How did you become a conservative/liberal?

[Tiger in Spain 0]

When and why did you make your choice?

I'll go first (since I started the topic). I had liberal propaganda shoved down my throat throughout most of my primary and secondary schooling years w/o hearing the other side of the story. Once I got the information about the other side, I realized that liberals were nothing but lying, sneaky, arrogant, backstabbing, hypocrites.

I'm a conservative, simply because I realize how lucky I am to live in the United States. Leftists feel they are owed the privelege of living here, then they feel they are owed even more, like the right to destroy from within.

I'm the perfect example of that Winston Churchill quote "...if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no sense." Having kids, PAYING TAXES, watching the country's morals go down the sewer during the Clinton years, viewing the incredible double standards that the left lambasts us all with every day, all this inexorably pushed me to the right. I was content to live my life as a member of "the silent majority" at that point. Then the 2000 elections happened. No matter what anyone tells you, the democrats and the media did everything they could to subvert the rule of law in America. Thank God that their repugnant agenda was too preposterous to carry out - but it won't be if conservatives don't stand up, speak out, and make things happen. 9/11 was an incredibly tragic exclamation point to my realization that American conservatism is the only right way.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

"hello...my name is CT and i'm a conservative."

i've often wondered how two different groups (lefties and righties) emerged, and i've come to the following conclusions:

we're not as different as some people think on what we want...we differ as to how to get there.

couple that statement with perhaps a different prioritization of issues, and you end up with seemingly (and sometimes true) differences.

now, there are some things about which we truly differ (abortion, e.g.) but i think those are just a few.

i'm a conservative because i believe in less gov't...i believe in individuals' ability...i believe in private sector social programs, and i'm not a socialist.

[Donutboy 0]

That's a tough one!! Where does one get their core beliefs? I believe in fiscal responsibility; therefore I'm a liberal. I'm all for tax cuts but I think they should come when we can afford them; either that or coupled with spending cuts. 1/3 of our budget is interest on the debt. If we pay off the debt first and eliminate that interest, we can have massive tax cuts without spending cuts. I'm definitely against deficit spending on such a grand scale as we're curently seeing.

Abortion rights? I'm personally against abortion but I'm also against government making the decision for us. I think there are times when, as gutwrenching a decision as it may be, abortion is the best choice. A YOUNG teen, RAPE, INCEST, etc....

Gay rights? Again, I'm against government deciding our morality. I was once as anti-gay as anyone on this forum but when you work with gays and have one in your extended family, you come to understand them better. I personally don't think becoming gay is a personal choice. I haven't met a one that didn't want to be straight, IMHO.

Social Security? I think those that live a long, productive life in the workforce deserve to be able to retire with something guaranteed. The folks at Enron and other recent bankruptcies lost everything. Without the safety net of Social Security, they would be doomed to a lifetime of work with no retirement. Do I think everyone should depend on Social Security as the sole source for their retirement? No. I contribute the first 10% of my paycheck to a PSP where I work and ANYONE reading these words can do the same.

Civil Rights? I support them to a degree. I don't believe in quotas but I also believe that a comapny with obvious hiring biases should be held accountable if lawsuits are brought against them. If XYZ Sprockets hires 250 employees and their workforce is almost exclusively black, white, Hispanic, etc., and there have been ample qualified applicants of other races, I think they should be able to answer why. I would make exceptions to the rule for ethnic companies (such as Greek restaurants) or groups dedicated to the advancement of their own membership. NAACP, AARP, Christian Coalition, etc... I mean what good would come from lawsuits against such groups? You know you're not black and a white or oriental wouldn't truly represent the NAACP, anymore than a Muslim or a Jewish person would the Christian Coalition.

Environment. I believe in leaving the world as I found it or to better it. Too many people don't care about the future of our environment, from poison's poured into our water and air, to the extermination of entire species. I believe that we can work in a clean environment and instead of lowering OUR standards to that of the ones who openly pollute our world, if they want to trade with us, they need to raise their standards.

