Thursday, June 28, 2018


I get that conservatives disagree with their perceived ideology, and vice versa. I think in many cases each side demonizes their ideology a bit, but I think that activity is worse with conservatives, and I'll tell you why: because liberal ideas more often have one of the three driving it....1. publicly available facts, 2. pragmatic ideas, and 3. genuine concern for people in need.

Publicly available facts are those that anyone can look up or see corroborated stories for, NOT those where you have to buy such-and-such guy's book, investigate conspiracy theories, check sites that define themselves as "entertainment" programs, or just trust that the objector is right with their "special knowledge".

Pragmatic ideas are those which have been shown to function, whether poorly or splendidly, and can be examined using the afore mentioned publicly available facts. These ideas are those which regardless of how well they actually work, they don't make things immediately or obviously worse.

And finally genuine concern for people in need. This should be pretty simple, I would think....but given the recent immigration issues....apparently it isn't. Genuine concern is doing everything that you possibly can to respect people's condition in life and treat them humanely and with decency, regardless of their lawbreaking or how much they do not share that same ideal.

So, what I DON'T understand is that even if you choose to disagree with a more liberal sort of political still have to examine the things you claim for your own ideology with honesty. And in that court too...I don't see conservatives as doing a bang up job, or even sometimes owning their own actions or decisions (which is supposed to be their platform, right?).

Illegal immigration has been decreasing for years, and has been at nearly its lowest in over 35 years as of late. But the currently conservative leadership claims the opposite. So much so that we need a wall to curb the < 40% of the illegal immigrant activity, drug trafficking, or human trafficking that would affect us from the border. They then use policy to exacerbate the human-rights questions about detention of families or children (again, necessary or not). And then overall make our immigration policy worse and more of something to look down upon. All while claiming the opposite.

Trade issues have been looming for a while. Are we getting taken for a ride by some nations? Yeah, sure we are. But the question is always: what to we get overall and for the long game? The answer is more than we lost in the immediate trade deficit. The conservative action is to impose tariffs...and in this case impose them harshly even on those nations where we have had trade surpluses for years. Again, while claiming the opposite. Now we have a solar industry laying off workers from lost product from China, with job losses in the billions. And we have many companies looking to relocate where they can buy the resources, like steel, that are manufactured in the manner that they can afford. Looming trade wars with the EU, China, South Korea, Japan, Canada, and Mexico. How did that fix trade? They claim it will...though there is nothing to suggest that is the case.

With healthcare, the claim has been for years that the ACA is too expensive and its mandates are unsustainable. So, conservatives chip away at protections for care and minimum standards, as well as refuse to pay subsidies for low-income earners. The market destabilizes and insurance rates rose more this past year than they have risen in 8 years. They claim the opposite.

What I'm getting at is when are conservatives going to stop ignoring the obvious things occurring in plain site, and all the corroborated facts available publicly so they can see that their "ideal" isn't the way things work, and that acting as if it is doesn't make it true. It is time for conservatives to start advocating for reality and pragmatic solutions that actually work for ALL Americans, not just those who choose to "believe" they will.

I don't need or want you to "buy into" liberal ideology. All I want is for conservatives to set down their "belief" about how you think life SHOULD work....and embrace practical and reasonable ideas that better how life DOES already work.

You want to be a deficit hawk? Great. Then actually do that. Support what actually costs less money and still helps the most people, as opposed to spending more on a plan that seems "right" but doesn't help many.

Want to stop abortions? Great. Then actually do that. Support plans that have been shown to lessen pregnancy and the occurrences of abortion, as opposed to plans that just make abortion illegal and contraception harder to get.

Want to make sure everyone can afford the best healthcare? Great. Then actually do that. Support plans that actually make healthcare a reality for everyone at the lowest possible cost, as opposed to covering on the elderly, the poor, and veterans for more than it should cost to cover everyone.
Do what has been demonstrated to work, and that actually in the end meets your claimed ideal. Because what conservatives are doing now only accomplishes the opposite of their supposed ideals. So much so that they have to claim "special knowledge" about how it does work despite what all other evidence states (because all evidence is fake-news anymore).

Be conservative. But also be factual.