AZspot AZspot

blue bits. red rocks.
Monday 21 February 2011
What Conservatives Really Want

The central issue in our political life is not being discussed. At stake is the moral basis of American democracy.

The individual issues are all too real: assaults on unions, public employees, women’s rights, immigrants, the environment, health care, voting rights, food safety, pensions, prenatal care, science, public broadcasting, and on and on.

Budget deficits are a ruse, as we’ve seen in Wisconsin, where the Governor turned a surplus into a deficit by providing corporate tax breaks, and then used the deficit as a ploy to break the unions, not just in Wisconsin, but seeking to be the first domino in a nationwide conservative movement.

Deficits can be addressed by raising revenue, plugging tax loopholes, putting people to work, and developing the economy long-term in all the ways the President has discussed. But deficits are not what really matters to conservatives.

Conservatives really want to change the basis of American life, to make America run according to the conservative moral worldview in all areas of life.

In the 2008 campaign, candidate Obama accurately described the basis of American democracy: Empathy — citizens caring for each other, both social and personal responsibility—acting on that care, and an ethic of excellence. From these, our freedoms and our way of life follow, as does the role of government: to protect and empower everyone equally. Protection includes safety, health, the environment, pensions and empowerment starts with education and infrastructure. No one can be free without these, and without a commitment to care and act on that care by one’s fellow citizens.

The conservative worldview rejects all of that.

49 notes

  1. fuckyeahkeithdraws reblogged this from ihatehavingfriends
  2. ihatehavingfriends reblogged this from drinkthe-koolaid
  3. victimofcircumstance reblogged this from mikesova
  4. waiyanjpn reblogged this from azspot
  5. mikesova reblogged this from drinkthe-koolaid
  6. christianarghhh reblogged this from azspot
  7. onehundreddollars reblogged this from drinkthe-koolaid
  8. auditinprogress reblogged this from drinkthe-koolaid
  9. drinkthe-koolaid reblogged this from azspot
  10. coloringtheapparatus reblogged this from azspot and added:
    Agreed with the understanding that ‘conservatives’ is not a monolith.
  11. ron-swansong reblogged this from azspot
  12. flymetothamoon reblogged this from azspot
  13. azspot posted this

A GNT creation ©2007–2011