What Is A REAL Conservative?

A REAL Conservative holds dear the rule of law, the principles laid out in the US Constitution and will DEFEND them, NOT UNDERMINE THEM, even in time of war. After all, the undermining of Constitutional liberties is EXACTLY what our enemies want, and unfortunately, we're giving it to them with ribbons and fancy wrapping paper.

A REAL Conservative believes that our military is first and foremost DEFENSIVE, must be in a constant state of readiness, properly armed and equipped with state of the art gear and MORE than adequate manpower and as much early warning as is possible. Anything less than this is NOT ACCEPTABLE. The idea of intervention in the affairs of other nations when we were not attacked or threatened by them is NOT ACCEPTABLE. As the Founding Fathers laid out and admonished us, be friends with other nations, trade with them BUT DO NOT GET INVOLVED IN THEIR AFFAIRS and avoid entangling foreign alliances, PERIOD!

A REAL Conservative believes in LEAN, manageable-sized government, personal liberty and the concept of personal responsibility for one's own actions. A real conservative abhors the idea that the government should manage and run every detail of our lives. It DID NOT work for Communist states and it WILL NOT work for us. Over-regulation kills innovation, economic and personal development and nothing good can come from it. The old saying is true, "Those who would trade freedom for security deserve NEITHER freedom nor security." It is the height of stupidity to think that the government should be our parents. The Constitution was written to RESTRAIN GOVERNMENT, NOT PEOPLE! This is at least one area where the Republicans went horribly wrong and STOPPED being conservative.

A REAL Conservative realizes that the idea of confiscating a portion of people's income under the guise of "taxation" is inherently Communistic. True, for an orderly government to function, it needs a source(s) of tax revenue (which could easily be accomplished with a simple flat-rate consumption tax on goods sold, tariffs, user fees etc.) but punishing people for their hard work is just WRONG!

A REAL Conservative abhors the idea of irresponsible government spending and "living beyond one's means". Deficit spending is the road to ruin. A real conservative holds dear the idea of living within one's means and managing what resources one actually has. The idea of printing money with NOTHING to back it up is just plain inexcusable stupidity to a real conservative. A real conservative would embrace the gold standard.

A REAL Conservative believes in the right of individual states to make their own decisions, laws and such as situations require.

A REAL Conservative believes that the punishment should fit the crime, and that criminals SHOULD NOT get special privileges, and that people should be responsible for their own actions, period and face the consequences of such, be they ever so harsh. Personally, i believe in reinstating the death penalty nationwide!

A REAL Conservative holds dear the idea of self-sufficiency, NOT DEPENDENCE on foreign oil, goods etc. The gas crunches of the 70's should have been a wake up and call to action for us. Sadly, we still choose to be dependent on Arab oil, sold by countries at exorbitant prices who DO NOT have our best interests in mind. A real conservative would be OUTRAGED at knowing a significant chunk of Arab oil profits fund terrorism and oppression and would move to cut off. We need to take a lesson from Brazil and how it has essentially achieved energy independence.

A REAL Conservative upholds the idea of a free-market system, and ABHORS the idea of regulatory overkill (not that we shouldn't have safeguards, but there is such a thing as EXCESSIVE, counterproductive and unnecessary regulation). A real conservative also holds to the idea that this should be a land of equal OPPORTUNITY, but also realizes and is OK with the fact that equal results and outcomes CANNOT and should not be guaranteed.

A REAL Conservative respects the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, upholds the idea of free speech, religion and press, plus the right to assemble, even if they don't agree with what's being presented. A real conservative realizes that free speech is NOT treason.

A REAL Conservative respects the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights guaranteeing that NO search is to be conducted without a warrant and that citizens have the right to be secure in their persons. A real conservative would be calling for the absolute annihilation of the Department of Homeland Security, which is just mere steps away from being the next Gestapo or KGB.

A REAL Conservative would be outraged at our questionable at best relationship with the Saudi Royal Family, knowing that this regime still supports terrorists by financial and material means, as well as brutal oppression of its own people. In addition to our unfortunate history of supporting dictators or other parties who in the end prove hostile to us. Is this not treason by definition? A real conservative would NOT TOLERATE the idea of supporting such evil when we claim to stand for all that is good and right. Again, the Founding Fathers STRONGLY warned us to stay out of other country's affairs completely for VERY GOOD REASONS!

A REAL Conservative examines all sides of the issue, reads, has intellectual curiosity, listens, investigates and researches, and gets their facts and such from more than one source, and doesn't look to get their ego stroked by the myopic Fox News or the equally myopic CNN for example, or worse by sycophants and clueless yes-men.

A REAL Conservative humbly goes about doing their duty, NOT grandstanding and constantly wondering about "their legacy" or where to build their presidential library

A REAL Conservative doesn't shy from honest in-depth discussion or debate but embraces it.

A REAL Conservative NEVER EVER says "Mission Accomplished" before the facts are in.

A REAL Conservative fights the real enemy headfirst, and DOESN'T get distracted by "shiny objects" or let themselves be swayed by misguided notions of "easy victory" over someone that had NOTHING to do with attacking you in the first place.

A REAL Conservative stands for and adheres to moral principles, and DOES NOT throw them out the window for the sake of expedience or a "win at any cost"

A REAL Conservative is man enough to learn from a defeat now and then and apply the lessons. IMO, if George Dubbaya gets his a$$ royally kicked on Iraq, it could be the best thing that ever happened in terms of lessons learned and hopefully NOT REPEATING an inexcusable debacle like Iraq. If the Democrats won in a landslide, it might be a blessing in disguise.

A REAL Conservative realizes that principle and conviction are best coupled with discernment and wisdom. It's one thing to be principled, but to be WILLFULLY ignorant, stubborn and ego-driven is quite another.

A REAL Conservative REJECTS the whole Neo-Con thing as spineless, weak and liberalism in denial. There's no such thing as being sort-of-dead or sort-of-pregnant, likewise, there's no such thing as being sort of conservative.

A REAL Conservative realizes that when going into war, one does NOT win by selective little bombings here and there and minuscule troop strength. Learn from WWII, the Germans and Japanese did not surrender because of selective bombing and little operations with a minimum number of troops, they surrendered because they got bombed back to the stone age (and in Japan' case, it took not one but TWO nuclear bombs) and superior forces.