Liberals vs. Conservatives

Conservative Voices:
William Krystol: "McCain has a chance to close this election in a big and positive way. He has a chance to get voters to rise above the distractions and to set aside the petty aspects of the campaign."
David Frum: "The political culture of the Democratic Party has changed over the past decade. There's a fierce new anger among many liberal Democrats, a more militant style and an angry intolerance of dissent and criticism.
Unchecked, this angry new wing of the Democratic Party will seek to stifle opposition by changing the rules of the political game. Some will want to silence conservative talk radio by tightening regulation of the airwaves via the misleadingly named "fairness doctrine"; others may seek to police the activities of right-leaning think tanks by a stricter interpretation of what is tax-deductible and what is not."
Peter Wehner: "Republicans and conservatives need to examine what has gone wrong and why. To be useful, those inquiries must be broken into parts. The GOP is in bad shape; conservatism is not. Consider: Political and personal scandals have tarnished the GOP's image. The early years of the Iraq war were badly mismanaged. The financial crisis, fairly or not, is laid at the feet of Republicans.
But it is a mistake to assume that significant GOP losses, should they occur, are a referendum on conservatism. In part, the GOP's problems stem from being seen as less principled (think "Bridge to Nowhere").
And an Obama victory would not signal an ideological pivot. Indeed, Barack Obama is, in important ways, a testimony to the conservative disposition of the country. He resists the label "liberal" as if it were lethal (which it is in presidential politics)".

Ahh, the Far Right continues on its course of denial. Krystol will never concede the harm that he and his neo-con co-conspirators have done to this Nation, and indeed to the world. David Frum, ex-speech writer for the right wing, sees Democratic boogeymen behind every door, modeled after his own Republican Party. He attributes to Democrats, all the evils to which his party has succumbed.
And then Mr. Wehner, who refuses to acknowledge that it is more than partisanship that is operating here. He still sees conservatism as being of sound mind and body. I see conservatism as being the problem, because conservatism, like all religions, is never anything more than its practitioners reveal to us through their actions. Its core is represented by the people doing the damage.
Here is one definition of a conservative:
· resistant to change
· having social or political views favoring conservatism
· avoiding excess; "a conservative estimate"
· unimaginatively conventional
· conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class; "a bourgeois mentality"
· a person who is reluctant to accept changes and new ideas

Here is a definition of Liberals:
· favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs
· favorable to or in accord with concepts of maximum individual freedom possible, esp. as guaranteed by law and secured by governmental protection of civil liberties
· favoring or permitting freedom of action, esp. with respect to matters of personal belief or expression: a liberal policy toward dissident artists and writers
· of or pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies and monarchies
· free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant: a liberal attitude toward foreigners
· open-minded or tolerant, esp. free of or not bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.
· characterized by generosity and willingness to give in large amounts

Perhaps it is time to revisit this presumption that being a Liberal is just a dirty word. Maybe Liberals are simply people who see the world as a potentially fairer place than it is currently.