🚀 go-pugleaf

Ed Rhodes <edward.j.rhodes@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:HjJ7a.14666$8f7.2353@nwrdny02.gnilink.net...

I'm not going to respond point-by-point because this contest has been played
out millions of times on talk radio, the TV, and groups like this.  Also,
point-by-point gets tiring after a while.  The main thrust of my argument
that got lost amidst all the details is that "conservative mindset" and
"liberal mindset" are irrelevant.  What's right is right and what's wrong is
wrong (no pun intended).

Not that I'm a libertarian, but let me use them to illustrate my point.
They don't use "liberal vs. conservative" in their ideology.  Instead, they
use "statist vs. libertarian".  The result is that they support some ideas
that would be considered "liberal" such as unrestricted immigration and
abortion but they also support ideas that would be considered "conservative"
such as gun rights.

Can't resist one little point-by-point though:

>Being a "Democrat" (no matter what side of the Mason-Dixon line you're on.)
>does not make you a liberal. The actions of liberals to enact civil rights
>were bitterly opposed by conservatives who were both Democrat and
>Republican.

Uh-oh... semantics.

liberal, with a little 'l', sharing the same root as "liberty", one who
espouses the ideals of individual freedom.

Liberal, with a big 'L', commonly held to be the same as "leftist", one who
advocates socialism, commonly associated with the Democratic party.

conservative, with a little 'c', one who opposes change, prefers the status
quo.

Conservative, with a big 'C', one who advocates capitalism, reduction in
government services with a corresponding reduction in taxation,
deregulation, and (believe it or not) liberalism in the little-l sense,
commonly associated with the Republicans and sometimes the Libertarians.

Within both the Liberal and Conservative movements there is a schism between
holders of the ideals and holdes of the power.

Within Liberalism, for example, the anti-war faction probably resents the
fact that so many Democrats are supporting GWB on the war.

Within Conservatism, for example, we would like to see expanded property
rights for individuals as a form of deregulation but in practice the rules
are more likely to be removed for corporations with lobbiests than for joe
six-pack who wants to build a driving range on his land without being thrown
into jail by the County (yes, that happened right here in Virginia).

At any rate, I hope you aren't just playing with semantics here... it might
score you some wins in your high school forensics club, but beyond that it's
pretty lame.

--$teve