Finally! Thanks for partaking PC.
Thank you for a well thought out question.
For as much as the Democrat party has drifted to the left I feel like the Republican party has drifted just as far to the right as well. For me personally it is social issues. Abortion being a major one. I just fine feel, and will never feel like the government has a right to inject itself into what a woman can do with her body. The 6 week abortion laws in some states is just a stepping stone to a full nationwide ban if Republicans gain control there's no doubt in my mind about that.
Environmental issues are another one. Republicans over the last 15-20 years have become much more opposed to anything regarding the threat climate change poses. I believe it is real and it is serious. The drought in the SW is nearing critical levels. Why the opposition to any attempts at green energy? It seems Republicans are more concerned with corporation profits at the expense of the environment.
I don't expect this to change your mind, and I doubt it will change your but dialogue is good
Obviously my post was not only to elicit a response; but, to debate and hope for an intelligent response. First, I can see from your perspective, how it seems, based on Democrats' drift from classic liberalism, to liberalism to, arguably socialism or, more properly, "socialism lite" that Republicans have drifted to the right. I think it can be very successfully argued that the gap has widened; however, conservatives (especially the Republican party) in this country have drifted steadily leftward, just not at the rate Democrats have.
I always argue that most Democrats are single issue voters and that the largest single issue is abortion. It is interesting that any anti-abortion or pro-life position is painted as "telling a woman what to do with her body". That's like calling a pro-choice individual a pro-abortion individual. Notwithstanding religion and morality, from a conservative perspective, abortion is not in the constitution, period and should be left to the states. I would think Democrats would be all over that position as it is about the most secure means of them/you preserving your (women's) "right to choose". Now, there is no way that abortion will every be outlawed across this country. Heck, it will be a stretch to having a total ban in even the most conservative states now. Abortion is an interesting issue because it is argued "to the masses" through talking heads on TV and politicians in a deceptive manner, thus creating chaos and hate that don't need to exist.
Environmental issues is another interesting one. Conservatives are not for polluting or destroying the environment. If a Republican President were to urge the elimination of the federal EPA while leaving all current environmental regulations in place and leaving such issues to the states, Democrats would go apoplectic and call him "anti-environment". The EPA served a great purpose at its inception. At that time, no such entity existed at any state level. The EPA was necessary. Now, it is a huge waste of taxpayer funds. A similar agency exists in every state now and I submit that said agencies at state levels are more responsive to the environmental needs of those states. Add to that the maintaining of current (constitutional) environmental laws and I would think we could be quite resilient environmentally speaking.
Your argument about Republicans becoming much more opposed to anything regarding the threat of climate change is, in my opinion, misguided. It is how that issue is approached that alienates Republicans and conservatives. Having international agencies and governments tax people, directly or indirectly, under the guise of climate changed is ineffective, disingenuous and even insidious. I submit that if one were to simply take the money expended by all of the most visible virtue signaling politicians and celebrities who travel to meet one another at their preferred climate conferences and instead spend that money on world wide advertising and educational campaigns, we would be ahead of where we are now with very little debate or discrepancies. People would be willing to act in accordance with their own best interests.
I know I don't speak for every conservative on this forum. However, I think what I've articulated is closer to most conservatives' positions than how they/we are portrayed in the media. Because of who controls the narrative, the narrative is always changed. Look at my examples in my first post. Let's just use, by way of an example, a recent Supreme Court issue which will be dealing with "affirmative action". This is how it works. If I say, affirmative action should be abolished, why do you think I feel that way? I feel that way because I think it is detrimental to everybody: society, whites, blacks, institutions, employers, etc. and especially those "groups" it is supposed to help. You can argue that I am wrong on that assertion; but, not that it is why I believe that. Immediately Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Joy Reed, Whoopi Goldberg, Morning Joe (the list is endless) successfully label me and those like me as "racist" when it is the furthest thing from the truth.
A thousand years from now, future generations will not look at slavery in the U.S. as evidence of our racism. After all, the people who had all of the power and were the "enslavers", eliminated that institution and allowed those enslaved to integrate into every facet of society. No, they will use the history of affirmative action and programs such as the Great Society to show, more truthfully, the true racist history of our country. And we are still the greatest country in the history of the world, especially with respect to rights and opportunities for any and all minorities or aggrieved groups that exist, without exception.
To all others, I apologize for the very, very long post.
