I ***want*** to be a moderate to conservative Democrat

I want the day to come when, without making one iota of change to my personal philosophy, I can be seen as a conservative - or at least moderate - Democrat. I'm tired of being branded as a lefty lunatic, whack job, whackadoo, nutter, head case.

I believe in the government being fiscally responsible. I want a balanced budget. I want deficits eliminated.

I believe in lower taxes. I want taxes no higher than needed to support **only** necessary government programs and to keep the government working. I don't want any freebies for those who don't need them.

I believe it is government's responsibility to maintain a first rate military to defend our interests.

I believe in law and order and the rule of law.

I believe the Constitution is more important in our *civic* life than the Bible, the Torah, the Koran, or the works of L. Ron Hubbard.

I believe that the least of our citizens should be better off than the the best of the citizens in lesser countries.

..... and so much more.

In another thread of mine from yesterday (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2773710) I suggested a way for our brothers and sisters in the Green Party to join us in our efforts to bring our nation back to a state of reason. In that thread, someone suggested that liberals are at their best when challenged from the Left.

Wow! What a concept! THAT is exactly what I want to happen.

Imagine a world where a left wing whack job like me were suddenly the 'conservative!

I think of this and the song by Louis Armstong goes through my head ...... "What a Wonderful World"

and put the Constitution in a shredder and sell torture over the airwaves like it is toothpaste are the CONSERVATIVES! It would make one laugh if it wasn't so surreal.

we can be the moderates, but right now so many are so far to the right. It may take several steps and a bit of time to pull things back the the center.

it's really funny ...

if someone argues that we should eliminate wasteful government spending, somehow this usually gets attributed to conservatives ...

if someone like me argues that we should have all the defense we need but no more, i am labeled a lefty ... spending more than we need to on defense is nothing but corporate welfare and it weakens the country ...

what's funny is that position two gets called far left and yet it is totally consistent with position one ...

if we really dug down to issues that won't see the light of day in the country for a very, very long time, you and i would find some very deep disagreements ... at least i think we would ... but on 99% of what is being battled over today, the political spectrum is a myth ... it's pretense ... it's absurd ...

for example, is it far left or far right or moderate to want a balanced budget? the answer is just plain "no" ... it's just good fiscal policy ...

we sure are good at developing measurement tools like the "political spectrum" to help divide "the people" from themselves ...

:::wink:::

I have always said that the republicans in DC are more liberal than we are. They are for doing away with the constitution. They do not believe in fiscal discipline. They believe in shipping our jobs to China. They believe in bankrupting our country. They are against family values. how? By cutting down on benefits for poor families they are not supporting th families & by always trying to high jack the minimum wage increase. They do not want to address the issue of the illegal aliens inside the US because they want them to continue to be illegal & work for less. So I would currently say you are more conservative than those rats in DC.

Not nice to to to me early in the day, you scamp! (I should have known...)

Once again, nice post, Stinky. Very, very nice post.

TC
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2775206

Gotcha!

And thanks for getting what this post was about. Some may not have gotten it.

(Who said clowns can't be obtuse?)

the 'labels' applied to liberals and Democrats are born by conservative ideology. You can not have it both ways.

...(think Delay and Robertson on the opposite side) in order to make happen what the OP wants. The pendulum needs to swing, and hard.

NGU.

for all the people. Bushco's extreme conservatism and catering to the extremely rich is nothing we want to duplicate from the opposite side.

NGU.

And this clown still has hope.

You would fit right in.

I bet that 70% of Democrats I talk to say they are conservative. (I don't really know - maybe we should put that question on our next Democratic poll)

Not me though. Actually, I knew that our party (in Georgia) was in trouble after MCMLXIV.

And all those bumper stickers that said "AUH2O MCMLXIV" (Goldwater 1964).

It had been over 100 years since a Republican took Georgia, but take it he did.

I actually would NOT fit right in with them. I'm a lefty's lefty.

My *point* was that I want the whole damned political spectrum to come back to where it once was. The 'middle' today is to the far right of where Scoop Jackson was in the 60s and 70s.

changed.

the Neocons are making strange bedfellows, when what H2S, me and John Dean all think is "conservative" is the same. Heck, Bismark would probably be on our side, too (weird).

Dang it all, I want the Constitution back. And the true traitors cooling their heels in jail.

The new liberal is the old moderate.

Very good ideas you've expressed here, and thought-provoking!

If we were to really take seriously the polls showing what the majority of USians actually want, those of us considered the "wacko left" would absolutely be "moderate".

How in the world did we allow ourselves to be so bamboozled as to betray our roots, and lose touch with common folk, and strive for the common good?

We gotta get back on that train! And I think you're right.... bring in the ideas and energy and idealism from the Greens, and we're halfway there. :hi:

Thanks for the brain food!

:hippie:

You are not "...a lefty lunatic, whack job, whackadoo, nutter, head case...", you are just someone that is honest.
Much of this rhetoric is simply an effort to create an in-crowd, which involves the ridiculing of those not interested in your definition of what is 'cool.'
You would be amazed at how easily people will throw their principles away in order to have friends, and to not feel excluded.
It's fucking High School, all over again.

Man-o-man if that ain't the truth! Its as if we're rooting for the football team. The political debate has devolved from reason to blind loyalty, just like you felt in high school ..... for the school, for your clique, for your college fraternity, for the sports team you follow, for your social club, for your Nascar guy, for your ...... whatever. Team identification.

And I stopped giving a **** a while ago.
When you stand on your own two legs, the chicks dig you.
:D

I found something perfect for you... a little giftie to you from me!



:rofl:

Love Always,

TC

"My Favorite Liver Spot"

Wasn't that a top rated show in the early 60s?

:rofl:

Love back :)

damn does louis armstrong have the whitest teeth for an elderly person EVER! haha bet they arent even real =P