Gun issue. I believe every person of age in every home should be able to defend themselves. I believe every home should have access to a gun, if they want one. However, I don't believe you need an Uzi to protect your home. I don't believe you need armor-piecing bullets to hunt deer. I believe that if you have a criminal record or a record of questionable mental health, the government has the right to keep a gun out of your hands.

Flag amendment? I believe in our nation and the freedoms it was based on. As abhorrent as I might find someone burning our nation's flag, I find it more abhorrent to make a law to stop him. It's amazing that we would make a law banning flag burning but not Bibles or religious images.

I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

Wouldn't banning flag desecration, but allowing Christ image desecration, violate the First and Second commandmants? JMHO.

Ten Commandments, prayer in school, etc.... Everyone has the right to pray in school. I repeat, everyone has the right to pray in school. The only thing that is banned is government-sponsored prayer. As a representative of the school (a government body), a teacher or principal can't lead their students in a prayer. Ten Commandments? Allowing the display of a "Christian-Only" symbol would violate the rights of Agnostics, Jews, Muslims and every other religion of the nation. If our laws were based on the Ten Commandments, (Actually only 2, possibly 3 commandments are law) why not simply post the laws based on the Ten Commandments?

Tax Code? I think the easiest and best would be a flat rate. You make X-dollars, you pay X-percent. The first thing that would have to be done would be a complete overhaul of the current tax code, eliminating ALL tax deductions. THEN, I'd include a provision that EVERY tax deduction would have to be approved by the American voters in a referendum. The biggest problem with our current tax code is there are WAY too many tax loopholes for those willing to grease the pockets of politicians. If the legislators couldn't simply pass a tax loophole without it passing a referendum, I think you'd see more people paying their fair share.

I KNOW I'm forgetting some things but when you look at the issues that I mentioned and MY thoughts on them, you can see that I have a more liberal than conservative thought pattern and that would be what makes me a liberal.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

You may want to go see a doctor there Donut, you sound pretty conservative to me. With those views, I doubt you'd be invited to too many DNC dinners.

[Donutboy 0]

"hello...my name is CT and i'm a conservative."

i've often wondered how two different groups (lefties and righties) emerged, and i've come to the following conclusions:

we're not as different as some people think on what we want...we differ as to how to get there.

couple that statement with perhaps a different prioritization of issues, and you end up with seemingly (and sometimes true) differences.

now, there are some things about which we truly differ (abortion, e.g.) but i think those are just a few.

i'm a conservative because i believe in less gov't...i believe in individuals' ability...i believe in private sector social programs, and i'm not a socialist.

BTW, I'm much more along the beliefs of CT than TIS. I don't think either side is out to destroy our country. I don't think anyone's ever been brainwashed to the "liberal" slant. Hell, if anything, it was the other way around when I went to school. We had to recite the pledge of Alegiance every moring and we had to chant the same prayer every day before we could go to lunch. (God is great. God is good. Let us thank him for our food.)

Democrats controlled our country for the better part of 40+ years before the advent of Reagan Democrats and the New South. We didn't do too bad during that time. The fifties and the sixties were some of the best we've enjoyed as a nation; more carefree, fewer problems. Do I think that was a result of the Democrats controlling Congress? Of course not. Nor do I think the troubles we're seeing today are because of the Republicans controlling everything. It's just synonimous with the times.

Everyone has the same goals for our nation. We just have different ideas of how to get there. Everyone wants less government but everyone has differing views on what government should control and what freedoms everyone should enjoy.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

but would you agree, donut, that the dems of those decades differ somewhat from the dems of today?

another question:

you've never met a gay man who wouldn't rather be straight...is that what i read you say? that's very interesting...i'm gonna have to ask my gay cousin that question...an intriguing thing indeed.

ct

[Donutboy 0]

but would you agree, donut, that the dems of those decades differ somewhat from the dems of today?

another question:

you've never met a gay man who wouldn't rather be straight...is that what i read you say? that's very interesting...i'm gonna have to ask my gay cousin that question...an intriguing thing indeed.

ct

On the gay issue, I've never asked one that nor been told that outright. It's just a gut feeling I get when talking with them. Again, that also might just be my bias showing through. I mean, why WOULD someone CHOOSE to live a gay lifestyle if they were attracted to the opposite sex? Choosing to be gay is just something that I can't see or understand. I have been told that it's not a conscious decision to be gay, it's just who they are. From that, I deduce that they'd rather be straight. Again, JMHO.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

but would you agree, donut, that the dems of those decades differ somewhat from the dems of today?

