Liberal or Conservative

Whether conservative or liberal, the growing partisanship in American politics illustrates a stark need for foundational changes to occur. Looking at the Founding Fathers and their primary focus in creating the American system makes the smaller debate over liberal or conservative factions moot. In full, the current debate between a conservative or liberal political focus detracts from the ability to move forward as a nation. Recent events illuminate the overall political reduction that takes place when deciding on an ultimate decision between strictly liberal or conservative policies.

- Liberal or conservative factions seemed to rise to power in varying generations. Especially within the twentieth century, each presidential administration seems to undue the policies of the previous President. For the most part, larger national trends often mirror this presidential shift as each generation lays claim to specific societal movements. The overly used, the grass is always greener, could not be more true than when applied to the American political scene. Consistently, the independent factions in America seem to decide elections as both political parties, either conservative or liberal, require this swing-vote to secure victory.

- Possibly the best example of the persistent choosing between liberal or conservative factions dates back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After five consecutive terms of Democratic rule, the nation underwent a conservative trend in the 1950s. This back-and-forth continues throughout much of American history as the same process would occur after the Kennedy-Johnson reign, to the Nixon-Ford years.

- Although as a nation America has maintained its integral strength in world affairs, many domestic concerns eat away at the overall success. Rather than approaching policy in a comprehensive fashion, the administration in charge often peace-meals together a weak example of their desired goal and hopes that future administrations will bolster their attempts. Many of these policies lack actual political consideration, but due to the partisanship in politics, no issue is left with out political debate.

- This constant fighting between conservative or liberal parties makes any instrumental change impossible. Obama’s recent victory left a glistening impression of the American political scene, but less that just a year after, his administration appears inactive and on the verge of dissolution. Rather than working through change, the focus on American conservative or liberal parties makes the losing party hold out and simply say no. This disallows any type of beneficial policy and hurts the nation in a notable way.

Moving forward to a beneficial American political system, the split between America–liberal or conservative–needs to be repaired in a big way. Either through the induction of a successful third party, or more action-taken place by dissatisfied voters, something needs to shake up the stagnation of the American government.

Everyone Is a Liberal

In 2010, it seems that many Americans are liberal when it comes to many issues. We no longer live in a time of discrimination, whether talking about race, gender, sexual preference, etc. Of coarse there are people in this country who support conservative ideas and there are many liberals who have conservative view points on some issues, but the liberal ideology is taking over this country. It also seems that many conservative ways of fixing problems have become outdated and are out of touch with today’s problems. Also minorities are standing up for themselves in unprecedented ways and it seems to be working. Something is happening right now in our culture that is exciting and it seems to be liberals leading the way.

- It was not until President Johnson, that civil rights became something that needed to be dealt with. Before him, civil rights was an important issue that was political suicide and many presidents were hesitant to take on the issue full force. While racism still exists, there are no laws limiting freedoms based on race. President Barack Obama is currently suggesting that the “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy of the military be appealed. It will be a lengthy process, but last week there was the first hearing on the matter in 17 years. In today’s liberal society, there is no reason to keep talented and qualified individuals from serving their country just because of their sexual preference. Women no longer make less money than men. Some studies even suggest that many women make more than men due to qualifying for higher paying jobs. Racial and social discrimination seems to be disappearing right before our eyes.

- The word liberal suggests that you are open to new ideas. When it comes to current world problems, why would you not be open to new ideas or new ways of fixing a given problem? Aren’t we all liberals? Our economy is in it’s worst state since the great depression, we are involved in two wars and unemployment is at around 10%. Shouldn’t we be open to new ideas?

- Conservative talking points and suggestions can be frustrating sometimes. For example, a popular conservative suggestion to fixing economic problems is giving tax cuts to Americans. The theory is that if people keep more of their money, they will spend more which will stimulate the economy. However, this theory does not work during economic situations like our current one because there is no consumer confidence. When people keep more of their money, they will now save it due to fear of the future instead of spending it.

In our current state of the union, many feel it is foolish to not take on new problems with new methods. Liberals have the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate and there is a liberal president. Liberals seem to be the majority of power in our country and that seems to reflect our population. Everyone is a liberal.

