when did "conservative" stop meaning "prudent"?

Question

advisable, canny, careful, cautious, circumspect, discerning, discreet, economical, far-sighted, frugal, judgmatic, judicious, leery, play safe, politic, provident, reasonable, sagacious, sage, sane, sapient, sensible, shrewd, sound, sparing, tactical, think twice, thrifty, vigilant, wary

bourgeois, cautious, constant, controlled, conventional, die-hard, fearful, firm, fogyish*, fuddy-duddy*, guarded, hard hat*, hidebound, holding to, illiberal, inflexible, middle-of-the-road*, not extreme, obstinate, old guard*, old-line, orthodox, quiet, red-neck, right, right-wing, sober, stable, steady, timid, traditional, traditionalistic, unchangeable, unchanging, uncreative, undaring, unimaginative, unprogressive, white bread*

TELL ME WHICH ONE MEANS PRUDENT AND WHICH MEANS CONSERVATIVE

Answer 1

GOP fiscal prudence died in the Reagan era and has become obscenely liberal big spending, big brother, big government under the Bush administration. Discretionary spending is way more than 3 times what it was under Clinton - who history shows was far more fiscally conservative than our GOP leader today.

Answer 2

When you think about it, EVERYONE is "conservative", if you take the word from it's literal meaning. Everyone behaves in a conservative manner when something they value is under threat.

I once read that a "Liberal" is "someone who's values aren't being threatened, at the moment."

Unfortunately, it's become a pop-culture slang term to assert that a "conservative" is someone that "holds certain social values to be more important than individual rights and freedoms."

Answer 3

That's just a line of bull manure every republican spouts. Even Saint Ronny was the same way, look at the billions he spent on his star wars initiative, which delivered nothing for those billions. The republicans historically spend more than democrats it's just mostly for wars and munitions and bigger military.

Answer 4

It hasn't, but there are another species called neocons(aka wolves in sheep's clothing) who claim to be conservative but whose behavior shows anyone who looks that they are not.

Answer 5

With the current Bush Administration, when it began to mean "spend, spend, spend; borrow, borrow, borrow . . . and watch the rich get richer and the dollar depreciate".

Answer 6

Never. Most Conservatives are prudes

Answer 7

You only become conservative when you start having material things to "conserve". I didn't know it ever meant prudent.

Answer 8

Prudent people are still conservative. Beyond that, your question makes no sense.

EDIT: And when did liberal become libertine.

Answer 9

Your question makes no sense.

Answer 10

When did "conservative" ever mean "prudent"???