What is a true conservative?

The principals of Conservatism are spelled out in the Constitution and the founding documents. It's really that simple. As far as the previous answerer, many of those views are Republican before Conservative...

1. Low, fair and flat taxes...yep

2. Lower Government Spending...yep

3. Less government...pretty much

4. Schools best run on the local level...any power not listed to the federal govt is state government issue

5. English should be the official language...technically no...but that is what the founders believed.

6. Military is necessary and probably the biggest responsibility of government...absolutely

7. Free trade (no barriers or tariffs)...not in the Constitution

8. Right to Bear Arms...Absolutely

9. Support for the Death Penalty.State issue

10. No legalization of Cannabis, Cocaine, Heroine, or other drugs...State issue

11. No abortions - (don't mention about the death penalty)...State issue

12. Anything not spelled out in the Constitution is a state issue

There is a difference between Conservatives and Republicans. A conservative wants a simple government that is not over reaching and intrusive especially in personal freedom issues like gay marriage or abortion. These are issues that should be regulated by the state and not the federal government.

I agree with you the top three points of a Conservative Government should mind their own business, Give us the fundamentals of a clean environment and All war represents a failure of diplomacy.

avoid war but when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger: Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.....Put your trust in God; but be sure to keep your powder dry.

As Washington said: To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

However it is true that Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.

just take a look at Bush.

Say what you want about Jimmy Carter but he did say something so right: War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.

Sadly as Plato said and it is looking so true: Only the dead have seen the end of war.

Conservatism traditional Conservatives is the only way to give freedom to the individual from the State only it is getting harder to find pure Traditional Conservatives these days. Clone Reagan.

Ronald Reagan said : History teaches us that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.

I agree with you to a degree; the federal government shouldn't be in those areas of marriage and abortion.

I don't know that I agree that the federal government has a place in environmental contol, though. Teddy Roosevelt's heart was there, but where would you find that in the constitution?

I think basically we are isolationist constitutionally. But when we enter a war, let's put our resources behind it and win. I don't think we have entered wars willy nilly. But I am so tired of all of the mixed messages we send our troops whenever they believe they are protecting us.

I do believe the states have the right to make laws about marriage and abortion, however. You can live together all you want; but if you want a state-recognized marriage, they set the standards. The state should be allowed to make the laws about abortion, too.

The only reason the Federal government is involved in these areas is the courts obsession with changing our social agenda to a liberal view.

ppl, conservative and republican are two different things...

All of those are true conservative except for 2. According to TRUE conservatism, you cant conserve the environment because you would have to interfere with number 1.

The problem is conservatism has been interlaced with religious beliefs, which creates ideas that don't make sense for ideals of the theory, and are starting to hurt the party.

Responce to whats his face:

1. Low, fair and flat taxes -sure

2. Lower Government Spending-yep

3. Less government -def

4. Schools best run on the local level -yep

5. English should be the official language - nope not in the theory

6. Military is necessary and probably the biggest responsibility of government. - Nope

7. Free trade (no barriers or tariffs) -yep

8. Right to Bear Arms - surez (and look you just made a free army!)

9. Support for the Death Penalty. - No real basis for this

10. No legalization of Cannabis, Cocaine, Heroine, or other drugs -Nope, exact opposite

11. A lot more. - Doubtful

This is new conservatism that is interlaced with republican ideals. A conservative doesn't want regulation.

By today's standards, that is not conservatism. Here's why:

1. During the last administration, the government has done nothing but mind other people's business.

2. Teddy Roosevelt was technically not a conservative, but a progressive (if he were alive today, he'd be a Democrat). There are so-called "green" conservatives, but the vast majority don't really care about the environment.

3. We have never used care when entering a war, at least not in the last two we've been wasting our money on. We never sat down with Al-Qaeda, the Taliban or Iraq, and we didn't sit down with Iran and Venezuela (during the Bush administration we were on track to invading both) until Obama was elected!

In the past however, the things you listed would be a very conservative view of the world.

You've hit the nail squarely on the head. Barry Goldwater was one of the last TRUE Conservatives on the US political scene.

Mr Goldwater despised the Neo-Con movement with their pandering to the religious right and their insane borrow & spend waste and was furious that they were hijacking his beloved Republican party. He despised Richard Nixon, had little use for Ronald Reagan, and though Bush Sr to be a simpleton. I imagine that he would have jack-slapped Bush Jr had he known what he would be doing a few years after his death.

I have to laugh when modern Neo-Cons hold him up as their hero. They seem to be blissfully unaware of how he felt about them. They will also furiously deny that he supported both a woman's right to choose ("But we damn sure need to teach them how to not get pregnant in the first place!") and the right of gays to serve openly in the military ("Hell, you don't have to BE straight to SHOOT straight!")

I learned from Mr Goldwater that the principal difference between TRUE Conservatism and TRUE Liberalism is the level of safety net that we're willing to provide for less fortunate members of society. Most other issues we were in near complete agreement on. And unlike most Neo-Cons where we disagreed he resorted to reasoned explanations, not insults and epithets.

Out of those, statement 1 best represents Conservatism, especially the first sentance, "The government should stay out of my personal business as much as it can." though statements 2 and 3 also hold some weight when the Constitution is adhered to.

Ron Paul is *the* true conservative [the American Journal of Political Science found Paul the most conservative of all 3,320 members of Congress from 1937 to 2002], The Republican "Neo-Conservatives" who pose as Conservatives act more like Socialists than real Conservatives.

I daresay that nobody here has ever seen an actual true Conservative calling the shots in the Whitehouse: they're old-school.

a libertarian..like the founding fathers were

...the federal gov. only has the constitutional authoirty to coin our money..pave our freeways and provide a military defense (never pre-emt war..like iraq.)

"Government must protect (conserve) our environment" is not a requirement...and any environmental legislation is to left up to the states and the people of the individual states to decide on. True conservatives put state rights ahead of the governments rights.

I must add that pro-life is a biggie (as is like the 2nd amendment), we will defend the right to life, liberty and happiness...any conservative that says he is pro choice (McCain comes to mind) is a neocon.

Some general Conservative ideas

1. Low, fair and flat taxes

2. Lower Government Spending

3. Less government

4. Schools best run on the local level

5. English should be the official language

6. Military is necessary and probably the biggest responsibility of government.

7. Free trade (no barriers or tariffs)

8. Right to Bear Arms

9. Support for the Death Penalty.

10. No legalization of Cannabis, Cocaine, Heroine, or other drugs

11. No abortions (except maybe physical or mental problems- my personal opinion) - (don't mention about the death penalty)

12. A lot more.

A person who belives in free market capitalism. Someone who thinks anyone can live the american dream. People who think this country is better than forced socialist economic policies.