George Bush

Former president George W. Bush was looked at as being one of the most conservative presidents our nation has ever seen, but if you look at his policies you will see that due to certain circumstances he had many liberal views. What he proposed in his campaigns and preached in his speeches is not what historians will view as his legacy. Now it is not be suggested that George W. Bush was secretly a democrat, but the policies he put forward put him in agreement with politicians holding a liberal view on government.

It seems very hypocritical that many President Bush supporters now claim that President Obama is a “socialist”, suggesting that he wants government to be as big as possible. If they are against big government, that is reasonable but President Bush’s administration saw the biggest expansion of government in our nation’s history. Bush supporters are also calling out Obama saying that he spends too much. Being against mass government spending is a valid claim, but it seems odd only because President Bush spent the same amount as of all the preceding presidents combined by the end of his first term. Growing government and mass spending are actions of a politician with liberal views on government. President Bush also had a liberal view when it came to immigration. He supported an amnesty program for illegal immigration. Although it received bi-partisan support, many still consider the policy to take a liberal view. Bush’s support of the McCain-Goldwater immigration reform bill illustrated his willingness to utilize liberal views when signing legislation. Due to the lack of control of Congress, republicans maintained little difficulty in countering the liberal view-point all together and put a stop to comprehensive immigration reform from the outset. President Bush also supported NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) which is an agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada permitting trade between the three countries. NAFTA was signed by President Bill Clintion. A democratic president with very liberal views.

President Bush’s liberal view on some policies should not mistake him as a democrat, but it is only fair to view his policies with honesty. Many republicans try to tarnish democrats by calling them “liberals”. It seems as though they either don’t know what the word means or they are just being hypocritical. Conservatives supported one of the most liberal republican presidents of our time. Only time will tell how President Bush’s presidency will be remembered, but it is clear that he shared and practiced several liberal views. His speeches suggested that he was a hardcore conservative and a republican to the core, but in his case actions speak much louder than words.

American Liberal Mind

The liberal mind in America is a powerful voice that has spoken loud enough that our government has now reflected that voice. A liberal mind in American politics means you are open to new ways of solving problems and dealing with issues. We live in a fast paced world with many ways of instant communication and incredible technology that is evolving on a daily basis. It would seem very foolish to not have a liberal mind in today’s world. The liberal mind of America believes in civil rights, equal opportunity and freedom. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is what we as Americans still want so not much has changed since the beginning of America in that regard.

It is interesting to think that most Americans have always had a liberal mind, but until recently people had a liberal mind in a conservative country. Up until the 1960s, liberalism was just a hope or a dream for many Americans. The democrats, or liberals now have the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate and also control the White House. This is a new and exciting time for American politics. Conservative politics will not work well in a liberal world like the one we live in.

Now in a time where we are all equal in terms of the law, the liberal mind can be used and exercised. Our founding fathers had the liberal minds that we Americans in 2010 constantly try to duplicate. We now have the first African-American president in our nation’s history. We as a country cannot forget the importance of this. Look at how African-Americans were treated as little as 40 to 50 years ago. This is an incredible accomplishment that will be in the history books that our kids and our kid’s kids will learn from and it just happened! This is an exciting time for America and the world. It will be the liberal minds of today that get us to the brighter future of tomorrow. Liberal minds across the world are the reason we have achieved the peace we have today. However, we cannot let our success at this point blind us of the troubles we still face as a country. There is still hate, pain and suffering. There are American citizens that cannot afford health care, there is plenty of racism in this country and there are many citizens that sleep on the streets due to no fault of their own. It will be the powerful liberal mind of our president and politicians as well as the liberal spirit of the American people that will help us overcome our problems.

Anything is possible and we all have the passion to succeed. However, for some that passion is a day dream and are too lazy to make our dreams come true. In an age where anything and everything is right at our finger tips, the current generation feels they deserve something for nothing. Parents and especially grandparents of this generation worked hard in order to get what they wanted. Somehow the great technology of today affected the energy and motivation of the youth. We must not let the convenience of technology affect the beauty of the American liberal mind.