Very much so!! Up until the late 60's, they placed the good of America ahead of everything else. Today, they could care less about what happens, or so it seems.

[Donutboy 0]

but would you agree, donut, that the dems of those decades differ somewhat from the dems of today?

Very much so!! Up until the late 60's, they placed the good of America ahead of everything else. Today, they could care less about what happens, or so it seems.

Au Contraire, my friend. The Democrats of old were just like the Democrats of today. Who do you think created Social Security, Welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, the TVA, FDIC, etc...? It sure wasn't the Republicans. They fought him tooth and nail on the program.

Conservatives today claim that the Democrats of today are nothing like the Democrats of old. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of the most, if not the most, liberal presidents in our nation's history and he forced the Republicans to pass a referendum to keep him from running for president a fifth time. It was a needless referendum as he died in his fourth term in office.

Read your history and see the role that FDR played in passing the most new government programs of any president before or since, the New Deal. He inherited a nation that was rocked by the stock market crash caused by the "trickle down economics" of his predecessor and immediately went to work convincing the nation that "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." We could learn a lesson just from that simple statement today.

[Jenny AU-92 0]

Conservatives today claim that the Democrats of today are nothing like the Democrats of old. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

It isn't just Conservatives today saying this - read anything Zell Miller, a lifelong Democrat, has written lately. Southerners as a whole are starting to agree with this too. That is why people like Richard Shelby can switch parties and still get re-elected. That's why the more southern governors are Republican than Democrat. That is why GWB won the entire South in the 2000 election, including Gore's home state of Tennessee - Al Gore was only the third Democrat since the Civil War to lose every state in the Old Confederacy, plus two border states. In the 1940 election, the same exact states were solidly Democratic. 1940 Election Map

Part of the problem is that the Democratic party cares too much about special interests, generally special interests that have no commonality with much of America today, ESPECIALLY in the South.

Zell Miller Puts It Best

He writes that “in the eyes of Middle America,” Democrats have “become a value-neutral party.” He arrives at that conclusion as a Southerner, a Dixie devotee. “The biggest problem with the party leadership is that they know nothing about the modern South,” he asserts.  Miller’s case is built on the fact that today’s Democrats struggle in the South during the general election. And he warns that no member of the Democratic leadership can effectively campaign in the South in 2004. Even more, trying to win the U.S. Senate seats Democrats now hold in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and his own Georgia seat (he’s not running for re-election) will be tough. Miller’s reason: “The poor reputation and the record of the national Democratic party. … Southerners believe the national Democratic Party does not share their values. They do not trust the national party with their money or the security of the country.” Miller’s attacks on his own party get personal, down-home and dirty:  “Democrats have never seen a snail darter they didn’t want to protect, but sometimes I think the one endangered species they don’t want to save is the Southern conservative Democrat.”  “If this is a national party, sushi is our national dish. If this is a national party, surfboarding has become our national pastime. These people leading our party and those asking to lead our country are like a bunch of naïve fraternity boys who don’t know what they don’t know.” “The special interest groups have come between the Democratic Party and the people,” he writes. “The Party is no longer a link to most Americans. Each advocacy group has become more important than the sum of the whole. So, bang the drum slowly and play the fife lowly, for the sun is setting over a waiting grave.”

Today's Democratic party is nothing like the party of FDR. And democratic candidates of today are also nothing like FDR. They don't have his vision. Today's candidates cannot even agree amongst themselves as to an agenda and a platform for their own party.

