The narrow conservative majority on the Supreme Court has a philosophy of originalism or constructionism, that is interpreting the Constitution as it was written. Not reinterpreting it to please current fashion which is judicial activism by definition. So when this Supreme Court over turns a prior courts ruling it's reacting to judicial activism. The founding fathers created a devise for amending the Constitution you don't just have some philosopher king sitting on the Supreme Court deciding what the Constitution should say. Conservatives originalist do not believe in changing the Constitution by fiat
In the 18th century, Adam Smith was a classical liberal, he believed in freedom. In a departure from monarchy and feudalism. Today liberalism is an ideology that believes in major government intervention in your life, believes in freedom of out come rather than freedom of opportunity.
My brand of conservatism believes in limited government, free markets, individual freedom, individual rights and responsibilities, a strong national defense, nationalism, peace thru strength, traditional American values, a dedication to private property rights and equality of opportunity as opposed to equality of outcome. I believe that drugs and prostitution should be made legal and regulated.
Conservatism does not mean opposed to change. Today it is the conservatives that are demanding change in a number of institutions and policies. Specifically public education, it's liberals that want to maintain the status quo at all cost. Liberals that are in tow to the teachers unions they don't want choose and competition in this monopoly. When it comes to litigation it's conservatives that passionately want tort reform. While liberals want to maintain the status quo in large part because they get large donations from trial attorneys. The welfare state it was conservatives that pushed for welfare reform and liberals wanted to maintain the status quo. Social Security it's the conservatives proposing privatization and private accounts and liberals who want to maintain the status quo.
This blog is very interesting in terms of how moderatley it views the political world. Would you really call this a conservative blog.
Posted by: Mark Slack | August 28, 2007 at 11:22 PM