Politics as Usual

In today’s society with a plethora of ways of instant communication, politicians from both the left and right have taken full advantage of their ways to accomplish their goals. Politics has always been an ever evolving art form that plays on the minds of the country’s citizens. Facts are not an important variable in the equation of politics and that became clear during the 2008 presidential election. Since the majority of American citizens get their information from TV, newspapers, magazines and the internet, all a politician or a political party needs are talking points. These are short non-descriptive messages that are usually a generalization with little to no factual evidence involved. Politics are not hard to understand, it is the means in which to promote policy. However, for as long as our country has existed, a politic has been a way to manipulate citizens in order for them to think a certain way in terms of government.

- The 2008 presidential election was the epitome of the political game. While our country was involved with two wars, facing the greatest economic downfall since the great depression and unemployment numbers rising on a monthly basis, the Republican candidate John McCain found it necessary to talk about democratic nominee Barack Obama’s personal associations and lie about his policies. McCain ran ads suggesting that Obama surrounded himself with terrorists and racists. This is politics as usual; distract the public from legitimate concerns by terrifying them that the other candidate is a threat to national security and do so by lying.

- American citizens who get their news from television are subjected to the worst part of politics. The conservative news channel Fox News has been caught twisting the truth and blatantly lying several times. It is generally known by the public that they are a conservative news channel but instead of being open about it, they choose to use the slogan “Fair and balanced”. The Democratic party has TV stations, newspapers and magazines that promote a liberal agenda as well. The politic game is made easier on the politicians when any of their supporters do not fact check what they see on TV or read in the newspaper by researching any of the given topics.

- Talking points are the most helpful tool in the politic tool box. These are brief messages used repeatedly by a political campaign and/or political party that are simple, easy to understand and promote an idea or policy. The negative side to using talking points is that they do not always include facts or use rational ideas to support the overall message. In January of 2010, President Barack Obama spoke at the House Republican Retreat in Baltimore, MD and took questions from several Republican representatives. Many of the questions would include manipulating and suggestive talking points in order to make the president look weak and unintelligent on national policy. For example one representitive claimed that he had a health care plan that would cover twice as many citizens as Obama’s proposed plan and would not cost the government a dime. That message sounds great and when Americans hear that they cannot help but support the representative and his plan. However, it simply is not true or possible. President Obama politely explained to the audience that this type of talk might help you win elections but it has no factual baring at all. He asked the representative how it would be possible to cover millions of Americans with health insurance for free and said that he would like to see his math. This is how the game of politics is played; Say whatever will help you win elections and/or accomplish your goals by telling the public what they want to hear, whether it is true or not. A politic chess game is difficult to win if you are on the other side because sometimes the truth is not interesting enough to be explained on TV or in the newspapers.

The art of politics is usually what keeps people interested in government. How our country works in terms of policy and relations might not be too interesting to people on the surface. However, politics as usual turns our government into a dramatic reality TV show. Our means of getting the news could persuade us to think one way or the other. This will always be the case. Most politicians want to either stay in office or obtain a higher office and are willing to do what it takes in order to achieve that goal. Unfortunately, the body politic sometimes craves this back and forth between right and left. This is what fuels this fire. As negative as it might seem, it is what also encourages debate which is essential to a healthy democracy.

Two Party System

The American government has been controlled by two political parties for many years. The Democratic party and the Republican party are the two major political parties. A political party is a group of people with similar political views that want to control government and promote their ideas. Each political party believes that their ways of governing are the best way to lead the country to health and prosperity. The Democrats believe in liberalism and the Republicans believe in conservatism. In the 21st century political parties have become important factors in order to raise money for campaigns, but American citizens have become less loyal to either political party. The political party in power will usually adopt ideas and policy from both sides in order to maintain support from liberals and conservatives. In many ways both political parties use different means to get to the same end. There are many smaller political parties, but most citizens who don’t identify with either of the two major parties consider themselves independents. Almost every political campaign has made it a huge priority to gain support of not only their base but to independents as well in order to obtain the majority of the vote.

- The Democratic party was formed in 1792 by Thomas Jefferson as a way to promote the Bill of Rights and oppose the Federalist party. Six years later the “party of the common man” was changed to the Democratic-Republican party. The Republican party started in 1854 and stemmed from the debate on whether or not to expand slavery into the new Western territories.

- During the creation of our country and for many years, political party loyalty was a lot more important than it is today. This might be due to politicians being less independent in ideas and policy than they are today. Generally speaking in the past, conservatives running for office would strictly suggest only conservative views and liberals would use only liberal ideas. However, today politicians are given credit and gain more support if they are mavericks and promote whatever policies they believe will accomplish the goal, whether it is a conservative or liberal means of doing so. President Barack Obama has been promoting mostly liberal policies. However, he has issued tax cuts to a majority of Americans and has issued a spending freeze starting in 2011. Tax cuts and spending freezes are both conservative ways to help fix economic problems. Most modern politicians balance liberalism and conservatism in order to fix our nations problems.

- Independent voters are a major concern for both political parties. If a politician running for office is promoting policies that are critical to their party, then chances are they have the support of the majority of their party. Having the support from your base is usually not enough to win an election. This is why office seekers must adhere to independent voters. These are people who do not identify with either major party and will support either liberal and conservative policies depending on the issue. Over 19 million independents voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

Many Americans see the two party system as a healthy way to run the country. In order to fix current domestic and national problems, our government will need to take a liberal or conservative approach depending upon the issue. The system that runs our government today is similar to how it was in the beginning in terms of principles and values of the political parties, but we have come a long way from the the system that used to be occupied by many parties. Bi-partisanship is an issue that has gotten more popular with American citizens as time goes on. Complete party loyalty is not respected today as much as it used to be and an independent approach is now the goal of many politicians.

Political Stance

The political views of President Barack Obama is an inspiring new change of pace to American politics. While he promotes many liberal policies, he has adopted several conservative ideas and is a huge supporter of bi-partisanship as well. His political stance on issues is not determined by the party he belongs to, but by facts and a rational thought process in tackling our current world problems. He doesn’t just talk about reaching across the aisle, he actually does it. This is a breath of fresh air for many Americans as President George W. Bush and his administration were not known for an open door policy or bi-partisanship. Some citizens believe that President Bush’s unwillingness to listen to others is part of the reason why our country is in it’s current shape. American citizen’s political views have been changing a lot in the last decade due to the major changes in government during this time.

- President Barack Obama’s political stance is not subjected to just democratic views and ideas. He has included many Republican ideas in his proposed health care reform bill as well as his economic reform legislation. Many Americans would argue that his foreign policies are very conservative. The president’s opponent from the 2008 election, Senator John McCain co-sponsored a defense contracting reform bill that Obama signed into law. He encouraged both parties to come together to pass a credit card bill of rights and was successful in doing so. He also got Republican support in order to extend compensation to the unemployed. This is what our country needs right now. Many politicians talk about being bi-partisan, but very few actually follow through with it.

- Many would argue that the difference between President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush is like night and day. President Bush’s political stance was extremely conservative. His political views reflected only those of his own party especially when it came to the economy. He relied on tax cuts as one of his main ways of fixing economic problems. Some Americans were not supportive of his tax cuts to large businesses who were not only making record profits but shipping jobs overseas as well. It was during George W. Bush’s presidency that many American’s changed their political views. President Bush took office with a record surplus and left office with a record deficit and also started two wars. This caused many Americans to look at their own political stance and ask some important questions.

- President Obama has not been promoting the democratic party the way other democratic presidents did. He encourages bi-partisanship almost every time he speaks. He is able to be passionate about his policies and political views without putting down the other party. Many American’s have hope that he can lead this country into a new era of politics. Only time will tell whether his words and actions translate to progress but most can agree that this is a huge change of pace from politics as usual with presidents especially within the last 30 years.

President Obama’s political stance might not be due to his personal beliefs but rather a demand of bi-partisanship by the American people. With the worst economic downfall since the great depression and our country involved with two wars, we cannot afford for the president’s personal political views to be affected by petty politics and opposition party bickering. We need a leader who can rise above politics as usual and do what’s right for the citizens of this great country. Many hope that years from now, there will be a time known as pre-Obama politics and post-Obama politics and that the ladder will be a much more positive political environment.

Libertarians

Libertarians are a growing demographic in the American political scene. The combination of a stringent two-party system and the over-simplification of central ideas called for a three rail of sorts to introduce new maxims and types of legislation. An American libertarian often pulls their ideas from a mix of historical and modern resources to create a pertinent, but American-based ideal. Historically, many individuals have maintained a libertarian mind-set without deviating from either central parts. On the contrary, recent trends display libertarians identifying with an actual American-libertarian party that gathers more support each year.

