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first, i'd like to point out that government operates on more than fiscal and social planes. this thread is denying some major aspects of policy such as defense, diplomacy, law enforcement, gun control etc... to boil down national trends to just two factors (social and fiscal policy) is to deny much what people base their vote on.
while it is true that the democrats shouldn't put on a socially conservative face simply to gain more votes (the good lord knows there is enough pandering in politics as it is) it's logically fallacious to say that the fiscal conservatives have dishonestly co-opted social conservatives... as if they were mutually exclusive ideas. i think you'll find that many social conservatives are also fiscally conservative.
next comes the biggest problem i find in cthulu's initial post: it's just plain stick-your-head-in-the-ground political awareness to pretend that the liberal agenda has widespread support among mainstream America. liberal philosophy has become hysterical and self loathing. there is nothing positive coming from the liberal side... the only thing people hear is: 1) how dumb they are for not being liberal 2) how the world is going to end with conservative leaders in place.
liberalism has done some very positive things for America... but they've gone from being concerned about social justice to feeding their own sense of superiority. we here in the nation's center see michael moore's movies and watch protests on cspan and realize that not only does liberalism in it's current form has nothing to say to us... it's hostile to the things we hold dear.
the much vaunted liberal tolerance only tolerates liberalism, those who place hope and trust in tradition can feel the scorn and condescension coming our way from the left. democrats have two options: cut the cancers of pelosi, moore, chomsky and soros and embrace the social justice platform that made them relevant in the 60s and 70s. otherwise, they should own up to the fact that the face of liberalism has become radical and accept that they are separate from the hopes and aspirations of the nation at large.
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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.
~ Winston Churchill
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