Met any "real conservatives"? What do they think of *?

[ButterflyBlood]

I was recently talking with a guy who claims to be a conservative. Unfortunately, he's not a conservative at all in today's sense. His social views are actually very liberal, but he sees "social conservatism" as not conservative at all, since criminalizing abortion and making such a big fuss about gays is just expanding the government, and sees getting the government out of social issues as the conservative stance. Believes in shrinking the government and taxes, but also spending and doing everything fairly, not giving away huge giveaways to the rich and spending like a drunken sailor while going off on imperialistic crusades like the Dumbass. He's planning on voting for Kerry, while he's not too fond of him either, he simply sees * as the total disaster he is and thinks we can't take any more of this.

unfortuantely, such conservatives are such a rare breed today. The neocons and the fundies have hijacked and now co-opted the word.

[rucky]

1. I know someone with pretty much the same views...

but he's voting Bush because of the gun thang.

[calico1]

10. These "one issue" people

really drive me nuts! :mad:

[Greedy Oil Puritan]

13. Tell me about it...

Here in Canada, my position on cyber liberties and intellectual property is very radical, much like the Green and the Bloc Quebecois position, but I'm active in the NDP, which is quite tepid about this issue and far too supportive of WIPO and willing to compromise with Big Entertainment.

Why?

Green Party: I don't support an eco-capitalist approach to dealing with the environment and I don't support a party led by an ex-Tory who refers to himself as a Green Conservative. Only the NDP and (to a somewhat lesser extent) the Bloc Quebecois realise that making Canada greener requires both carrots and sticks. Besides, Jack Layton has done far more in both his public and his private life to implement environmental solutions that work and the Green Party has its share of anti-choice and anti-gay wack-jobs, even though it's officially pro-choice and pro-SSM.

Bloc Quebecois: While I appreciate the social and economic leftist ideals of Gilles Duceppe, a reformed-Marxist and a union activist known for organising immigrant workers in Montreal (Not your average sovereigntist...lol), I have a problem with the fact that the party still has some right-wingers hanging on (the Bloc is a Progressive Conservative off-shot that originally differed from its father by being sovereigntist, Quebec-first, and somewhat more to the left), although I'm pleased that social democrats have have a lock on the party due to Gille Duceppe's leadership. I'm also not a Quebec sovereigntist. There is 1 riding in which I would have voted Bloc rather than NDP because the NDP had no chance to even get 5% of the the vote in that riding, the BLOC candidate was very progressive, and the Liberal incumbent wanted the government to throw people in jail for using file-sharing programs, fellated Bush's Star Wars policies on a regular basis, was extremely anti-gay, and did not want workers protected from occupational hazards or consumers to know if their food contained GM ingredients. In other words, she was worse than about 80% of the Conservatives. :-P

[izzie]

2. I have met some that say they are but they seem to only vote as them.

In other words they like and use and demand all the social services that we have in this country yet swear they are Rep. If you ask them about wanting to get rid of 40 hour work week because they can not see anything unions ever did they say well no. If you ask about SS and kids growing up with it because someone died in their family they say it is a good program, Then as they always say and I hate taxes, and I say yes I also do but I can not drive my car in fields and need roads and they agree. I am not sure what makes them Republicans really only they vote that way.

[doctorbombeigh]

3. I keep hearing about fissures in the Republican base

I read it in the news, but I see it in the Republicans I know. Some are just kind of lost in the terror-matrix. They're so personally terrified that they'll vote for Bush, no matter what. These also tend to be the same people who support his tax cuts at any price.

Others I know are less satisfied and some are in an uproar. They can't stand the deficit spending and they hate the war. They want tax cuts, but not like this. They find Bush to be reckless on more than one level and they do not like that sort of thing. As someone else stated, these are "old-fashioned" Republicans - cautious fiscally, centrist socially. I have also heard through a friend that some fundie neighbors of his are very upset with Mr. Bush. They finally figured out that they vote against abortion every time, and abortion is still legal every time. Gee... WWJD?

Anyway, all is not well in the Committee to Re-Select the President. Of course, I'm just broken up about this.

[sandnsea]

4. A few

Al Sharpton said "we"re going to ride this donkey as far as it'll take us". The Republicans I know just haven't figured out they're riding an elephant in a stampede and its going to run over anybody that gets in its way, including the rider if he gets thrown off. And it's all tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts. They'll repeat all of the Fox anti-Kerry line, but bottom line is they want their tax cuts. Doesn't matter how many times you tell them they'll get to keep them, they won't believe it. They're people who are just scared to death somebody will get one penny of their money, especially if they "don't have it coming to them". Well, unless it's some fat corporation, then they don't seem to care at all.

[mitchtv]

5. My wingnut brother

the worst racist ilk, won't defend * "lesser of two evils" Says JK is a traitor, I try not to hate him, since they are calling up to 68 years old , I should ask him when he's going to Iraq, since he somehow missed VN (I did too; 4f , tho)

[slutticus]

6. A couple of my friends are "real conservatives"....

...and they are not voting.

[Toronto Ron]

7. I know several Republicans of this variety:

They want strong defense, fiscal responsibility (low tax, low spending), but are socially liberal (I don't associate with religious wingnut whackos). I think most if not all of these people voted for w* in 2000. Without exception, they are now either voting for Kerry or "undecided". I think most of the latter will end up voting for Kerry. These people are mostly in NC and TN. I sense that many who voted for w* in 2000 are embarrassed as hell.

[enough]

8. I am now getting regular e-mails from a longtime active republican

who is so angry with Bushco about the rape of the environment that she will vote for Kerry even though she probably expects a bolt of lightening will hit her the moment she pulls the lever.

She's got a long e-mail list that's mostly republicans, and she's onto every environmental outrage, and she's MAD AS HELL.

This is southeastern PA.

[IndianaGreen]

9. There are 8 people in my office that voted for Bush in 2000

Seven of them are voting for Kerry because they feel betrayed by Bush, and they are angry that Bush is destroying the military (I kid you not!).

The only Bush holdout is Mel. He thinks that Bush has been annointed by GAWD. Mel also thinks that women belong in the home, that abortion is murder, and that gays should be removed from society (he never explained what that meant to me).

I dare say that based on the small population sample that I described, Kerry's chances of winning by a big margin in November look rather good.

[Zynx]

11. My father is what's known as an Eisenhower conservative.

Or in otherwords a Democrat. ;-)

[Greedy Oil Puritan]

14. I liked his tax policies...

But I can't forgive him for propping up Fulgencio Batista.

[IronLionZion]

12. Libertarians and fiscal conservatives hate his monkey guts

But they hate Kerry as much.

I feel like kicking John McCain's ass for not entering the Republican primary this year or running as an independent. If Ted Kennedy could do that to Jimmy Carter than McCain can do it to Bush. It's real conservatives like him that let the neo-cons get away with rape and murder and terror.