in celebration of my 3,000th post, I am pleased to once again post . . .

[OneBlueSky]

compelling evidence that LIBERALS ARE THE TRUE CONSERVATIVES . . . as so well articulated in the following letter to the editor of The Oregonian a few days ago . . . THESE are the kinds of things our candidates need to be saying when BushCo drags out the dreaded "L-word" and tries to tar them with it . . .

Credo of a conservative
by Mark Oberzil (letter to the editor)
The Oregonian
02/26/04

I am a conservative. I believe in staying solvent and out of debt.

I am a conservative. I believe in keeping my nose out of other people's business, their nations and their bedrooms.

I am a conservative. I believe in conserving our assets and our resources -- our air, our land, our water. Accordingly, I don't support or engage in wastefulness, inefficiency or lavish excesses.

I am a conservative. I think an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Therefore I support appropriate government spending on such things as infrastructure, schools, social welfare and crime prevention, because in the long run it's cheaper and more effective.

I am a conservative. I don't sign on to risky schemes. I think if you give Bob a dollar, it helps Bob, but it may not necessarily help Oscar, Fred or Maria.

I am a conservative. If I am attacked, I respond appropriately and conservatively. I do not swat mosquitoes with dynamite.

I am a conservative. I don't deal falsely or prematurely with facts.

I am a conservative. I understand the purposes of various institutions. It is the job of government to govern, the job of religion to address spiritual needs, and the job of business to secure profits by producing needed goods and services. I do not confuse these institutions.

I am a conservative. I understand my position in the world and that my opinions are not the only valid ones.

I do not have an exclusive claim on what is right, good or patriotic, and those who disagree with me are not automatically evil traitors.

What's really weird, though, is that I've always thought these things, but now everyone calls me a "liberal"!

note to mods . . . as a letter to the editor, this is actually one big paragraph . . . broken up for readability . . .

[Tinoire]

1. Very good 3000th post!

Congratulations! :toast:

"Only Conservatives & Leftists bother with details anymore" (read at Free Republic)

[Festivito]

2. The small-c conservative, not the large-C brand.

I find myself a small-l liberal only in the sense that one must give well to receive well. Being conservative with that small-c can do a pretty good job of that.

[Toots]

3. This kind of letter warms my heart

It isn't confrontational and it applies logic and understanding. Hard to debate such concepts. :thumbsup: