How did Conservatives get this radical

[NeoConsSuck]

Great read:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/how-did-conservatives-get-this-radical/?src=rechp

[Bjorn Against]

1. Extremist is a much better word to describe them

The word "radical" is often used interchangably with extremist, but they do not mean the same thing. The word radical means "to go to the root of the problem", it is not a bad word it is only considered to be a negative word because it is misused so often. Many of the most influential people of all time like Gandhi and Martin Luther King were radicals. They don't deserve to be lumped in with extremists like the Teahadists.

[bemildred]

2. They are reactionaries, and they become more extreme because they are losing the argument. nt

[blkmusclmachine]

3. FOX

[JayhawkSD]

4. Look up the meaning of conservative.

Conservative means seeking to preserve the existing social order. They do not seek to do that, they seek to unwind the existing social order and return to the social order which preceded it. They are reactionaries: not because, as bemldred suggests, of the extremism caused by their losing the argument, but by definition. Look up the political definition of reactionary.

Most of today's liberals, by the way, are actually conservatives, because they seek to preserve the existing social order; maintain Social Security, maintain and expand Medicare, maintain the social safety net, etc. Nothing wrong with that, I happen to agree with it, but it is by definition conservative, not liberal.

[rhett o rick]

5. I think this is a little misleading. Conservatives are conservatives. The Republican Party went

from conservative to radical. The conservatives didnt change, the radicals got more power and cooped the party.

Here is my conspiracy theory and all I ask is that you give me one day before you call Sid.

The 1% control most of what goes on. IMO they promoted the Republican Party radicals to take over the Party. This drove the moderate conservatives into the Democratic Party pulling the party to the right and disenfranchising the left. The radical Republican Party act like Hitler's Brown Shirts, running around smashing windows and busting heads. This makes people grateful to get an honest conservative like Jeb, or Obama, or Christie, or Clinton. The 1% would much rather have Christie but would settle for Clinton. They dont want a lefty.

[Doctor_J]

6. Mostly because there was no deterrent along the way.