How can we account for the never ending argument of "liberal" vs. "conservatism"

[Dan Moadus]

Seems to me that there are thousands of Liberal to Conservative converts every year.

Now I could be wrong but here is my logic for this.

Unless I am mistaken, Liberals always seem to walk away with the vast majority of the young vote.

If those young voters didn't turn conservative after so many years then there would be no conservatives left in the country...

Sarge made a very good point that I overlooked. Maybe they're right when they say, "If you're young and not a liberal, you don't have a heart, and if you're old and not a conservative, you don't have a brain."

[Why?Town]

The biggest problem as I see it,  is that the most visible and vocal part of each side is the extremes which typically is comprised of people I find to have questionable mental reasoning abilities. To me Rush and Dennis have more similarities than differences. Am I ever going to join forces with either? No flippin' way!

I am registered Democrat because in 1985 when I needed a summer job my uncle could get me in ODOT if I were registered that way. In 20+ years the Republicans haven't done anything to persuede me to change although the Dems haven't done anything that would keep me around either.

Democrats seem to want to give away the farm to every lazy SOB that will stick their hand out. They claim to be like Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor but anyone can clearly see that they are just as happy to take from the not so rich also. I am not rich by any means but I know some of my taxes are going to support deadbeats. I DON'T LIKE THAT ONE BIT!

Repubilcans seem to want to give away the farm to million/billion dollar companies. They are happy to take from just about anybody else to do so. I know some of my taxes are going to support these companies. I DON'T LIKE THAT ONE BIT!

What I've learned over the years and from here is The Republicans probably have a train of thought closer to what I believe. Less (supposedly) government, more personal responsibility, etc.

If the government would support American business by getting out of their way and create tax penalties for those companies that choose to pull money out of our economy instead of participating in it, we would have alot more ability to help those that are truly in need.

On the same token if we only helped those that truly need it, we wouldn't have to spend so much to do so.

[Youngstownshrimp]

I think Rick hit the nail on the head.  Apparently since I moved into the City over a decade ago, I have been banging heads with the entitled, now I know why.  I guess it might be time for me to "Escape from Youngstown."

[Rick Rowlands]

Liberals tend to be urbanites while conservatives are more rural.  Look at how the read and blue maps are largely red out in the sticks with blue spots coinciding with population centers.  Could it be that there are just two different types of people living in the US?  Those who either want personal freedom or grew up with it because out in the country govt. isn't on every corner, and those who live in cities where govt. provides many of the services that people need.   When you live in a city you naturally have to give up a great deal of personal freedom and have to rely on others for what you need moreso than if you lived out in the country.

I have always thought that the Federalist form of govt. was the best at handling this dichotomy.  Each state could choose for itself whether it wants to enact liberal or conservative policies based on the wants of its population.  If Ohio wants to be conservative so be it, if California wants to be liberal thats great too.  But with the Federal govt. taking over more and more of what used to be the pervue of the states, we are getting this one size fits none set of policies that nobody is too happy about. 

So basically not many people will change from one to the other as it is a function of where you live at and your surroundings that have a large effect on political philosophy.  I just wish that we could all realize that and stop trying to force our will on those from the other side. Again strong states' rights would do that!

[Towntalk]

When there's nothing worth watching on TV, I fall back on my library of 1,678 old time radio shows or my library of 1,145 news programs covering World Two, or my library of 575 songs (Classical, music from Broadway and Hollywood shows and Big Bands - not the garbage they call music today).

[sfc_oliver]

We certainly agree on one thing. The talking heads are about worthless to listen to, no matter which side of the aisle they come from. I couldn't pick out more than 3 of them if you lined 30 of them up and had them speak the same sentence......

[Towntalk]

While I may on occassion post here I'm a political agnostic at this point in my life. Many of the "liberal" TV shows on the so-called History Channel make me so angry that I could throw the set out the window what with their athistic leanings such as those that deal with UFO's and aliens, but at the same time conservative shows such as TV preachers turn me off, and as for the news channels, I guess that the only one I watch with any regularity is CNN.

How do I vote? Certainly not a streight party line.

Oh yes, I've even stopped listening to radio talk shows period, and as for the likes of Louie Free, you couldn't pay me to listen to him, same for Rush Limbaugh.

[sfc_oliver]

Seems to me that there are thousands of Liberal to Conservative converts every year.

Now I could be wrong but here is my logic for this.

Unless I am mistaken, Liberals always seem to walk away with the vast majority of the young vote.

If those young voters didn't turn conservative after so many years then there would be no conservatives left in the country...

[northside lurker]

You might say I was a conservative to liberal convert.  My dad's side of the family is very fundamentalist, and I even listened to Marlon Maddox on the radio, and occasionally watched Jack Van Impe on TV. (though that show creeped me out a little, even then)  In high school health class one day, we took a number of personality tests.  One test determined how conservative or liberal we were. (not in a political sense)  She plotted out our results on the chalkboard.  While everyone else was clustered around the center, I was by myself on the "conservative" side of the graph.  But then, I went to college (Kent State U.) and was "brainwashed" into a liberal centrist.

Frankly, I'm turned off by the black and white nature of politics today.  That's why I rarely post in this forum, though I do look at it on occasion.

IMO, there isn't a right and wrong side.  For example, do you consider The American Conservative magazine a liberal rag because they take a rather "liberal" (by today's standards) stance on public transportation and urban sprawl?

[Dan Moadus]

For as long as I have been "preaching" conservatism, and as long as I have been arguing with liberals, I must admit that I can only think of one or two people who have changed from the liberal philosophy to the conservative philosophy. Can anyone on either side claim better results? And why is it so? Obiously one side is right and one side is wrong, so why don't we see more "conversions"?

We seem to argue endlessly on this forum, yet I can't think of a single person who has been persuaded to change sides; why is that?

There also doesn't seem to be any middle ground either, a way to blend conservatism with liberalism. You are either on one side or another.

Does anyone know of any conservatives who switched sides, as I said, I only know of a couple of liberals who switched to conservative?

I would like to hear your thoughts on why this is, and does anyone think it can change, or are we doomed to never ending debate?

My personal view is that the liberal viewpoint has the most appeal, and attracts followers because it is so easy to be a liberal, while the conservative position is the only practical position, because it has a proven track record and places a premium on personal liberty.

To me the great dividing line is "fairness" vs. "freedom". How do you see it?