Rex, do you call GW Bush your president?

When you have a government so ridiculously right wing as ours (excepting the judicial branch) any movement moderate stae like Canada seems liberal.

 

Right wing and left wing are in the eye of the beholder, Supafan. I'm a pretty conservative guy. Therefore, when I look at global politics, it seems to me that every country in Europe and North America except the U.S., the U.K., and Canada has gone completely bonkers. But what works for the U.S, may not necessarily work for Belgium, France, or Canada. That's the beauty of self-govt. We get to decide. And the losers get to whine and seethe about how evil the ruling party is. C'est la vie!

Besides, as many have probably noticed, the terms "conservative" and "progressive" are misnomers. There has been a shift in U.S. politics. Think about it.

"Progressives" are usually those who want to see radical change in social institutions and shake up the status quo. "Conservatives" are generally seen as those who wish to conserve the current system and prevailing social norms. In the U.S., for at least the last 40 years, the Republicans have been the "conservative party", and the Democrats the self-proclaimed "progressive" party. And yet look at this.....

1) Democrats want to preserve social welfare constructs like Medicaid, welfare, affirmative action, public housing, Social Security, etc., in much the same forms that they are now. Republicans don't want to "conserve" them. They want these programs reformed, radically altered, and even want some abolished.

2) Democrats, the "progressives", want to preserve the same tax code we have now, with few changes. The GOP, the "conservatives", want serious changes to the tax code, and some advocate a brand new tax code, like a flat tax or condensed brackets.

3) Democrats want to preserve as much as possible the world political order of the '90s, with the U.S. being internationalist, deferring to the UN and world opinion, and being uninvolved in world affairs until called upon by NATO and the UN. They want very little change in U.S. policy, and would rather not rock the boat, even in the face of threats from Al-Qaida and North Korea and a very troubled Middle East. A very "conservative" viewpoint if you ask me. A segment of the GOP called "neo-conservatives," however, advocate radical change in the current global status quo as the only way to a better world. And since the U.S. is the global superpower, we are the ones who should start the ball rolling, which we have with Iraq and which we are continuing with strong stances against Iran and Syria and a new outlook on peace in the Holy Land (SA is a different story, but I address that in another thread). Most of the world is hostile to this change, because they fear uncertainty. But we are certain that this change is necessary to make the world safer. The United Nations is welcome to help us, but if they will not, we will do what is necessary to make the U.S. and the world safer.

4) The Democrats want to preserve and expand the changes in social morality that began in the late 60's and, in their opinion, led to a "freer," more open society. Segments of the GOP believe, however, that not all of these changes were necessarily for the better, and desire a new social code where citizens are expected to exercise freedom responsibly and respect is given to life and quality of life and the basic tenets of valuing family, neighbor, and community. With great freedom, comes great responsibility. After you ask yourself, "Can I do this?", you should then ask, "Should I do this?" The govt. should not merely sit on the sidelines in all this, but encourage greater civic morality in areas where it may impact the public health and greater good (i.e., religious conservatives advocating abstinence-only sex ed., recriminalization of adultery, recriminalization of abortion, etc.,etc.) Whereas Democrats believe religion has nothing to offer in the area of public life and want to continue the trend of excluding religious institutions from social affairs, the GOP sees these institutions as valuable partners in building better communities and a better nation. Hence, programs like the faith based initiatives.

These are just a few examples. There are many more. So, in the strictest definition of the word, who are the "Progressives" (those seeking social change) and who are the Conservatives (those seeking to preserve the status quo of the last generation or so)? You have to wonder. The GOP has not abandoned it's identity as a "conservative" party. It's just that things have changed so much in the last four years (to say nothing of the last 40 years), you have to wonder what is an American conservative these days?