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Debate Info

10
37
Yes No
Debate Score:47
Arguments:14
Total Votes:55
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 Yes (3)
 
 No (11)

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Tugman(749) pic



Is there anything wrong with being a Conservative

Yes

Side Score: 10
VS.

No

Side Score: 37
1 point

Here's the stuff you guys are wrong about:

abortion

torture

separation of church and state

gay marriage

gun control

loopholes for corporations

isolationism

cowboy diplomacy

war on drugs

Iraq

no child left behind

policy of less taxes the more money one makes

idea that you can get rid of social programs and the union won't fall

But don't take my word for it, look at the last 8 years and see where it got us.

Pretend we live in a fantasy land where Conservative really meant what so many "independants" like to pretend, and it really was simply the idea that government should do less. That would be a perfectly acceptable theory in many cases.

But that's fantasy land

Side: yes
Bradf0rd(1431) Disputed
5 points

You're taking a loud portion of the conservative party and claiming that it's the whole of the conservative party... just as the right takes the socialists and says that they make up the whole of the liberal party.

Those topics aren't what conservatives have wrong, they're topics that people have wrong opinions about. Conservatism doesn't create these opinions, the conservative people do... but even still it doesn't seem clear, so let me rephrase that. It's not the Conservative philosophy that creates the ideas, but the people who claim to be conservative who do. Not all people are equal, so one conservative will be different than the next, and will hold a different opinion. You're only picking on the people who believe these things which are ubiquitous and saying that these opinions are not the peoples', but written into the meaning of conservatism.

Side: No
ThePyg(6738) Disputed
4 points

No child left behind was a bipartisan act... all the good that did.

you know... I never really saw someone say that someone is flat out WRONG for their own personal beliefs... well, i've seen it, but from people who are not as smart as you... i sense hostility. hostility is never good dude, calm the fuck down.

Abortion: they're against it because they think it's killing babies. yeah, i don't give a fuck about the babies, but I'm considered A-Moral as well.

Torture: They don't even consider water boarding as torture. neither do i. In fact, i care way more about us than the terrorists that were water boarded... so thanks Conservatives.

Separation of Church and State: You're probably referring to the far right on this... and yeah, they're pretty fucked up. But most Conservatives are for Separation of Church and State (to a common sense level... they don't care about nativity scenes presented by the Fire Department).

Gay Marriage: It's never existed and they don't care to make it exist. They propose Civil Unions... hell, many Liberals are also against it... Lulz.

Gun control: They support the second amendment. Can't see how that's flat out WRONG.

Loopholes: Well, those loopholes are created because we do live in a time where corporations are restricted by the government at a high level. the loopholes are air holes really.

Isolationism: That's more Libertarian than Conservative. They do their own part in "saving" the world... hell, Bush has done more for Africa than any other human being on the planet.

Cowboy Diplomacy: We never went into North Korea or Pakistan... hardly Cowboy if you ask me.

War on Drugs: I'm extremely against this as well, but their heart is in the right place. Drugs, in general, are very bad for people and they want to keep the kids away from it. Of course it doesn't work, but I wouldn't attack them as being wrong just because they want to eliminate substances that harm people.

Iraq: Well, this is a whole debate on it's own, but I guess the PERFECT thing that it has done for us is give us much advantage over Iran.

Taxes: Conservatives believe in more of a flat tax or sales tax... not less tax. I actually support Progressive tax because, hey, that's where all the money's at and the Military isn't going to build itself.

The first 6 years did actually pretty well (despite what you think about Iraq). Unemployment was, in fact, at an all time low. Good ol' Bush. of course, the Iraq War was unpopular and all, so the people voted the Democrats in to the House and Senate... and that's when the economy turned to crap. So, the economy should be blamed mainly on Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, branching out to the House and Senate, then to the Banks that were stupid enough to give loans to the poor, and to the people who decided to sell all of their houses in Big cities and move to the South, and finally to Bush... since he was the president... i guess it's just automatic that it somehow HAS to be his fault.

Conservative doesn't mean less government. That's just what most Conservatives today believe in... refer to my argument on the "No" side.

Side: No
3dgR0cka(29) Disputed
3 points

Dude...total stereotyping!

I am conservative but I don't believe in half of the stuff you wrote.

Separation of church and state? What is this the colonial age?

Side: No
MKIced(2511) Disputed
2 points

Just because you disagree with those beliefs doesn't mean it's wrong to be conservative. Liberals could be considered wrong for believing the other way on every single one of those beliefs. Nobody is right or wrong yet- that's why we debate about those issues.

Side: No
OstapBender(2) Disputed
1 point

It's nothing wrong to be conservative.I'm conservative and be proud about that.

Side: No
1 point

The problem with being a "conservative" is that there is no core ideology to which you can call conservatism. Seriously, it's amazing how libertarian-leaning people and social conservatives can exist in the ideological spectrum.

People often speak with pride about the conservative ideal of "less government." But from my experience of "right wing" governments, their governments really don't lead to any significant shortening of government, and generally they lead to terrible priorities that increase the worst aspects of statism. Conservative governments often increase "tough on crime" policies, legislate morality into public life and move revenue away from social programs towards military spending. The one major benefit from a right wing government is that you often get pretty good tax cuts, but that's really about it. There's little evidence to show historically that conservatives are any better with public finances in the longterm than liberals are.

Side: yes
6 points

as much as there's anything wrong with being a liberal.

Really, many of the things Conservatives now believe were once a liberal ideal. They're only true Conservatives because of the current state we're in.

If this country becomes more and more of a Social Democracy, Conservatives will soon be considered Liberals.

It's all pretty stupid, if you think about it. There is no true way to define a group of ideologies. Even the Left and Right Wing ideal. The Left Wing was once considered a radical, violent, kill em all branch (back in the French Revolution) and the Right Wing was a Big Government supporting branch. We can see the obvious changes in our current view on Left and Right. Now, the Left are pacifists who want bigger government. The Right is a small government, state's rights group that believes all threats must be eliminated immediately. A sort of 180 degree turn. This is because the terms only mean what we make them to mean. 100 years from now no one will know what the Left and Right Wings will be and what will be considered Conservative or Liberal.

Side: No
2 points

The Right is a small government, state's rights group that believes all threats must be eliminated immediately.

Not so much, anymore. I wonder if another shift is underway. Like you said, there's really no way to know how the parties are going to shift, since they're kinetic things that take advantage of the times they're in. While the Right still talks loftily about the concepts of small gov't and states' rights, they've moved pretty drastically away from them as of late. If they don't shift back to their roots, they're doomed.

Side: No

Nothing is wrong or right with it. Conservative is just that, the stance to keep or conserve a current state of being.

Side: No
4 points

I think they're hypocrites. They want to keep things the same decade after decade, yet, only for what works for them. So, they're selectively conservative, and usually in ways that are annoying as hell.

I'm sure liberals are just as bad though. It's politics. It all sucks the soul out of your life.

Side: No
3 points

NO!

How is it wrong to have an opinion?

I hate it when people stereotype conservatives.

Side: No
1 point

No, I don't think there's anything wrong with being a conservative and there's nothing wrong with having an opinion but as far as stereotyping goes, I believe they do that to themselves by never changing their rhetoric or ideas. To hear most of them tell it the Bush years were some of the best years!!! There may very well be a few things he did well but don't insult someone else's intelligence by trying to convince liberals these were the best years of our lives! Own up and move on.

Side: No

There's as much wrong with being a conservative as there is with being a liberal. Any oppressive, harmful, or judgmental movement is wrong. The label isn't what's wrong; some positions are wrong.

Side: No