Comments by "BlackFlagsNRoses" (@blackflagsnroses6013) on "Saagar Enjeti: Dems, Never Trumpers Forget They ARCHITECTED Corrupt Tax Code Gamed By Trump" video.

  1. 1776 left wing and right wing has nothing to do with social issues. That’s a distortion of the political spectrum. Since it’s origins in the French National Assembly during the Revolution leftism denotes political stances for limited authorities and greater egalitarianism. And Right wing denotes support of greater authorities and hierarchies. Hence why the leftists were radical liberals and Democrats, and the rightists were monarchists, aristocracy, and the clergy. In the USA the American conservative is someone that believes in maintaining the Constitution, committed to liberal society and a democratic Republic. Whether you are socially progressive or conservative you aren’t left wing unless you believe in limited government and deconstructing concentrations of power. Both American parties are right wing, for explicit support of greater government in peoples lives, and support of corporate power consolidation or oligarchy. But modern Democrats are closer to the conservation of Status Quo and institutions ideals. The American conservative is a sociopolitical liberal, and a patriot that defends the values, ideals, and words of the American Constitution and traditional institutions that serve that purpose. Today in the USA the establishment Democrats are the equivalent of what used to be called moderate Republicans/conservatives, or Rockefeller Republicans. The American conservative is liberal not authoritarian. Today’s Republicans are authoritative religious fundamentalists and corporate oligarchs. They are regressive authoritarian not conservative liberal. Don’t take it from me take it from genuine conservatives. From conservative political scientists Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann’s “Finding the Common Good in an Era of Dysfunctional Governance”: “The framers designed a constitutional system in which the government would play a vigorous role in securing the liberty and well-being of a large and diverse population. They built a political system around a number of key elements, including debate and deliberation, divided powers competing with one another, regular order in the legislative process, and avenues to limit and punish corruption. America in recent years has struggled to adhere to each of these principles, leading to a crisis of governability and legitimacy. The roots of this problem are twofold. The first is a serious mismatch between our political parties, which have become as polarized and vehemently adversarial as parliamentary parties, and a separation-of-powers governing system that makes it extremely difficult for majorities to act. The second is the asymmetric character of the polarization. The Republican Party has become a radical insurgency – ideologically extreme, scornful of facts and compromise, and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition. Securing the common good in the face of these developments will require structural changes but also an informed and strategically focused citizenry.”
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  2. 1776 Or take it from “Mr. Conservatism” himself, Barry Goldwater: On the Religious Right "The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.' " --Speech in the US Senate (16 September 1981) "Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them." --Said in November 1994, as quoted in John Dean, Conservatives Without Conscience (2006) "I think every good Christian ought to kick Falwell right in the ass." --Said in July 1981 in response to Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell's opposition to the nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court, of which Falwell had said, "Every good Christian should be concerned." Time Magazine, (20 July, 1981) On Gay Rights "The big thing is to make this country, along with every other country in the world with a few exceptions, quit discriminating against people just because they're gay. You don't have to agree with it, but they have a constitutional right to be gay. And that's what brings me into it." "Having spent 37 years of my life in the military as a reservist, and never having met a gay in all of that time, and never having even talked about it in all those years, I just thought, why the hell shouldn't they serve? They're American citizens. As long as they're not doing things that are harmful to anyone else... So I came out for it." “Gays and lesbians are a part of every American family. They should not be shortchanged in their efforts to better their lives and serve their communities. As President Clinton likes to say, ‘If you work hard and play by the rules, you’ll be rewarded’ and not with a pink slip just for being gay.” On True Conservatism "What I was talking about[Gay rights, Abortion]was more or less 'conservative,' " Goldwater recalls, saying he was smeared by the people around President Johnson – "the most dishonest man we ever had in the presidency." Goldwater continues: "The oldest philosophy in the world is conservatism, and I go clear back to the first Greeks. ... When you say 'radical right' today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican Party away from the Republican Party, and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye."
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