Liberal_vs_Conservative

Political “Liberal” and political “Conservative” are the heart of our political divisions today. Ideally, Conservatism refers to political philosophies or ideologies that do not like change. Conservatives consider their values to be valid for all persons, not just for themselves. (Conservatism) The values that different forms of conservatism emphasize are order over chaos, orientation toward the past rather than the future, the rural over the urban, unity and homogeneity over discord and fragmentation, existence over possibility, slow and incremental change over impractical visionary programs, as well as an acceptance of inequality over redistribution. (Conservatism) Liberalism comes from the Latin word meaning “free”. It is an ideology that favors individual liberty, democracy, and equality. Liberal values include the premises that governments rule with the consent of the governed, that all people have equal rights under the law, and that no person shall be deprived of liberty or property without due process of law. (Liberalism) All forms of liberalism claim to protect the fundamental dignity and autonomy of the individual, under law. Modern liberalism advocates a mixed economy and some form of welfare or workfare to protect the poor. Liberals agree on the idea that society should have very limited interests in the private behavior of its citizens in the areas of private sexual relations, free speech, personal conscience or religious beliefs, as well as political association. (Liberalism) Most people equate conservatism with the political right and the Republican Party. They also equate liberalism with the political left and the Democratic Party. These are ideals much older than the left-right division. (Conservatism) For example, most modern conservatives support liberal ideals like the free market and capitalism. Ideally, liberals do not believe in more governmental control such as through state owned enterprises, which places them in opposition to social democrats. (Liberalism) Other examples of liberal and conservative values include the conservative anti-abortion issue and the liberal right-to-choose, the conservative fight against homosexual marriages and the liberal issue for those marriages, the conservative attempt at welfare reform, and the ever-present conservative tax cuts and liberal tax and spend philosophy. Again, many of the issues are blurred when looked at under the strict definitions of liberals and conservatives. Great Presidents tend to be those who take an active role in governing and not passive roles by just reacting to what happens when confronted. They use defining events during their Presidency to lead the nation in a positive and successful manner. They use the first 6 months of their term when public ratings are high, the “honeymoon period”, to accomplish great things. They tend to have approval ratings that remain high throughout their term and avoid the “reverse J curve” towards the end of the term when ratings go down. Usually when a President is elected they have a “Honeymoon period” for the 1st 6 months of the president’s term when public ratings are high and they can get many items in their platform passed in congress. President Ronald Wilson Reagan was a great president. After his election in 1980, his first term was met with numerous defining events including a poor relationship with the Soviet Union, high inflation, a recession, and high unemployment. He immediately went to work in his first 6 months to start solving all of these problems. Reagan was a conservative and stimulated the economy with huge income tax cuts along with reductions in welfare and other programs. His conservatism was further evidenced by stressing traditional values as work, the family, patriotism, and self-reliance. (Reagan) By the end of his first term most of the domestic issues were conquered. He reintroduced the notion of limited government, a conservative value, and placed policies in effect that set our nation on a near 20 year economic boom. (Shadroui) He even survived an attempted assassination in 1981 when he was shot in the chest. Reagan avoided the “reverse J curve” at the end of his first term and was reelected in 1984 with 525 electoral votes, more than any other candidate in history. His foreign policy wizardry was evidenced by the signing of a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union in 1987. (Reagan) Margaret Thatcher claims he won the Cold War without firing a shot. (Shadroui) Dr. Marvin Olasky, professor of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin who wrote the book, Compassionate Conservatism, states that "compassion" means "to suffer with" and the crux of “Compassionate Conservatism” is getting government into the business of supporting faith-based organizations. It searches for the means to change hearts. (Woolley) Stephen Goldsmith, Bush's senior domestic policy advisor states that compassionate conservatives believe in low taxes, limited government regulation, and the vast power of the free enterprise system. According to the principles of compassionate conservatism, government has a responsibility, not to redistribute the wealth of citizens but to provide the underprivileged with skills and opportunities to create their own wealth. In a phrase, Goldsmith says that compassionate conservatism is "empowerment, not entitlement." (Goldsmith) During the Clinton Administration, EPA officials proposed new regulations governing storm water runoff that would devastate the pocketbooks of many Americans. The fact that the Bush set aside plans to implement these burdensome regulations is an embodiment of "compassionate conservatism" with a solution that protects the environment without ravaging the pocketbooks of hard-working families. (Gernstein) Three other examples of Bush’s Compassionate Conservatism are his approaches to welfare reform, tax cuts, and social security. Simply stated, as welfare recipients got jobs and adjusted to the requirements of work, the discipline of the work ethic improved all aspects of their character. The Bush administration is attempting to re-engineer the tax code and the Social Security tax to make sure that working people get to enjoy the fruits of their labor and not taxed back to poverty to pay benefits to their non-working neighbors. (Magnet) Finally, Bush refers to his faith when addressing issues more than any other President in recent history which is further evidence of his legitimate compassionate conservative label. BIBLIOGRAPY “Compassionate Conservatism.” Sourcewatch. 1 October 2005. http://www.sourcewatch.org/wiki.phtml'title=Compassionate_conservatism “Conservatism.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia. 28 September 2005. Gerntein, Syd. “EPA's Regulatory Turnaround an Example of Compassionate Conservatism in Action.” June 2002. The National Center for Public Policy Research. 4 October 2005. Goldsmith, Stephen. “What Compassionate Conservatism Is-and Is Not.” Hooverdigest. 3 October 2005. < http://www.hooverdigest.org/004/goldsmith.html> “Liberalism.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia. 28 September 2005. Magnet, Myron.” Solving President Bush’s Urban Problem” 2001. City Journal. 30 September 2005. "Reagan, Ronald Wilson". World Book Encyclopedia. 1994. Shadroui, George. “Reagan: a Great President or Not'” 21 October 2003. Freerepublic. 4 October 2005. Tapper, Jake. “Defining compassionate conservatism.” Salon. 3 October 2005. Taylor, Andrew. “White House, GOP Leaders still focused on preserving long-term spending cuts.” The Shreveport Times 28 September 2005, Hurricane Aftermath ed.: 7A. Woolley, Lynn. “What is compassionate conservatism.” Belogical. 30 September 2005.