Serious answers only . What is the difference between a conservative republican and a conservative democrat?

Question

I really am trying to find a difference as it seemed to be one major focal point in this election between a Republican and a Democrat Conservative.

A lot of news services are saying Pelosi and other liberals may of gotten the leadership but not how they wanted it due to the "new conservative" democrats elected, who will not vote with them on issues like withdrawing from Iraq , gay marriage , immigration or gun laws. The issues like raising of the minimum wage and civil unions are to be an easy sale.

Insight please --- it seems like the same package just with different wrapping .

I'm looking more for fact than stereotyping Gary_G. My family doesn't make middle class so we aren't wealthy by a long shot, most of our family is military , our son served in Iraq in the infantry and I wouldn't know invest in the stock market if you handed me a sure thing.

Answer 1

I have cable and I can see the government working daily on c-span and I know exactly what the difference is.

Just look at how they vote on policy.

When looking at Conservative Rep. and Conservative Dem. it is important to look at 2 things.

1. When they run for office what they stand for
2. How they vote PARTY LINE (Loyal to their party)

When the Dem's won seats this time around they ran politicians claiming to be Conservative. All of them were "religious" and even talked about religion, the bible, in their speeches.

However when you look how they "vote" it seems to me (from what I see on C-span) that they vote party line.

Both Rep. and Dems are guilty of the 2 step. The Republicans (of which I am one by the way) spent and spent and spent and were not conservative. They were just more conservative than the democrats but that Rep. house and senate were not Reagan conservatives. Even ultra conservative Rush Limbaugh commented on how the house and senate were not passing conservative agenda.

So it seems there are 2 things to watch for. What they say and how they vote.

I have no axe to grind here but I must say it appears that both Democrats and Republicans are "morphing" into each other. Can you see it? The Dem's had to move to the center and to the right to win the Republican house seats. The Republicans did not run the house and senate as true conservatives.

The defination of Conservatism is:"
Conservatism is a political philosophy that necessitates a defense of established values or the status quo. [citation needed] The term derives from to conserve; from Latin conservāre, "to keep, guard, observe". While not in itself an ideology, it is a political philosophy that is determined almost entirely by its context. [citation needed] It is defined, in part, as an emphasis on tradition as a source of wisdom that goes beyond what can be demonstrated or even explicitly stated. [citation needed]

Samuel Francis defined authentic conservatism as “the survival and enhancement of a particular people and its institutionalized cultural expressions.”[1] Roger Scruton calls it “maintenance of the social ecology” and “the politics of delay, the purpose of which is to maintain in being, for as long as possible, the life and health of a social organism.”[2]

So in closing this answer, to make it as simple as possible is "You have to take each politician alone and not as a group" take Joe Lieberman for example. He says he's a Democrat but he had to run as an Independent because he supported the war.

So he is a good example of the 2 things to look for. What they say and how they vote. In essence "saying someone is conservative" doesn't mean anything. Better to look at how they vote. ie: Their deeds show what they really are their words show what they want us to believe.

Answer 2

The following terms are meaningless: Democrat, Republican, Conservative and Liberal.

That's because they need to be added to a few more words to express anything useful. Such as Social Liberal, Fiscal conservative, religious conservative (fundamentalist), etc.

The parties don't really take this into account, purposely. They want to keep as vague as possible in order to attract as many people to their "big tent" as possible.

A conservative Republican can be a Goldwater type who prefers a small, efficient government (fiscal conservative) that stays out of people's personal lives (a social liberal). A conservative democrat could be a fundamentalist (religious conservative) who believes that the government should provide for everybody's needs (fiscal liberal).

It depends on what you want to be conservative or liberal about.

And anybody who thinks the parties are getting more ridiculous these days could be conservative or liberal in their thinking but they'd certainly be correct!

Answer 3

Conservative Repubs usually have more money-their children are less likely to serve in the military-more interested in the stock market-religious hypocrites etc.---look at how people voted...

Answer 4

Mostly social or financial issues espoused by the particular party.

Answer 5

One is confused = conservative democrat

and

One is not confused = conservative republican

Answer 6

My guess is that a conservative democrat is just less conservative, but I dont know.

Answer 7

Just stop listening to conservative radio and TV. They'll just fill your head with unsubstantiated crap.

Answer 8

They are different in that they have different policies regarding the economy.

Answer 9

There is absolutely no difference in the two sides!!!!

Answer 10

I don't think much difference at all.