Friday, May 04, 2007

Differences Between Conservatives and Liberals

John Hawkins has two excellent posts detailing differences between conservatives and liberals (see here and here). Highlights:

--Conservatives believe that judges should act like umpires instead of legislating from the bench. That means that judges should determine whether laws are permissible under the Constitution and settle debates about the meaning of laws, not impose their will based on their ideological leanings. Liberals view judges as a backdoor method of getting unpopular left-leaning legislation passed. They don't want umpires, they want political partisans in black robes who will side with them first and then come up with a rationale to explain it.

--Conservatives are capitalists and believe that entrepreneurs who amass great wealth through their own efforts are good for the country and shouldn't be punished for being successful. Liberals are socialists who view successful business owners as people who cheated the system somehow or got lucky. That's why they don't respect high achievers and see them as little more than piggy banks for their programs.

--Conservatives believe that abortion ends the life of an innocent child and since we believe that infanticide is wrong, we oppose abortion. Most liberals, despite what they'll tell you, believe that abortion ends the life of an innocent child, but they prefer killing the baby to inconveniencing the mother.

--Conservatives are patriotic, believe that America is a great nation, and are primarily interested in looking out for the good of the country. That's why we believe in "American exceptionalism" and "America first." Liberals are internationalists who are more concerned about what Europeans think of us and staying in the good graces of the corrupt bureaucrats who control the UN than looking out for the best interests of this nation.

--Conservatives believe that encouraging poor people to be dependent on the government is counterproductive. Instead, we believe that by keeping taxes low, the economy strong, and by supporting churches and charities, we can create an environment that allows the poor to help themselves. Liberals believe in keeping poor people as dependent on the government as possible because people who are reliant on the government for their sustenance tend to vote for the political party that will give them the biggest handout.

--Conservatives may not be happy with how the war in Iraq has gone so far, but we believe that pulling out before the Iraqi government can defend itself from attack would lead to a nightmare scenario that has the potential to produce millions of dead Iraqis, a massive spike in worldwide oil costs, and an increase in terrorism after Al-Qaeda declares victory over the United States. Liberals understand the consequences for pulling out of Iraq too quickly just as well as conservatives, but they would prefer to see America lose the war in Iraq, despite the horrible consequences, because they believe it would benefit them politically.

And most importantly:
Conservatives believe that America has been and continues to be the greatest force for good in the world today. As a nation, we do more to promote freedom, help those who need it, and stand up for what's right than any other dozen nations combined. Liberals, on the other hand, always find a way to blame America first. Nobody, no enemy past, present, or future, will ever top American liberals when it comes to generating anti-American propaganda.

I disagree with one of his points. I think that liberals tend to want to keep poor people dependent on the government because they think that the poor are incapable of caring for themselves. I find this patronizing attitude to be repugnant. I'm sure there's a lot of self-interest there, too, because once you make a group dependent on you, you can count on their votes.