"From the date of his Censorship (184 BC) to his death in 149 BC, Cato held no public office, but continued to distinguish himself in the senate as the persistent opponent of the new ideas. He was struck with horror, along with many other Romans of the graver stamp, at the license of the Bacchanalian mysteries, which he attributed to the influence of Greek manners; and he vehemently urged the dismissal of the philosophers (Carneades, Diogenes, and Critolaus), who came as ambassadors from Athens, on account of the dangerous nature of the views expressed by them."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Elder
Cato also made a comment that it was alright to own slaves, and to sell them in their old age rather then to care for them on the grounds that was the best way to maximize one's wealth.
Cato (234 BC– 149 BC) opposed Scipio Africanus (236–183 BC) not only Scipio's movement of troops from Sicily to Carthage during the Second Punic War (Which ended up in the battle of Zama, where Scipio defeated Hannibal) but afterward politically. Scipio, became so sick of the ruling class of Rome (in many ways lead by Cato) that in his will, he ordered that his body NOT be buried in Rome. At the time this was a huge insult to Rome that its greatest general/Hero wanted nothing to do with them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scipio_Africanus
Cato is also tied in with the opposition to the Gracchi, who wanted to reform Rome. Cato died in 149 bc, the Gracchi started they move to reform in 123 BC, but Cato's name and philosophy was used by the Roman Elite to oppose the reforms of the Gracchi.
The Gracchi's plan was simple, by taking the wealth given to Rome by a King who saw that Rome would take his kingdom anytime Rome wanted to, so he gave his Kingdom to Rome, and using that Wealth to pay off the Rich of Rome for all the lands they had taken since the Start of the Punic Wars from the Lower classes of Rome (who had done all of the fighting) and giving that land back to the Roman Citizens who had defeated Hannibal. The Roman Elite opposed this plan, for they wanted that money for themselves NOT as part of a land reform the elite opposed (and worse the land owned by the Roman Elite was illegal, under Roman Law no Roman Citizen could owned more the 600 acres, a law the Gracchi planed to enforce).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracchi
Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus fought in the Third Punic War and was noted for being the first to climb the walls of Carthage. He (as was his brother) was also the son of the only Daughter of Scipio Africanus. The Gracchi had long been tied in with Scipio's family and thus the lower classes of Rome (Through both Scipios and Gracchi were of the Ruling Elite of Rome). Thus you had another hero of the Wars against Carthage, opposing the policies of the Roman Elite. The Roman Elite could not figure out how to deal with them, so they just murdered them and then used Cato's philosophy to justify the murders.
You also have to remember, during the Second Punic War, the internal Roman War between the old Roman Elites (Such as Cato, The Gracchi and Scipio) and the new rich (Such Marcus Claudius Marcellus) was also being fought. In many ways, Hannibal's invasion of Italy was an attempts to exploit this growing division within Rome. The New Rich, had massive Plebeian (the poor of Rome) support, while the old Patrician found themselves under attack.
Side Note: Rome prior to the Punic Wars, were divided into three classes, the Patricians were the old ruling elite families, the equestrians were the horsemen of the Ancient Roman Army, and had moved into a business class of Ancient Rome, and the Plebeians were the poor, including the working class and peasants (but had enough money to pay for their own armor and arms, if they did not, after the First Punic War they had to serve in the Navy). The New Rich are those Plebeians who had made money and were as rich as the old Patricians, but being Plebeians did not have the connections to rule Rome. Thus a fight between these two classes became the real struggle from before the First Punic War till the end of the Republic under Augustus Caesar. The foreign wars Rome fought during this period became more and more a secondary issue for Roman Society,
Thus you were seeing more and more rule by the New Rich during the time period in question, while the old ruling elite families saw themselves slowly losing power (By the time of Trajan, no one in the Roman Senate could trace his family back to before the rule of Caesar, the old families had all been driven out of ruling Rome). At the same time the poor of Rome saw this conflict to regain what they had lost due to the increase taxes they had to pay to pay for the Punic Wars (while they also had to pay for they weapons they were required to wear when called up for Military Duty, The Roman Army till 109 BC was a universal service army, not a paid army, being a Roman Citizen you had to serve when called up and supply your own armor and weapons). Thus from the first Punic War till the time of the Gracchi (c123BC) the poor of Rome saw themselves having to borrow money to pay taxes and to pay for their equipment. When these debts came due, they lost their lands and became landless peasants (For the Rich wanted large estates kept up by slaves).
Cato was one of the person who supported taking the land of the poor and opposed any plans to give it back to them, and they citing various traditional reasons for doing so and ignoring those Roman Traditional that indicated otherwise (Such as the ancient strike of the Plebeians). One of the plebeians hero of the time period of Marcus Claudius Marcellus who died in 208 BC in battle against Hannibal. He was a great general much feared by Hannibal but as a supported of the plebeians even more hated by the Patricians of Rome. Marcellus was the big hero of Rome till Scipio defeated Hannibal in 2004, but that was hated by the Patricians for Scipio's family had been tied in with the army and has seen what was happening to the Army do to the Rich of Rome taking the land of the Plebeians. Thus you had a generational fight between these two groups, Cato and others who agreed with him on one side, Scipio, the Gracchi and Marcellus opposing them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Claudius_Marcellus
Most of the Writers of the Time Period were paid by Supporters of Cato and thus Cato is generally well written up. The same writers had to also write up the History of Scipio, Marcellus and the Gracchi and somehow attack them without appearing to do so (Scipio and the Gracchi were extremely popular in Rome, along with Marcellus). Thus we get a checkered history of Scipio, Marcellus and the Gracchi (and all of their flaws) but only what Cato and his followers wanted to hear of Cato. Reading between the lines you quickly see Cato as what he was, he would make today's Tea parties look almost liberal, but the Cato Institute agrees with Cato, that the rich should rule and the poor take care of themselves (i.e. no government aid for the poor, even if you need them for troops). The poor can negotiated for whatever they want to work for, and it is unfair to the Rich for the Government to forbid the Poor from agreeing to work for nothing. It is also terrible to permit the poor to work together to keep up wages (i.e. form a Union), for that is again taking money from the Rich.
Cato is just a mean organization named after a mean person and thus pride of being mean.
More on the one thing in Roman History, Cato and his followers hated the most, the legendary strike of the Plebeians:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secessio_plebis
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