Posted on 01/20/2008 10:45:49 AM PST by FocusNexus
Conservative attitudes are changing. Or, more accurately, the attitudes of people who call themselves conservatives are changing.
The most cited data to prove this point come from the Pew Political Typology survey. By 2005, it had found that so many self-described conservatives were in favor of government activism that they had to come up with a name for them.
"Running-dog liberals" apparently seemed too pejorative, so the survey went with "pro-government conservatives," a term that might have caused Ronald Reagan to spontaneously combust. This group makes up just less than 10 percent of registered voters and something like a third of the Republican coalition.
Ninety-four percent of pro-government conservatives favored raising the minimum wage, as did 79 percent of self-described social conservatives. Eight out of 10 pro-government conservatives believe government should do more to help the poor and slightly more than that distrust big corporations.
There's more evidence elsewhere. As former Bush speechwriter David Frum documents in his new book, "Comeback," income taxes are no longer a terribly serious concern among conservative voters. Young Christian conservatives and others are increasingly eager to bring a faith-based activism to government. As conservative commentator Ramesh Ponnuru recently noted in Time, younger evangelicals are more likely to oppose abortion than their parents were, but they are also more likely to look kindly on government-run anti-poverty programs and environmental protection. Even President Bush (in)famously proclaimed in 2003 that "when somebody hurts, government has got to move."
(Excerpt) Read more at insidebayarea.com ...
P U .. Pew
Just what I want, the opinion of anyone associated with a Bush. That’s a major part of the problem. The last two Republican Presidents after Reagan, haven’t helped the conservative cause one iota.
Shocking
Buck. It. Up.
There must be some truth in this, because otherwise Huckabee would never have gotten as many votes as he did.
Some conservatives are NOT fiscal conservatives, but religious socialists — like Huckabee, and they find Huck appealing..
Of course they seem to forget that the US became a great country because of individual achievements and freedoms, not because the government taking care of everyone and “solving” the problems.
“Young Christian conservatives and others are increasingly eager to bring a faith-based activism to government.”
Guess those little punks have never heard of “thou shall not steal.” We can thank Dubya for opening the floodgates for this disgusting reversal in GOP views on spending and enabling these big govt religious wackos.
The last time I recall seeing any semblance of it was when the Republicans took over the House and Senate. Then they let Clinton pin the blame on them for the government shut down and it’s been downhill every since.
The Republicans have let the Left define them for over a decade now, and the results are predictable.
FredT is about the only person left, besides Duncan Hunter, who has any conservative credentials left.
Something is desperately wrong when a man with John McCain’s record of voting and introducing legislation can convince voters that he is in any a conservative. He might hold a few consecrative views, but that doesn’t make him a conservative.
Reminds me of the AFLAC chimerical where they put the fake duck’s bill on the billy goat and try to pass it off as AFLAC.
Bill Kristol made the point that Reagan was both the leader of a movement and the leader of a major political party. He pointed out how rare that is historically. I don't agree with allot of what Kristol says, but his point is valid. The leader of a movement must be ideologically pure, intellectually strong, and passionate. A successful politician, must be a "politician."
In modern times, the usual state of affairs for conservatives is frustration. We should think and act strategically instead of throwing in the towel because there is no one to fill Reagan's shoes.
How about PSEUDOconservatives?
And this applies particularly to David Frum.
The ONLY good thing about this is that it is based on a survey by the same people who admitted, after the fact, of course, that they had manipulated Congress into believing the American public was demanding that they knuckle under and do the work of Soros and the other moneyed internal enemies of our country to gut the 1st Amendment and enact legislation to enable the repeated reelection of incumbents by shutting out the grassroots prior to elections.
We've known this for quite some time. But its not conservatism that is a mess, its the GOP. Instead of sticking to what has been successful and what has worked, many Republicans have embraced more moderate politics and more liberal candidates. This won't seriously effect the conservative movement long term, but it just might destroy the GOP.
This was done by design! When the communist party was making headway in America in the '20's and '30's. The major focus was in three areas - unions(of any kind), education(higher and lower) and news media (largely magazines and newspapers). What we see today is the poison spread by the commies and their fellow travelers.
Conservative attitudes are changing. Or, more accurately, the attitudes of people who call themselves conservatives are changing.
I don’t think that is true. Conservatives have always been in the minority as we only have about 33 percent of the population (or so I have heard). The way we get ahead is to have some other part of the population agree with what the conservative believes on some issue such as gay marriage. When Bush ran on gay marriage in 2000 or 2004 (can’t remember which one), that added to the conservative numbers and resulted in us winning.
Can someone tell me what a pro-government conservative is? Are we defining conservatism by its historical meaning now?
I agree with your comments, but I do want to make one think clear. Don’t confuse throwing in the towel with making a strategic decision to tell the party it’s liberal gig is up.
The party must change or be replaced.
btt
Well.. the current state of conservatism is something that requires a lot of thought and analysis.
A big poll number that is important is the one that asks whether the country is on the right or wrong track. And for awhile a vast majority of Americans say the nation is on the wrong track. And people dont look at why, they look at who’s at the helm and decide they want “change.”
People have linked “conservatism” to George W Bush. It’s no longer linked to Ronald Reagan. Bush and today’s GOP have moved conservatism away from the Reagan doctrine and morphed it into something that voters just dont want anything to do with anymore. And with a lack of a strong “Reagan-like” candidate in this election to promote sound conservative policies and principles, it is the independents who are coming on top now.
That’s just my opinion of the whole thing on face value. And I think conservatism is in real trouble. The electorate is clearly moving to the left.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.