Sagebrush
'Conservatism' Means What I Say It Does
RECEIVED Sun., Feb. 24, 2008
Dear Editor,
"Conservatism" means nothing whatsoever – other than the hatred of liberals (i.e., most people) and a fondness for catastrophic policies.
Conservatives favor small government. Yet government grows far less under Democrats than under conservatives. Harry Truman and Bill Clinton actually made the federal government smaller.
Conservatives are pro-military, yet Democratic presidents generally spend more on the military than Republican presidents.
Conservatives seem to think they're fiscal whizzes. Yet the Democrats outscore the Republicans on all economic counts – gross domestic product growth, unemployment, real wages, etc.
Conservatives are anti-abortion, yet abortion rates are much lower in places where liberal abortion laws apply. When conservative principles are applied, the abortion rate goes up.
Conservatives talk about balanced budgets. Yet they have racked up the biggest deficits in galactic history. By contrast, the Clinton administration turned the biggest deficit in history (under Bush I) into the biggest surplus in U.S. history.
Bush II promptly piddled away the Clinton surplus. This proves the man is a true conservative.
Conservatives prattle about moral probity, yet the Republicans routinely top the list of corrupt congresspeople.
The list of Republican pedophiles alone is shocking.
In contrast to what you may have heard on the corporate media, the much-maligned Clinton administration was the cleanest two-term administration of the 20th century (as measured by the total number of convictions and forced resignations within the administration).
By this same measure, Ronald Reagan was by far the most corrupt president in U.S. history – before GWB – with more than 100 members of his administration charged with crimes.
And, of course, the red states have higher abortion rates, crime rates, murder rates, etc., etc. So much for morality.
Conservatives lose on crime, too. The violent-crime rate went down for eight straight years under Bill Clinton. Now it's going up.
Public health? The infant mortality rate was at its lowest ever under Clinton. Under "conservative" rule, it has started going up for the first time in 40 years.
And, of course, conservatives keep changing their minds about what the hell it is (other than the hatred of most people). Eight years ago, GWB was a conservative. Now that he's the worst and most hated president in U.S. history, he's apparently not a conservative anymore.
"Conservatism" means nothing whatsoever – other than the hatred of liberals (i.e., most people) and a fondness for catastrophic policies.
Conservatives favor small government. Yet government grows far less under Democrats than under conservatives. Harry Truman and Bill Clinton actually made the federal government smaller.
Conservatives are pro-military, yet Democratic presidents generally spend more on the military than Republican presidents.
Conservatives seem to think they're fiscal whizzes. Yet the Democrats outscore the Republicans on all economic counts – gross domestic product growth, unemployment, real wages, etc.
Conservatives are anti-abortion, yet abortion rates are much lower in places where liberal abortion laws apply. When conservative principles are applied, the abortion rate goes up.
Conservatives talk about balanced budgets. Yet they have racked up the biggest deficits in galactic history. By contrast, the Clinton administration turned the biggest deficit in history (under Bush I) into the biggest surplus in U.S. history.
Bush II promptly piddled away the Clinton surplus. This proves the man is a true conservative.
Conservatives prattle about moral probity, yet the Republicans routinely top the list of corrupt congresspeople.
The list of Republican pedophiles alone is shocking.
In contrast to what you may have heard on the corporate media, the much-maligned Clinton administration was the cleanest two-term administration of the 20th century (as measured by the total number of convictions and forced resignations within the administration).
By this same measure, Ronald Reagan was by far the most corrupt president in U.S. history – before GWB – with more than 100 members of his administration charged with crimes.
And, of course, the red states have higher abortion rates, crime rates, murder rates, etc., etc. So much for morality.
Conservatives lose on crime, too. The violent-crime rate went down for eight straight years under Bill Clinton. Now it's going up.
Public health? The infant mortality rate was at its lowest ever under Clinton. Under "conservative" rule, it has started going up for the first time in 40 years.
And, of course, conservatives keep changing their minds about what the hell it is (other than the hatred of most people). Eight years ago, GWB was a conservative. Now that he's the worst and most hated president in U.S. history, he's apparently not a conservative anymore.
Perry Logan
