What's wrong with today's conservatism

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Gerald McGrew
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What's wrong with today's conservatism

Post by Gerald McGrew » Fri Jan 04, 2013 5:35 pm

I read the following from conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer, and IMO it ended up being a good representation of some of the main problems with today's conservatives.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ ... tid=pm_pop

Return of the real Obama
He’s [Obama] a visionary, not an accountant. Sure, he’ll pretend to care about deficits, especially while running for reelection. But now that he’s past the post, he’s free to be himself — a committed big-government social democrat.
First problem, and a long-running one at that: Conservatives act as if they've always "cared about deficits", when in reality it's been conservatives (including their patron saint, Ronald Reagan) who have racked up most of the largest deficits in post WWII history. Under both Reagan and W. Bush, we got massive increases in gov't spending coupled with large tax cuts, mostly for the wealthy...IOW, big deficits. But are Bush and Reagan decried and denounced by today's conservatives? Not at all. Reagan has become a pop idol and conservative groups put up "Miss me yet" billboards with W. Bush on them!
After perfunctory nods to debt and spending reduction, he waxed enthusiastic about continued “investments” — i.e., spending — on education, research, roads and bridges, green energy, etc.

Having promised more government, he then promised more taxes — on “millionaires” and “companies with a lot of lobbyists,” of course. It was a bold affirmation of pre-Clintonian tax-and-spend liberalism.
Here we see that today's conservatism is actually against education, research, roads, and renewable energy. And what do they pit them against? Tax rates on the rich. So to today's conservatives, it's more important that the Koch brothers pay lower taxes than the rest of us, than are schools, science, roads, and renewable energy.
He’s already created the largest new entitlement in half a century (Obamacare).
First, the ACA is not an "entitlement". We're paying for it. Second, Obamacare was specifically modeled after Romneycare in Mass. and a proposal developed by a conservative think tank in the 1990's (in response to "Hillarycare"). But now all of a sudden it's a terrible thing...a massive entitlement to the "welfare class"?
And he has increased federal spending to an astronomical 24.4 percent of GDP (the postwar norm is about 20 percent), a level not seen since World War II.
This is just simple math and shows that Krauthammer is either rather stupid, or is relying on his audience to be so. "Spending as a percentage of GDP" requires two variables: spending and GDP. Even if federal spending remains the same, if GDP drops Krauthammer's dreaded percentage goes up. And given that Obama inherited the biggest economic collapse since the great depression, it's not surprising to see this percentage rise. In fact, it would be pretty draconian if it didn't.
But this level of spending requires a significantly higher level of taxation. Hence his hardball fiscal-cliff strategy of issuing an ultimatum to Republicans to raise tax rates — or be blamed for a massive across-the-board tax increase and a subsequent recession.
Again, it's as if W. Bush never existed. Were the conservatives like Krauthammer crying about having to raise taxes to pay for the Iraq invasion orthe prescription drug benefit that Congressional Republicans and W. Bush authorized? Nope. Conservatives actually cut taxes, and thus we find ourselves here and now.

The rest of the article is little more than paranoid conservatism (Obama won't be happy until there is no upper class).

So in sum, we see in one article: massive revisionist history, anti-education, anti-science, anti-infrastructure, anti-renewable energy, deception (or really bad math skills), hyper-partisanism (hating their own ideas if Dems propose them), and overall paranoia.

That is your Republican party folks.
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Re: What's wrong with today's conservatism

Post by MrJonno » Fri Jan 04, 2013 6:41 pm

So in sum, we see in one article: massive revisionist history, anti-education, anti-science, anti-infrastructure, anti-renewable energy, deception (or really bad math skills), hyper-partisanism (hating their own ideas if Dems propose them), and overall paranoia.
That pretty much sums up current American conservatism but you also missed out religion which is just one big dumming down factor as well.
I no conservative and generally dislike them but no one would accuse David Cameron the British conservative leader of being any of those (he is no more deceptive than any other politician), Cameron is so pro marriage he wants gay people to get married (which is actually quite logical)
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Re: What's wrong with today's conservatism

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:22 pm

:blah:
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Re: What's wrong with today's conservatism

Post by Svartalf » Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:59 pm

Basically everything?
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Re: What's wrong with today's conservatism

Post by macdoc » Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:13 am

There was an interview with Colin Powell post election and another of his friends high up in the military about why they, as Republicans voted for Obama.
They are flat out disgusted by the far right including the RR and the Teapots.
Nancy Eisenhower bailed even before Obama was elected the first time.

There is no space it seems for small c conservatives. And it's drifting that way in Canada as well :(
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Re: What's wrong with today's conservatism

Post by pErvinalia » Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:46 am

What's wrong with it?... It's full of conservatives, of course. :tea:
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Re: What's wrong with today's conservatism

Post by pErvinalia » Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:52 am

macdoc wrote:There was an interview with Colin Powell post election and another of his friends high up in the military about why they, as Republicans voted for Obama.
They are flat out disgusted by the far right including the RR and the Teapots.
Nancy Eisenhower bailed even before Obama was elected the first time.

There is no space it seems for small c conservatives. And it's drifting that way in Canada as well :(
Democrats are the small-c conservatives
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Re: What's wrong with today's conservatism

Post by macdoc » Sat Jan 05, 2013 4:56 am

To a point in America as the whole specturm is shifted right compared to most first world nations.
But it still holds to a
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Re: What's wrong with today's conservatism

Post by Svartalf » Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:05 am

rEvolutionist wrote:What's wrong with it?... It's full of conservatives, of course. :tea:
and toxic additives
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