Campaigns & Elections:
To be an effective political leader, a conservative must first run an effective campaign. Perhaps no other campaign has been as important to the conservative movement as the one run in 1964 between "Mr. Conservative" Barry Goldwater and Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson. Although Goldwater lost, the principles he fought for and the legacy he left have resounded with conservatives ever since. Nevertheless, conservatives who run campaigns today often appeal to social conservatives, using abortion, the second amendment, the sanctity of marriage, school prayer and the War on Terror as the key planks in their political platforms.

War on Terror:
In the 20th Century, the Vietnam war stiffened the resolve of conservatives to never again suffer defeat at the hands of a foreign enemy. The War on Terror began with the attack on 9/11, and conservatives remain largely divided about what the battle parameters should be. Most believe the War on Terror must be won at all costs. The decision to invade Afghanistan to search for Osama bin Laden found favor with many conservatives as did the invasion of Iraq to find al Queda operatives. Despite liberal opposition, conservatives see victory in Iraq as the key front in the war against international terrorism.


What is a Conservative?
And What is Conservative Bias?
By Grace Fleming, About.com Guide

They still blame us who fought, died and were never seen again for losing a war that was never declared, fighting an enemy they would not let us win against.

We had weapons, resource, ability and all that was needed.... had they let us use them, but it was NOT our war, they bound us to the dictates of local powers, the press, and politicians running for re-election in a country torn apart by confusion and rebellion.

Many 1,000's of us still fight that war today at home.... against those very politicos who restrained us, for benefits we will never receive.

Welcome to the reality!

Things got all screwed up when ideological marxists infiltrated and co-opted the conservatives, becoming what came to be known as the "neoconservatives". This created a rift amongst conservatives which still exists to this day, but the net result is that you often have diametrically opposed attitudes evident between the two groups.

As a result, many traditional conservatives left the Repuglican party, which is now almost entirely neoconservative, at least in its policies.

The Democrats fared little better. They were taken over by marxists too, so in effect, aside from the cosmetic differences, there is little difference between the parties today. They are both owned by the same banks & corporations, and they both stand for large oppressive government.

The philosophical libertarians (voluntarists) are actually more like the conservatives & liberals of old. People like Ron Paul or Ralph Nader are at opposite ends of the economic spectrum in many regards, but they also have many similarities in that they believe the people should be the masters of the government and both would favour the noninterventionism and separation of church an state that America used to stand for.

I have asked that question repeatedly

from what I observe, conservative equates to retaining a stagnant and unwavering population, keeping things eternally the same in all political and social aspects

while liberal equates to constantly adapting to every new lifestyle, desire, culture,


I dont know though, been alot of gun talk lately and by the above standards, I would think the view that guns be regulated be less liberal than conservative,,,,

Ill never fully understand the use of the labels,, there, I admit it,,lol

I agree!

The neocons are Trotskyites. Neoconservatism was most eloquently described by Irving Kristol, the father of modern neoconservatism.

Yes, the word "liberal" has entirely lost its original meaning in America and several other places in the English speaking world like Britain. Partly due to semantic shift, partly due to propagandists and demagogues of all sorts. I have long lamented this bastardization of the word and what it originally meant.

True conservatives, those of the school of Goldwater and Rockefeller, don't necessarily believe in the maintenance of the status quo. What we believe is that there are a vast number of things that just are not and should not be the responsibility of government.

The modern "Republican" movement - the Birchers, Tea Partiers, Neo-cons - just see government as evil, taxes as unnecessary and the military as untouchable. They wrap themselves up in the flag, wave the bible in your face and scream "unpatriotic" every time someone disagrees with them. They believe that fighting terrorism outweighs individual liberty, but educating the domestic populous is socialism.

Us "old school" conservatives are actually in favor of education, it is essential to the "defense" of our nation, which is something the Constitution requires the government to do. However, health care is not, we still have a growing population rate, so it is not vital to national defense, and the cost to the people, in the form of taxation, makes it to great a burden on society. National defense, actually defending the homeland, can better be done by ensuring the rights of the individual to be armed, as the old saying goes, "bad neighborhoods are America's last line of defense." To keep a large standing army really isn't in Americas best interest, a navy yes, as trade upon the high seas must be defended. That is why in the original form there was a Department of the Navy and a War Department. We actually fought wars quicker and occupied countries for less time when we had to build an army at the start of the war, usually through a draft.

See a true conservative would not just slash entitlements and close tax loopholes, we'd tackle defense spending, the drug war and other useless parts of government (OSHA comes to mind, with the over abundance of modern lawsuits, is it even necessary anymore?).

Conservatives are willing to make changes to move the country forward. The changes we are willing to make are just usually very unpopular and sound, quite frankly, heartless. What they truly are are the difficult or "hard" choices that must be made to keep our debt low and our government efficient. They aren't the easy sell that the liberals make. It is the job of the conservative to say "no, we don't need that," while it is the job of the liberal to say "yes, we can do that for you."

I've heard conservatives say that often, but the vast majority of conservative voters rejected Ron Paul TWICE, even though he best represented what conservatives claim to believe in the campaigns. That's one reason I don't take conservatism in general seriously.

i think this article could have had [insert party member here] and still could have made a lot of sense... liberals are exactly the same, but reversed in what the conservatives are saying... so thats why all of the congress and senate act like third graders when trying to get anything done...

Well, I voted for him in the primary twice. The point I was making was that the Republican party isn't a conservative party anymore.