Conservative only: Moving conservatism forward

[Galen.Iksnudnard]

How can we move conservatism into the 21st century?
How can we gain the support of the American people once more?

Personally, I think that conservatives at large have been focusing too much on social issues, rather than staying true to the mission of conservatism (fiscal responsibility and smaller government). By focusing on things like opposing marriage equality for instance we are alienating ourselves from many younger people who might possibly otherwise vote for us.

A lot of social issues in the long run turn out to be inconsequential. People in the 60's thought that interracial marriage would ruin America, but it didn't. The government’s priority is to protect our rights and to make sure that we can live safely within our borders. Abortion, stem cell research, and marriage equality for all, really don't pose any threat to the average person.

On Conservatism and Its Future | Pete's Little House of Pancakes

 

[Monk Of Reason]

For real conservatism to move forward they need to drop or totally reform the republican party. The whole notion and history of it leaves a bad taste in peoples mouth. As you said stop with the social issues as they aren't winning anyone with them.
Real conservative movements for smaller government also means changing around where money gets spent. Conservatives by all definitions should be for decreased military size and getting out of forgien conflicts. They should also invest in programs that will pull those on government welfare OFF of government welfare. That means better school opprotunities and better education overal. This also means supporting unions (who give the power back to the people rather than let things be mandated by the government) and fixing the tax code.

 

[Galen.Iksnudnard]

For real conservatism to move forward they need to drop or totally reform the republican party. The whole notion and history of it leaves a bad taste in peoples mouth. As you said stop with the social issues as they aren't winning anyone with them.
Real conservative movements for smaller government also means changing around where money gets spent. Conservatives by all definitions should be for decreased military size and getting out of forgien conflicts. They should also invest in programs that will pull those on government welfare OFF of government welfare. That means better school opprotunities and better education overal. This also means supporting unions (who give the power back to the people rather than let things be mandated by the government) and fixing the tax code.

I agree with most of what you said, except for decreasing the military size. I know it sounds a bit aggressive, and 20 years ago, I might have agreed with you, but we don't really live in the same world as we did back then.

Today the threat of terrorism is larger than ever, and Russia, China and Iran pose not only threats to America but to our Allies. We have to be vigilant against those who are seeking our destruction. So yes while maybe we should find more financially responsible ways of managing our military, we shouldn't pull back altogether and we need to stay prepared for any eventualities.

Sometimes war is necessary to prevent an even greater evil. Take World War II for example. It was absolutely right to engage the Nazis in a military conflict as to not do so would have been to condemn the entire world to a future under their thumb. If Hitler had not been defeated by World War II, how many more millions would have been killed? If the American Civil War had not been fought, how much longer would African-Americans have had to suffer as slaves?

Of course there will be times when you can solve things with diplomacy, or even in some cases by beaming covert propaganda into the people's homes (Radio Free Europe was one example of this - which eventually, spread out over many years, contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall), but failing that, war against entities or nations hostile to our country or our allies should never be taken off the table.

 

[Monk Of Reason]

I agree with most of what you said, except for decreasing the military size. I know it sounds a bit aggressive, and 20 years ago, I might have agreed with you, but we don't really live in the same world as we did back then.

Today the threat of terrorism is larger than ever, and Russia, China and Iran pose not only threats to America but to our Allies. We have to be vigilant against those who are seeking our destruction. So yes while maybe we should find more financially responsible ways of managing our military, we shouldn't pull back altogether and we need to stay prepared for any eventualities.

Sometimes war is necessary to prevent an even greater evil. Take World War II for example. It was absolutely right to engage the Nazis in a military conflict as to not do so would have been to condemn the entire world to a future under their thumb. If Hitler had not been defeated by World War II, how many more millions would have been killed? If the American Civil War had not been fought, how much longer would African-Americans have had to suffer as slaves?

Of course there will be times when you can solve things with diplomacy, or even in some cases by beaming covert propaganda into the people's homes (Radio Free Europe was one example of this - which eventually, spread out over many years, contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall), but failing that, war against entities or nations hostile to our country or our allies should never be taken off the table.

I say this from a conservative viewpoint that a large military is a wasteful way to spend our money. There is a lot of wasted spending being used on programs that are either outdated or no longer even useful. Our military is still by far the largest and most powerful military in the world right now. Our spending on military is more than like what, the next 5 combined? I'm not talking about removing all of our military or crippling our strength but shaving a bit so we can cut some wasteful spending.

I don't like Obama on our military (haven't liked a president reguarding our military in quite some time though) but he did have a good point about having a leaner more effective military. Of course there was little to no follow through but the original notion is a good one.

 

[Galen.Iksnudnard]

I say this from a conservative viewpoint that a large military is a wasteful way to spend our money. There is a lot of wasted spending being used on programs that are either outdated or no longer even useful. Our military is still by far the largest and most powerful military in the world right now. Our spending on military is more than like what, the next 5 combined? I'm not talking about removing all of our military or crippling our strength but shaving a bit so we can cut some wasteful spending.

I don't like Obama on our military (haven't liked a president reguarding our military in quite some time though) but he did have a good point about having a leaner more effective military. Of course there was little to no follow through but the original notion is a good one.

I guess I can see where you're coming from. I definitely agree that there's a lot of red tape when it comes to military spending, and it wouldn't hurt to cut back on that.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I think in addition as well, there needs to be a focus on revamping excessive and unnecessary environmental regulation, move to repeal or revamp nafta and bring back manufacturing industry to it's former glory as well as encouraging innovation and invention without having to go through insane amounts of government red tape.

 

[Pagan_Patriot]

I'm for the abortion in some cases, like rape. Maybe we can change that.