What is a Conservative really??

[Bucjason]

The title "conservative" has been trampled on and distorted by the ruling class of the republican party and the mainstream media . It has come to mean war-mongering religous zealot , and that is not what it means at all. REAL conservatives are actually libertarians. Constitutional libertarians. This is a reason why we shouldn't always be so skeptical of republicans that are returning to thier roots in the liberty movement. For many , it's an honest and natural progression.

Here is a great article explaining it all :

http://www.crazykook.com/wordpress/?p=84

[apropos]

Does a constitutional libertarian equal a classical liberal?

If so, I would go with classical liberal, because it is more widely known and you don't have the anarchist association that sometimes accompanies libertarians. Anarchy and constitutionalism are at odds and will lead to a general confusion of the term, so I would advertise this sort of thing as a return to classical liberalism. Then you can say you are the heir of Jefferson, et. al.

The modern working definitions of conservative and liberal are utterly meaningless. I saw an article yesterday about Japan, stating that the Liberal Democrat party was actually "conservative".

Only the MSM could say say something so incoherent with such solemnity.

[BillyDkid]

Well, conservatives are not in fact conservative anymore than liberals are liberal. You go to either side of the political spectrum and end up at the same place - collectivism and authoritarianism.

[Cowlesy]

labels....

[paulitics]

The title "conservative" has been trampled on and distorted by the ruling class of the republican party and the mainstream media . It has come to mean war-mongering religous zealot , and that is not what it means at all. REAL conservatives are actually libertarians. Constitutional libertarians. This is a reason why we shouldn't always be so skeptical of republicans that are returning to thier roots in the liberty movement. For many , it's an honest and natural progression.

Here is a great article explaining it all :

http://www.crazykook.com/wordpress/?p=84

We should if they have lied before. We should if they are members of think tanks that are anticonservative, and antisovereignty. Actions not words.

[specsaregood]

This is why the JBS renamed their "Conservative Index" to the "Freedom Index" last year or the year before.

[heavenlyboy34]

If I remember right, it's just an Americanized version of a Brit party that favored a certain kind of power consolidation. I'm fuzzy on the details, srry.

[BuddyRey]

What confuses me is that Rothbard's For a New Liberty says the exact opposite; that when "right" and "left" were first used as seating arrangements in the French Assembly, the radicals, including classical liberals like Bastiat, sat on the left, while Mercantilists, Monarchists, and other lovers of the state were called "conservatives" and sat on the right.

[UnReconstructed]

What confuses me is that Rothbard's For a New Liberty says the exact opposite; that when "right" and "left" were first used as seating arrangements in the French Assembly, the radicals, including classical liberals like Bastiat, sat on the left, while Mercantilists, Monarchists, and other lovers of the state were called "conservatives" and sat on the right.

word

[TCE]

What confuses me is that Rothbard's For a New Liberty says the exact opposite; that when "right" and "left" were first used as seating arrangements in the French Assembly, the radicals, including classical liberals like Bastiat, sat on the left, while Mercantilists, Monarchists, and other lovers of the state were called "conservatives" and sat on the right.

Conservative hundreds of years ago was a party of the status quo, typically for a monarchy. The "Conservatives" were always loyal to the crown while "radicals" or "liberals" were always the ones trying to oust them from power.

In the modern day, Conservative is supposed to mean something similar. It is supposed to mean to want to keep the Constitution as the law of the land. Different situation, same labels apply.

[heavenlyboy34]

Does a constitutional libertarian equal a classical liberal?

If so, I would go with classical liberal, because it is more widely known and you don't have the anarchist association that sometimes accompanies libertarians. Anarchy and constitutionalism are at odds and will lead to a general confusion of the term, so I would advertise this sort of thing as a return to classical liberalism. Then you can say you are the heir of Jefferson, et. al.

The modern working definitions of conservative and liberal are utterly meaningless. I saw an article yesterday about Japan, stating that the Liberal Democrat party was actually "conservative".

Only the MSM could say say something so incoherent with such solemnity.

I'm with you. Classical liberal seems to fit Constitutionalists better than libertarian (because, as you mentioned, libertarians tend to be anarchists). :cool:

[dgr]

1600's first time terms used liberal --sience and art vs conservative== GOD and religion

[Objectivist]

"Conservative" to the Constitution. Now watch the video in my sig for an answer, the wimp video.