If you've posted in forums you might remember writing some decent responses. I usually spend a lot of time polishing my discussion forum responses depending on the subject or who I am talking to. Often I want to remember what I said about something, but finding the original post can be difficult. So it makes sense to capture the better responses for later review. Welcome to Clint's Reposts.Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Old School Conservatism == your centrist (Politics Forum)
In response to:
This Post
Well written thought. Just to clarify terms:
Centrist: One who takes a position in the political center; a moderate.
Conservative: One favoring traditional views and values.
Liberal: One who favors greater freedom in political or religious matters; an opponent of the established systems.
Libertarian: One who advocates maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of the state.
Neoconservative: An intellectual and political movement in favor of political, economic, and social conservatism that arose in opposition to the perceived liberalism of the 1960s: "The neo-conservatism of the 1980s is a replay of the New Conservatism of the 1950s, which was itself a replay of the New Era philosophy of the 1920s".
You said, referring to one who would take your list as a platform: "It's a different kind of "centrist" isn't it?"
When you think about, the political center has continually moved from its original center, just like the population center in Colorado Springs has moved toward the east. What you are saying is a "different kind of centrist" I would argue is really an old school conservative for the most part.
The meaning of the Constitution represents "original" traditional values. Your laundry list for a candidate echo's much of the traditional way, and so, IMO, can't be considered the center, as in "centrist"--maybe that's why you said a "different" kind of centrist. Conservative traditional values today are far more liberal than our founding traditional values.
I was going to say some of your list does not represent original traditional values, but after looking at them again, I think they all do. In as much as your list represents minimizing the role of the state, one can consider those libertarian ideas too.
IMO, libertarian values are essentially an overreaction to the downside of where liberalism and "new center", i.e., modern conservativism has taken us - the minimizing of individual rights.
Neoconservatism seems to be a dirty word, but taken on it's definition, should be a welcome direction if you are in favor of moving toward traditional views.
My own inclination is toward the better parts of original conservatism sprinkled with Jeffersonian attributes.
I would love to see a candidate that ran on the platform you described, but I fear such a candidate doesn't represent a majority of voters. Until such a person emerges, I trust Bush can hold down the fort as well, and likely much better than his current competition.
C
This Post
Well written thought. Just to clarify terms:
Centrist: One who takes a position in the political center; a moderate.
Conservative: One favoring traditional views and values.
Liberal: One who favors greater freedom in political or religious matters; an opponent of the established systems.
Libertarian: One who advocates maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of the state.
Neoconservative: An intellectual and political movement in favor of political, economic, and social conservatism that arose in opposition to the perceived liberalism of the 1960s: "The neo-conservatism of the 1980s is a replay of the New Conservatism of the 1950s, which was itself a replay of the New Era philosophy of the 1920s".
You said, referring to one who would take your list as a platform: "It's a different kind of "centrist" isn't it?"
When you think about, the political center has continually moved from its original center, just like the population center in Colorado Springs has moved toward the east. What you are saying is a "different kind of centrist" I would argue is really an old school conservative for the most part.
The meaning of the Constitution represents "original" traditional values. Your laundry list for a candidate echo's much of the traditional way, and so, IMO, can't be considered the center, as in "centrist"--maybe that's why you said a "different" kind of centrist. Conservative traditional values today are far more liberal than our founding traditional values.
I was going to say some of your list does not represent original traditional values, but after looking at them again, I think they all do. In as much as your list represents minimizing the role of the state, one can consider those libertarian ideas too.
IMO, libertarian values are essentially an overreaction to the downside of where liberalism and "new center", i.e., modern conservativism has taken us - the minimizing of individual rights.
Neoconservatism seems to be a dirty word, but taken on it's definition, should be a welcome direction if you are in favor of moving toward traditional views.
My own inclination is toward the better parts of original conservatism sprinkled with Jeffersonian attributes.
I would love to see a candidate that ran on the platform you described, but I fear such a candidate doesn't represent a majority of voters. Until such a person emerges, I trust Bush can hold down the fort as well, and likely much better than his current competition.
C
