Why do we keep honoring the term "conservative" by continuing to use it?

[IDemo]

Conservative - "supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society." Nothing of the sort exists in today's "conservative" mindset, if it ever did. What is supported now by the leadership and their base is nothing short of a dismantling of America as we know it. It's all about destruction of the social safety net, military adventurism, corporate malfeasance and xenophobia.

It's time for another term to describe their political philosophy. Suggestions?

[Zambero]

1. "Conservative" and "Conservatism" are misnomers

In fact they conserve nothing. By attemting to return a civilized society to a less than civil era that did not include equal rights for all its citizens, safe working conditions, fair and equitable taxation, educational opportunity, a minimum wage, environmental protections, access to affordable health care, freedom from intrusive religious influence, reproductive rights, and reasonable financial oversight, so-called conservatives are more than willing to wipe out long-standing advances -- the antithesis of conserving. The correct term is reaction, advocated by today's reactionaries who bear little or no resemblance to true conservatives such as Barry Goldwater, Gerald Ford, or Everett Dirksen.

[SoutherDem]

2. I usually use "ultra-conservative"

to distinguish the no-negotiation group.

The problem when I uses the words I would like to use I may be accused of using incendiary speech. (think political movements during the 1930's & 40's).

[MrScorpio]

3. I'm using "right winger" these days

Conservatives are to conserve these days as rationalists are to rats.

[IDemo]

5. "Conservatives are to conserve these days as rationalists are to rats."

Hope you don't mind if I use that one on a few of my fellow Idahoans.

[MrScorpio]

9. Go for it

I'm a generous guy

[coalition_unwilling]

7. DUzY! - n/t

[GoCubsGo]

23. That's what I use, too.

Self-described "conservatives" are not conservative in most respects, other than that they want to conserve the status of wealthy white males. But, they sure as hell don't want to conserve other things, like natural resources.

[HillWilliam]

4. My partner and I have used "selfservative" for years

The right wing is anything but "conservative".

[Posteritatis]

12. Hee, I like that. (nt)

[Bryn]

6. Regressive

I use "Regressive" term for those so called "Conservatives" on facebook.

[coalition_unwilling]

8. The Repig party of today is 'reactionary,' not 'conservative,' at least

as the two terms have been used historically.

A conservative seeks a gradual and minimal change in society, whereas a reactionary wishes to return to some nostalgic past, like the 50s.

Come to think of it, with their desire to return us to pre-Westphalia norms in foreign affairs and pre-Newtonian norms in scientific matters, i would say today's Repigs are 'radical reactionaries.'

[salin]

10. I was weighing reactionary - but agree radical reactionary is a better fit.

[dmosh42]

15. Yeah, reactionary is a good fit, wanting to have the privileged class be the ultimate rulers,....

as it was in late 1800s.

[PatSeg]

19. "Radical reactionaries"

was the description that popped in my head. Of course, that may not cover self-serving, insensitive, greedy, hateful, and totally lacking any compassion or empathy.

[coalition_unwilling]

21. Yeah. ETA "Radical sociopathic reactionaries" :) - n/t

[lpbk2713]

11. Privileged hatemonger elitist is more descriptive.

I try to use that whenever I can.

I try to throw in "obstructionist" as well when referring to the PHE's in elected office.

[jp11]

13. So we can talk to other people and have them understand what we are talking about or close

enough therein. Depending on who you are talking to using another term may only ignite their view of what you're about before you even get to that point.

Words have meanings that evolve over time and while conservative doesn't mean what it meant years ago it is still the word they and most of the world uses to describe that POV/group/ideology/etc.

In addition to start using more inflammatory and probably more accurate terminology would only play into their victim mentality, again the media that cowers to their glowering looks of disapproval would talk about hyper partisan language and demagoguery yada yada. Just look at how often liberal/socialist are thrown out and hardly any democrat is truly liberal or even socialist in their policies/views yet who corrects that, hardly anyone if ever.

The only way I see for conservative to mean what is USED to mean is for the people, voters, who actually follow that POV to take it back and not sit idly by as their team calls themselves conservative when they clearly aren't, stand for nothing except the rich and blowing to the winds of the tea party or most vocal extreme base.

[IDemo]

22. It's one thing for a definition to evolve over time

Last edited Sun May 27, 2012, 01:10 PM - Edit history (1)

But what has happened to the word "conservative" hardly represents an evolution; more a devolution if anything. The hard right has marched republican ideology into a netherworld of militarism, suspicion, denial of scientific principles, and an 'every man for himself' facade, and has done so in a fairly rapid fashion (10 to 30 years, depending on your viewpoint).

I wouldn't let the "both sides are to blame" MSM define anything for me when the facts speak for themselves.

[MNBrewer]

14. TOday's conservatives are anything but

THey are deeply radical. Radical right wing extremists who seek to transform our nation into something unrecognizable.

[Posteritatis]

16. A conservative/regressive distinction would be useful in general, yeah

The type of conservatism that you define there, the type that basically boils down to "we need to be careful about how we go about doing this," is something I can understand and often respect. (A lot of people around here would too - DUers tend to be that kind of conservative with regards to science and technology, for instance.)

The other type, though? They're just golden-ager throwbacks idealizing the era of their childhoods and ignoring everything that's improved or changed since then.

If someone wants to see stuff happen gradually and carefully and with consideration, fine. I can either agree with that or respect/discuss the nature of any disagreements. If it's more about reaction, and rolling back things and making life worse for people not lucky enough to be in the "correct" group or reducing freedoms, or hell, actively questioning peoples' right to live like a lot of the self-described conservatives do these days? About jingoism and force-as-the-first-resort and demonizing anyone who questions them? They're the enemy, and "regressive" applies a lot better to them than that other term with a respectable tradition behind it.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

17. I haven't used that term years. I call them right wingers. They're regressive

and sociopathic. There's nothing "conservative" about that.

[Zorra]

18. I consider "conservative" to be one of the most derogatory terms in the English language.

“Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.”
― John Stuart Mill

[toddwv]

20. I tend to use right-winger or regressive a lot.

[Odin2005]

24. They are Fascists.

A mix of anti-democratic reactionary and radical politics fusing authoritarianism and pro-corporate policies.

[IDemo]

26. Agreed, but the Godwins will be along shortly to slap your wrist with a ruler for using the term n/t

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

25. I sometimes call them "constipatives"

I'm not sure that's a real word but to me it describes how uptight and dour they all tend to be 24/7.

[GeorgeGist]

27. Fascist.Nazi.Sociopath.

[GeorgeGist]

28. Like they honor the term "liberal"?

/small

[randome]

29. We should not even refer to them as Republicans any longer.

They are the Tea Party. It rattles them to refer to the GOP as the Tea Party. That's what we all should use from now on.