thing as values or morals, think everyone would be best served bickering in court with each other
5. believe in prolonging poverty by keeping people down with handouts and disincentives to achieve
6. believe that any intolerant bigot against religion should be able to dictate how everyone else can express themselves
7. believe that unaccountable government programs are the way to save the poor (nice example of how well this works with the New Orleans population)
8. believe that poverty is a huge problem in America with absolutely no idea of its place in historical context (throughout history, having food a day in advance meant one was rich)
9. believe that government is best suited to divy up the land and that no one should own property
10. believe they can spend money and save it better than we can (perhaps the worst investment plan ever created is social security)
of course there are more, will get to them later
11. are racists as they believe in giving advantage to some based on one's skin color

 

[kosar]

Freeze,

It's simply amazing that there is not one bad thing you can cite about 'conservatives' and not one good thing about 'liberals.'

That's the number one sign of being brainwashed, just so you know.

 

[dr. freeze]

Freeze,

It's simply amazing that there is not one bad thing you can cite about 'conservatives' and not one good thing about 'liberals.'

That's the number one sign of being brainwashed, just so you know.

nah, its just that liberals are delusional

thats all

some of their intentions are good, but because of a lack of understanding of human nature, they are frankly not only ineffective, but counterproductive

 

[ferdville]

Liberals = Progressive ???????????????????????????????????

Welfare states, socialism = Progressive ???????????????

Progressive for ?????????????????????

However, that being said, mainstream in both liberal and conservative politicians is hardly discernable. Many lean in both directions - Bush a prime example. Good reason for a 3rd major party but that won't happen.

 

[IntenseOperator]

to boil it down for me.........

Less government

or

More government

 

[ferdville]

yes IO