Richard Nixon:

- created the EPA
- ended the draft
- brought in wage controls
- oversaw the creation of the food stamp program

Conservative?

Well, IMO he gets away with the EPA as the free market does a lousy job with the environment.

As for the rest, he'd get away with it in Britain I think. British conservatives seem to account more for the fact that there is a certain minimum quality of life below which no amount of effort and toil will allow the poor and hard-working to take advantage of an opportunity society.

The impression I get of American conservatives (at least those that get elected) is that the focus is weighted towards small government and low taxes over the creation of a meritocracy.

So probably his policies wouldn't be classed as conservative in the American sense. But then again, Bush isn't much of a conservative either in many ways so my experience of Republican presidents hasn't been very illuminating [img]smile.gif[/img]

Sorry, no time for a more thorough response.

[ 11-01-2005, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]

So I reckon you saw The Colbert Report, Timber?

I don't know if I saw *that* Col-berh report, Groj, but I am guilty of watching him. ;)

They mentioned the Nixon being quite progressive thing the exact same evening you started the topic IIRC, so that's why I asked. Loving the show, by the way.

Dont forget he started talks with china too ... why the little commie fink [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

I heard he just wanted some take-out.

[ 11-09-2005, 09:56 AM: Message edited by: Timber Loftis ]

I heard he just wanted some take-out. </font>[/QUOTE]Picked up the wrong phone then ;)

That's the problem folks don't understand what a conservative is, they think it's a poluting, war mongering, greedy uncaring SOB's that want to see people starve, bambi die, and babies blown-up. When faced with the truth they try to cover their rear ends instead of having the fuzz on their testicles to say "Gee maybe we had them wrong and don't really know what they are about and are really doing".

Conservatives are NOT against the EPA, "Hale" we have to live on this planet too!! We are against stupid appilcation of EPA rules, and running arround crying the sky is falling cause someone somewhere say it is.

Conservative don't want war, "Hale" we the ones that will bear the brunt of the cost of war, the majority of the military is conservative.

Conservative don't want to see people starve and die from hunger. We are against giving people a free ride not against helping them. If anyone bothers to find out they'll see that the MOST conservative states are the ones that GIVE the most per captia to help the less fortunate(Oh by the way if you'll look at those States you'll also find out they are some of the poorest, in money terms, yet they give they MOST). We just understand everything is life has a cost and somewhere somehow that cost must be paid, and we more than pull our weight. Now here's another one for the "Earned Income Credit" was also stated under a Conservative, but that can't possibly be true cause everybody knows Conservatives are greedy and don't want to pay their fair share of taxes we want the poor to pay all of the taxes, it couldn't be a conservative that did that.

Conservative understand the wage and price controls were the largest single assinine policy the US government tried and directly lead to the run away inflation of the mid-late 70's. Yet the liberals don't understand that even after 2 two years of FAILURE here in the USA nad 70 years of FAILURE in the USSR.

That’s a fair summary of classic conservatism JDH, which is also why so many people class the current administration as extreme right wing rather than conservative. From Nixon to GW Bush is a long sad journey of the GOP becoming radical puppets of big business and far right abusers of the Christian faith. What happened to the Republican Party and the concept of "we the people"? Is there any hope that GW Bush replacement will lead the Repugs back to conservatism?

[ 11-21-2005, 07:14 AM: Message edited by: wellard ]