[Donutboy 0]

Conservatives today claim that the Democrats of today are nothing like the Democrats of old. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

It isn't just Conservatives today saying this - read anything Zell Miller, a lifelong Democrat, has written lately. Southerners as a whole are starting to agree with this too. That is why people like Richard Shelby can switch parties and still get re-elected. That's why the more southern governors are Republican than Democrat. That is why GWB won the entire South in the 2000 election, including Gore's home state of Tennessee - Al Gore was only the third Democrat since the Civil War to lose every state in the Old Confederacy, plus two border states. In the 1940 election, the same exact states were solidly Democratic. 1940 Election Map

Part of the problem is that the Democratic party cares too much about special interests, generally special interests that have no commonality with much of America today, ESPECIALLY in the South.

Zell Miller Puts It Best

He writes that “in the eyes of Middle America,” Democrats have “become a value-neutral party.” He arrives at that conclusion as a Southerner, a Dixie devotee. “The biggest problem with the party leadership is that they know nothing about the modern South,” he asserts.  Miller’s case is built on the fact that today’s Democrats struggle in the South during the general election. And he warns that no member of the Democratic leadership can effectively campaign in the South in 2004. Even more, trying to win the U.S. Senate seats Democrats now hold in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and his own Georgia seat (he’s not running for re-election) will be tough. Miller’s reason: “The poor reputation and the record of the national Democratic party. … Southerners believe the national Democratic Party does not share their values. They do not trust the national party with their money or the security of the country.” Miller’s attacks on his own party get personal, down-home and dirty:  “Democrats have never seen a snail darter they didn’t want to protect, but sometimes I think the one endangered species they don’t want to save is the Southern conservative Democrat.”  “If this is a national party, sushi is our national dish. If this is a national party, surfboarding has become our national pastime. These people leading our party and those asking to lead our country are like a bunch of naïve fraternity boys who don’t know what they don’t know.” “The special interest groups have come between the Democratic Party and the people,” he writes. “The Party is no longer a link to most Americans. Each advocacy group has become more important than the sum of the whole. So, bang the drum slowly and play the fife lowly, for the sun is setting over a waiting grave.”

Today's Democratic party is nothing like the party of FDR. And democratic candidates of today are also nothing like FDR. They don't have his vision. Today's candidates cannot even agree amongst themselves as to an agenda and a platform for their own party.

The political map in the South grew out of this region's (for lack of a better word) hatred of the black man. Before JFK/LBJ and the Civil Rights Acts, the South was solidly Democratic because we viewed the Republican party (Lincoln's party) as the party that was pro-black. The Republicans knew how to milk it then and are still milking the politics of division today, making issues such as "Welfare Mom" and "Willie Horton" major issues in presidential campaigns in the South vs. Real issues such as the economy or the environment. Do you think it's a coincidence that the Republicans are going to make Gay Marriage the primary issue in 2004?

BTW, You can cover your eyes and pretend that FDR was a conservative, but his record speaks for itself. There were more government agencies created during his first term in office than in any other president's entire tenure.

[Streyeder 0]

I use this thing called a brain, along with half of the rest of the country. I believe if the other half used it then the rest of the nation would be as conservative as I am.

[ugababe117 0]

Republican all the way baby!!!!

[Donutboy 0]

I use this thing called a brain, along with half of the rest of the country. I believe if the other half used it then the rest of the nation would be as conservative as I am.

Actually, according to a number of polls, the majority of Americans are more liberal than conservative. Unfortunately, those are also the ones less likely to vote. Most Americans support Gun control. Most Americans support the right of a woman to choose. Most Americans support the equal rights of ALL people. Most Americans are for fiscal responsibility/balanced budget. Most Americans think clean air and water is more important than industrial profits. I could go down the list but most Americans when asked if they're liberal or conservative, pick conservative. However, when asked a set of policy issues, most respondents pick the more liberal answer. It all goes back to NPR and brainwashing 101.