- Many libertarians chart their history back to the signing of the Constitution. Although Thomas Jefferson never actually identified himself as a libertarian, many of his ideals came to make-up the beginning of a libertarian-based social theory. The Jeffersonian democracy put-forth several libertarian ideals. Among them included an extreme decentralization of the federal government. Also, Jefferson believed in an overall limited role of the federal government in everyday life, very much to the contrary of the modern political system.

- Modern libertarians often criticize both main political parties. The argument against democrats remains more on the surface as their focus on state-organized welfare and social systems runs contrary to libertarian belief. Republicans, on the other hand, state many libertarian values in their platform but in common practice fail to deviate from the status quo of huge national debts and bloated bureaucracies.

- The recent advent of libertarian-based politics stemmed predominately from Rep. Ron Paul. Paul, former representative of the libertarian party, took national spotlight in the several Republican political debates. His arguments illustrated the modern libertarian belief-set and sent a seismic charge through the modern political system. His debates centered around a clear removal of hundreds of past American focuses.

- Among other considerations, Ron Paul advocated for the end of several failed social programs. First, he claims the War on Drugs policy that began in the 1980s illustrates failed policy that is perpetuated by politics more than good policy. In addition, Paul places doubt on the current FBI/CIA system and cites the incessant waste of money as the prime motivator for initiating wide-spread reforms.

- Libertarians also criticize the supposed free-market system America currently employs. For the most part, libertarians fights for the absolute freedom of the private industry and claim that this is the most effective way to regulate the failed American system. The future of these politics remains unclear, as the main stream media often resulted in poking fun at the insurgent libertarians.

The grass-root support received by Ron Paul indicates a growing trend for a third political party. Libertarians and there new ideas attract many disaffected Americans. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents display an inkling of this libertarian ideal and will most likely incorporate many of these ideas rather than risking lose to them in the future.

Health Care

It can be frustrating to listen to a republican talk about health care reform. If you didn’t fact check what they say, you would think the democrat’s plan was formed in order to turn us into a socialist country and eliminate our senior citizen population. Many are frustrated because the democrats have the majority and still cannot get reform passed. After a year of vigorous back and forth and false information funded by special interests, health care reform went from top priority to something that can wait.

- At first health care reform seemed sensible and obvious and to many democrats it still is, but the debate has proven how corrupt many politicians really are. Forget all the talking points on both sides for a moment and try to think of one good reason why all Americans should not have good quality and affordable health insurance. If you are drawing a blank, it’s OK. So are many American citizens and politicians. The problem is that many politicians are in office due in large part because of the health insurance industry. Insurance companies donate ridiculous amounts of money to many campaigns in exchange for favors. These favors can include legislation that deregulates the industry more than it already is or promises to not promote any legislation at all, no one knows these details but it is obvious that insurance companies are not donating millions of dollars for nothing.

- After the 2008 election, the democrats had won a super majority in the senate, meaning they had 60 seats which would prevent a republican filibuster. This was the largest majority in our nation’s history. After Senator Ted Kennedy passed away, republican Scott Brown won a special election that was held and ruined the democrat’s super majority but they still have the second largest majority in history. So many Americans are suggesting that due to this situation, the republican opposition shouldn’t matter. However, it does matter because there is corruption in the democratic party as well. There are also democrats facing re-election in 2010 and if health care reform doesn’t turn out well, that would reflect poorly on them.

It seemed inevitable that after a year of false information being fed to the public, the topic of health care reform was going to become less popular. Starting in December of 2009, democrats started holding back on their message of urgency in regard to health care. President Obama recently stated that he would rather take time in order to get good health care reform legislation. The democrat’s new top priority is creating and saving jobs. Democrat supporters have grown frustrated with the inability to get reform passed. Whether you are a democrat or republican, it only seems right that we cover our citizens with good quality health care at an affordable price. Our current system will also add lots of money to our deficit and it is not making us healthier. It is in our best interest to get this done. Democrats should not be the only ones held responsible for fixing our problems.