True conservatives are welcome in the Democratic Party

[MrScorpio]

Kool-Aid drinking, religio-gay-baiting, racist fuckheads can stay Republican all they want.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. Amen on both counts.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. True conservatives

you know, the ones who believe in fiscal responsibility, small government, and no foreign entanglements--have got to be leaving the Republican Party. In fact, I know many who have. They feel betrayed by the neo-cons. Many that I know have become active supporters of Democrats.

[HereSince1628]

3. Ah, more big tent mythos.

[MrScorpio]

4. We have a few "conservative" Dems running for office here in Virginia

They'll be better elected than the crooks running as Republicans ANYDAY

[Skittles]

5. could I kick their ass first?

I don't care much for conservatives period

[MrScorpio]

6. Go for it

I'd pay see you jump them into the party

[Skittles]

8. there's the ones I can surmise who have been fooled

but I think too many of them say they are republican as a socially acepted way of saying they are racist and homophobic

[HereSince1628]

11. Rather than beat them up get them the antidote to the kool-aid

I would like to have them provide one conservative yet Democratic guiding principle that would direct decision making at the cabinet level for each of the major Departments of the federal government.

[LaurenG]

7. It is the religious fanatics

which IMO are the greatest threat to our country and democracy in general. They are causing world wide problems just like the fanatics in the middle east. Dobson and Falwell and others are Imams for the lunatic fringe of Christianity. I hope that someone can expose them for the unbalanced, ungodly, low level thinkers that they are and soon. Their hatred and greed just blow my mind.

[tsuki]

9. I might accept a moderate, but conservatives today are kool-aid

drinking, religio-gay-baiting, women hating, racists f**kheads. I don't want them any where near the Dems.

[Cactus44]

16. I think you're missing the point

The people you're describing are *not* real conservatives.

[tsuki]

21. Oh, and they are what? NeoCons?

Why is everyone so willing to give modern American Conservatives a free pass? Want to see modern American Conservatives, go to the Free Republic.

What we need to do is reach out to the moderates in the Republican Party and tell them it is okay to flip-flop on issues. Once they start identifying themselves as moderate conservatives rather than lock-step conservatives, we will have a chance to sway their votes on key issues. Once it is acceptable for moderate conservative Republicans to run for office again, we have a chance at checks and balances.

And I am trying to do my part to convince people they are moderates by focusing on where we agree.

[LittleClarkie]

19. Aren't we supposed to be

above stereotyping.

Don't forget we have fiscally conservative, anti-war, Kerry-voting Republicans on the board even as we speak. And they are welcome in my book anyway.

[tsuki]

20. If that is your litmus test, then I must be a Conservative Republican.

It has taken me five years to convince my girlfriend that she is a moderate Republican. And she is. She is paygo, but believes in Roe V Wade. She is small government, but a believes in a safety net, esp. for children. She is very religious, but the Sky-Taxi people freak her out. She flip-flops. She is a moderate.

This next election, Republicans will not be able to approach her and say, "Vote for me. I am a Conservative. I am not one of those NeoCons." She knows that a conservative and neocon are the same thing.

[dbt]

10. Been thinking that for some time, MrScorpio!

Wouldn't it be GREAT to hear those words from the Party itself? And couldn't we USE some True Conservative principles like fiscal responsibility and being certain that something needs to be changed before we plow ahead?

Remember New Orleans

[bridgit]

12. i don't have a problem with that, it is this current batch of idiot...

republicans that have destroyed the moniker of 'conservative' i.e. conservation, live within your means, life in moderation, etc; in the process of casting an evil onus onto 'liberalism'.

"Kool-Aid drinking, religio-gay-baiting, racist fuckhead" conservatives have lived by their sword, it is time for them to fall it imo.

[BeFree]

13. Lets be clear

There are Social Conservatives versus Governmental Conservatives.

The Social Conservatives want to make everybody into their own image. They want to tell people how to live. They want to narrowly rule our culture.

Governmental Conservatives think government should not be in the business of telling people how to live and laws should not be made limiting the liberty of any individual.

What's happened is the Social Conservatives have forced their way into the government and use laws to tell people how to live. In so doing, they are corrupting government.

The consequence of that is a Culture of Corruption.

[KingFlorez]

14. Conservative Democrats are true conservatives

Some people in the South still trust Conservative Democrats over Republicans.

[mtnsnake]

15. It depends what they're conservative about

If they're the kind of conservatives that don't like corrupt government like we have now, then fine, but if they're the types of conservatives that want to jam religion down everyone's throats then let them stay where ever else they currently are.

[MrScorpio]

17. We need more "conservatives" like this guy

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3606599

[Telly Savalas]

18. So for those of us who believe in things like

progressive taxation, universal health care, a federal system to ensure public transportation and education get funded even in poorer areas, protecting the environment, etc., where are we supposed to go?

[aaronnyc]

22. What is a "true conservative"?

The ideology behind American Conservatism has changed drastically over time. I don't know how anyone can say which version of conservatism is the real one. The only consistency which I can find in American conservatism is that it has always supported big business at the expense of the lower and middle class.

Were the "conservatives" of the 1920's and '30's: who were isolationist, anti-immigration, anti-New Deal, and opposed any form of government intervention in the free-market economy - the "true conservatives", which you speak of? I don't know if they are "true conservatives"; but I do know that I don't want them in the Democratic Party.
I also don't want Goldwater's brand of conservatism in the Democratic Party. Goldwater thought we should drastically reduce government spending in every area - except for the military. He refused to rule out using a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the USSR; Goldwater also believed that state's rights were more important than civil rights. I certainly don't support that version of conservatism.

Who are these "true conservatives" that you are welcoming into the Party? Taft, Goldwater, Reagan, Pat Buchanan, and Bush II have all been considered "strong conservatives" - yet, all had very different political positions (and all have managed to be dangerous in their own unique way). I don't know if any of these people are "true conservatives" or not, but I do know that they are not welcome in my Democratic Party.