Are "conservative values" more about getting votes than a platform of legislative doctrine?

Question

Republicans have run on this platform since Reagan reorganized the south into 'conservative' factions and gained support of christian fundamentalists, defining the modern electorate to this day, in the Presidential race of 1980. It was brilliant and well done, and, got Reagan into office. But, do Republicans, the politicians, really stadf for much? After six years of total comtrol, searing headline sex scandals, a balloned federal deficit, laws pushing the edge of the constitution, and unneeded wars, seem to be more the symptoms of "conservatism", what do you think?

Answer 1

Yes because as I'm mainly liberal i do agree with less federal government and more decided by states and less government waste but all I've seen when Republicans are in charge is the government growing out of control and spending money like drunken sailors.

Answer 2

Regan was not called 'The Great Communicator' for nothing.

He also was able to 'reach across party lines' as it were.
Even though Tip O'Neill referred to him as the dumbest man ever to occupy the white house, Regan still considered the man a friend.

Item:
Total control?
That's a stretch. The Republicans didn't just lock up all the Democrats in a closet some place.
There were plenty of them still making legislation and passing spending bills in congress. The Republicans, convinced Bush was a fiscal conservative, expected that those appropriations would be vetoed. They were not. Bush leads all presidents except one for being a nearly veto free administration.
Item:
Sex scandals?
Please, lets move beyond this. There are enough to talk about from both parties to fill an afternoon. IMHO it's the result of legislators having to maintain dual residencies not their political persuasion. A stiff joint knows no conscience.
Item:
Federal Deficit?
It's relatively low considering the war, Katrina etal.
Item:
Laws pushing the edge of the constitution?
Matter of opinion. My guess is that you are referring to FISA.
Yes there is more risk for abuse but, there is no evidence that there has been any and the democrats voted FOR it. If they didn't there would be no FISA reform. Besides, it works and is directly responsible for thwarting a number of terror plots. Even the Democrats agree. Do you really think that Hillary, if elected, would roll it back? Most of the reforms won't be available until the next president takes office and every indication is that will be a Democrat so, if Bush is only interested in expanding his own power, why would he and the Republicans bother to do this?
Item:
Un-needed war?
If you think the war on terror is not needed, there is not much I can talk to you about. However, the Democrats have made it clear with the 2006 congress and their campaing rehetoric that not only will it continue, it will likely be expanded to places like Pakistan, Indonesia and the large cities of Africa. If Obama thinks that American Troops wandering around the large cities of Africa is going to be easier than Bhagdad, he's dumber than I thought.
With all this in mind, I really see no departure from what the Republican party has always 'stood for' and the Democrats seem to be coming over into that light if you look beyond the rehetorical postulations.

Answer 3

Well I can show you the same examples in the democrats you cited, to show no one is perfect.

Searing Headline Sex scandale: Clinton in the White House getting head, Barney Frank and his male prostitution ring in his house...

Federal Deficit: Umm...apparently you don't do your research. Even liberal talking Katie Couric talked about the deficit SHRINKING by over 1/3 in the past year. http://newsbusters.org/node/13409

Laws pushing the edge: Oh wow...should I continue? The Democratic party is pushing for a law to send people to jail just for making a hate speech. Talk about being against our 1st ammendment rights.

Unneeded wars? I guess Saddam torturing his own people, committing genocide with WMD (Sarin gas and Mustard Gas), invading Kuwait, starting the Iran-Iraq war, starving people in villages he did not like, and using ALL his oil money for his own private palaces was not enough to oust him. Or even violated over 15 UN treaty's and laws.


So what more do I need to say? Conservatives are not any more perfect, but at least they have a rational thought process for most of the actions they do...such as the war in Iraq.

Next time you use Yahoo!Answers as a political forum...I hope the admins ban you. This is a place for questions...not for rhetorical questions that you pose to try and get a point across.

Answer 4

The heart of the conservative movement is for people to be responsible for themselves and that government be used to protect society.

Whether you believe it or not, the war on terrorism is about defending our freedoms and way of life. We have been under attack by terrorist since Reagan was in power and we really have not done anything about it except to try to appease our enemy's. So this makes us look weak and therefore the onslaught continues.

The sex scandels are part of politics regardless if you are conservative or liberal, democrat or republican.

The budget deficit was originally a democrat created problem and we conservatives have been complaining about it as much as you have been. So I don't understand your issue.

How are we pushing the edge of the constitution? The supreme court has final say on these issues. Have they ruled on something? How is extending our citizens rights to non-citizens who were fighting our troops pushing the constitution? If they are in a country's uniform, they fall under the Geneva convention. If they are not in uniform, they are an enemy combatant. Neither of those groups are US Citizens, so why should they have our rights?

Answer 5

You're right - they won't ban abortion or gay marriage or fix social security because they'd have nothing to "get the vote out" afterwards - but I'm going to put a huge clarification on that.

The Democrats are the same. They've been promising universal health-care and better education and that they'll save the environment since the 1970s.

Either they are also lying, or they're so weak and ineffective that the Republicans can completely stop them. Pick your favorite reason.

Answer 6

I concur, it is about only getting the vote. Put it into an equation. Why would anyone spend millions on a campaign to get elected to an office that only pays $400K a year?

The original concept of our founding fathers "Of the people, by the people, and for the people" has gotten lost recently. However, there have been geat leaders in our history. JFK for one. Nixon was another in his one shining moment when he signed the age 18 voting law.

But as time has progressed, it seems more and more that the people we put into office, have become career politicians and are only concerned about their own ideoligies and goals. Given credit though there are some very complex arguments: abortion, gun control, stem cell research, same sex marriage, global warming.

All too often, when a new concept/phrase is coined, people want to be with the "IN" crowd and they jump on the bandwagon.

Wasn't it said once that this country will be destroyed from within?

Answer 7

Look at the Conservative platform. Conservative values still maintain every ones right to individual freedom, Capitalism, and not Socialism. I cannot believe that you even mention sex scandals as wasn't that in Clinton's department? Conservatives do not condone these types of scandals and there have been many on the Liberal side where it was said by the Liberals that, "boys will be boys." and there were no repercussions. As for war, it was necessary and even the Liberals voted for it.

Answer 8

Well, sure, that's the job of politicians, to get elected, stay elected, and milk as much money and freedom out of the electorate before they retire comfortably.

And don't kid yourself that Democrats wouldn't do the same (global warming taxes while they fly around in private jets, banning any "hate speech", trying to remove any mention of religion, etc). It's all parties, except for maybe 1% of politicians who are honorable.

Answer 9

…soup2,

The Repugnants have values; they surely do.

They appear to value their own opinion; they value money; they value political office in place of earning a living, like the rest of us; they value lobbyists; they valve denial; the value unearned special privileges; they value being on the public dole; god, there is so much the Repugnants value; the list goes on.

Who can add to it?

Oh! They have something called “family values” whatever that might be.
They wish to “save the chil-ren”, (their English, not mine)
They wish, to, “move forward” ( whatever that is supposed to mean)
They gave Baby B his own meaningless slogan for public consumption, they wish to, ”turn the corner”. Now that is an especially inane one when we consider just how utterly meaningless these party approved slogans really are. They are much like the corporate names such as EEXON, which Standard Oil paid a firm to develop; the name means absolutely…nothing…in any language on earth.

Reagan needed simple slogans but the party insisted that the slogans mean nothing and could not be used against the party if the Press happened to hear and repeat them.

These faulty individuals hold the rest of us in such contempt that I wonder whether the reason is more their stupidity than that which they imagine to be ours,

Jim D

Answer 10

No, most of the politicians right now do not represent conservative values.