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That's interesting but have you considered that a majority of Presidential terms have been filled by Republicans since WWII. In fact no Democrat since Roosevelt, except Clinton, has won re-election (Truman and LBJ were only elected to one term each).
In Congress, one of the primary reasons that Democrats held the majority until 1994 was that southern states elected conservative Democrats. Since reconstruction, Democrats were the dominant political force in the south. That has changed, with most southern states now falling into the Republican camp. Hence the turnover in 1994.
If you look at elections as recent as the 2004 Presidential race, conservatives are still the majority overall in the country. You can ask President Kerry. The turnover in Congress in 2006 was due to several factors, including the Republican majority abdicating its fiscal responsibility, and some backlash against the war and Republicans who forgot what ethics are about. I don't think it will be long term, especially if Speaker Pelosi continues down her current path. Approval ratings for Dems in Congress are in the toilet.
If you look at the political landscape in the country, at worst, conservatives are 50% of the electorate. Only in places like SF, DC, NY, Boston do people look around, see a sea of left leaning politics, and assume they're the majority overall in the country.
You've conflated Republican and Conservative. The last five wins by "Republicans" has been the coalition of neoconservatives and conservatives. That coalition seems irreparably split at this point. Conservatives, going it alone, are a minority.
To be fair, the number of libertarians seems to be growing. So I wouldn't rule them out, and they do provide another viewpoint. And maybe this isn't as widespread as I think, but a lot of people I've met who used to identify as conservative have been identifying with libertarian ideals recently. Maybe there's something to that?
Agreed. I'm more of a Libertarian. Fiscally conservative with a strong interest in national security, but an atheist who's socially liberal.
To be fair though from a practical sense, the Republicans are the conservative party in this country. The Democrats are the liberal party. All the other 3rd parties combined polled less than 5% during the Presidential election, so until there is a viable conservative alternative, the death of the Republicans is the defacto political death of conservatism.
You've conflated Republican and Conservative. The last five wins by "Republicans" has been the coalition of neoconservatives and conservatives. That coalition seems irreparably split at this point. Conservatives, going it alone, are a minority.
Well what has happened is the Rich Power Players of the Party and the Family Values "Social Conservative" Cowd hseem to have diverged paths.
Bush mostly paid lip service to his "Faith Based" initiaitves, and now that the Evangelical Force seems to have diminished as a Political Arm and younger Evangelicals are showing a trend towards the Deocrat Party, and now that minorities are becoming a significant political voice, this political chapter in our history may be over.
a real conservative. fiscally conservative, and all about getting the government out of your life. last thing we had remotely close to it was coolidge.
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Originally Posted by norcalmom101
Well, my snarky answer is yes, in circles. But my real question is what do you mean exactly by "true conservatives?"
no, I think the republicans would have to file over to the libertarian party. it will take them a good 20 years to corrupt that party. I welcome it, because they no longer follow the party platform. they are the party of don't tax and spend. you can't spend liberally and tax conservatively. it kills the value of the dollar.
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Originally Posted by neil0311
Why would you welcome it, because you disagree? What happened to "diversity", that liberal demi-god and political mantra? Why wouldn't you welcome many "diverse" political opinions that can enrich your life and give you different perspectives?
Wouldn't the death of the Republican Party leave us with only liberals and Democrats, which would diminish our life experience and rob us of a diversity of political thought?
you live in a city that is FULL of true conservatives. every single person I know in DC is a libertarian minded person. probably because they are socially liberal, and know how poorly run the government is so they are for cutting it in size.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlchurch
I don't think conservatives have enough appeal to the American public to be much more than a consistent minority. Conservatives began to think they were mainstream when they teamed up with the neo-cons and won a lot of elections. We've now all seen how bankrupt neo-conservatism is as a political philosophy, but that leaves the "paleoconservatives" as the party of Goldwater.
you live in a city that is FULL of true conservatives. every single person I know in DC is a libertarian minded person. probably because they are socially liberal, and know how poorly run the government is so they are for cutting it in size.
Actually this is the strongest bastion of Democratic voting in the country ~80-90% pure blue. The city is also running very well, has a high bond rating on Wall Street, is attracting new business, housing prices in the District continue to stay firm, and the city successfully competed for a major league baseball team. The city is not downsizing at all, it's expanding services to the residents.
I think most intelligent people consider themselves pretty "fiscally conservative." That does not mean they do not also understand we do not live in a vaccuum, we in fact live in a greater society, and we all have some responsibility and acountability to that society to ensure it functions best for all of us and for future generations.
I think your definition of "fiscal conservative" which is more along the lines of - every penny I earn is mine, the rest of you can go jump off a cliff - is what is perhaps being understood by most to be not such a great idea.
Should and could our government be wiser in how it allocates funds? Certainly. The definition of what is "wise" is where we always get tripped up. Do we really need to spend more on our military than the rest of the World combined, as one example. Many self-proclaimed "fiscal conservatives" say Heck Yes we do. So that is a big area of Disconnect with most people when you start discussing Fiscal conservatism.
I often hear about the death of the republican party. I welcome it. my question is this. do liberals really think that true conservatives are dying off? I don't think so. true conservatives are going to overtake both parties. just give it some time.
Republican is strong... and you should never welcome it.. It should be a balance. If not we would be 100% socialist...
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