Are Conservatives Great? The GOP did some Great things, right?

“I am having difficulties understanding any good things that conservatives bring to the table in American politics; can someone thoughtfully explain to me why any would be a conservative?”

My unedited responses are in red :)…

• How about the fact that it was anti-slavery expansionist that formed the GOP and got Abraham Lincoln elected president and brought an end to slavery in the US.
• Yes, but Lincoln was a radical republican. A liberal–at the time–not a conservative. Republicans have not always been conservative.
• How about that it was a republican version the civil rights act that passed back in the summer of 1964. It was only after republican’s added language regarding women’s rights to the bill was the senate able to garner enough votes to end a 54 day filibuster which was lead in part by democrats.  Or the fact that republicans had women’s rights as part of their charter 20 years before the civil rights act was passed. And the fact nearly 80 percent of republicans in both the house and senate for in favor of the bill, which was larger percent than democrats voting for it!
• You are wrong again! The republicans added that language so that it wouldn’t pass. They thought there is no way they would give minorities and women civil rights. The republicans opposed the civil rights bill because they supported separate but equal. Liberals opposed the bill because it didn’t provide enough equality.
• Also, Republicans were not always conservative. George Wallace, one of the worst KKK racist conservatives of all time ran for President, as a Democrat.
• How about that the policies of the wildly popular conservative Ronald Reagan, led to the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin wall. His fiscal policies led us to the largest and longest economic expansion the US had seen in decades, which allowed President Bill Clinton to preside over a booming economy and go on to balance the federal budget….
• Reagan’s dergulation led to initial expansion of the economy, but if you read Allen Greanspan’s (the previous federal reserve chairman) you will understand why his policies actually led to our current recession, the dot.com bubble, the housing crisis, and bank/mortgage fraud
• Reagan had little to do with the fall of the Berlin wall. The reason the Red failed is because of the US and European embargo placed on communist countries. Its amazing they lasted so long. Reagan just continued the policies or the former administrations, and it eventually obtained the results they were planning on obtaining all along.
• How about that republicans consistently protect the rights of the un-born (pro-choice). Many liberals want abortion to be legal at any stage of a pregnancy, even the 3^rd trimester, even partial birth abortion
• True, in part. But the reason liberals support abortion is because they believe that it is a medical issue between a doctor and her patient. Additionally they want to protect women from having to use hangers in dark alleys the way they had to in the past. Also, I don’t know of anyone that actually likes abortion. I love babies and the unborn, and I hate the idea of abortion. However, I hate the idea of making any medical procedure a crime. It is a very sticky issue, but it is better to be pro-choice rather than anti-choice. All the pro-choice countries throughout the world (everywhere but Ireland) don’t really seam to encourage abortion–with the exception of the US. The Netherlands and the UK actually fund abortion and they have a smaller, per capita, abortion rate.
• Republican’s fight to allow voluntary school prayer. Which I was able to do as a kid in school.
• Our constitution calls for a tall wall between the government and the church- Thomas Jefferson
• Most of our founding fathers were atheist or agnostic, though it was very unpopular at the time
• This includes George Washington 😦
• Republican’s fight to protect our constitution which many liberals would like to radically change or make obsolete
• No, republicans choose to use the constitution to protect their values, the same way liberals do. Its a living breathing document. You see, after the 14th amendment was passed:
• “The Union survived the civil war, but the constitution did not”– Thurgood Marshal
• Republicans fight to protect our pledge of allegiance many liberals would love to remove the words “under GOD”. Liberals would love to remove God from many of American phrases.
• The pledge of allegiance was instituted during the cold war as propaganda against the atheist communists. The pledge has nothing to do with American values, and everything to do with a military dictatorship.
• Republicans fight to protect the sanctity of marriage in the US, defining it as between a man and women.
• Liberals seek to protect the full-faith and credit clause of the constitution by trying to make states honor valid marriages from other states, even if it is homosexual.
• Love and benefits shouldn’t be limited to only male-female relationships. Gays should be allowed to love and marry equally.
• Republican’s also fight to limit the power and expansion of labor unions. Labor unions are killing American business.
• Labor Unions are the primary reason laborers throughout the world receive a decent wage and benefits. It they were not so beneficial, why did conservatives try so hard to make them illegal. Its called a collective bargaining agreement. Any fuck-ups are equally the fault of the educated managers that come to terms with unions.