>Hey, John,
>
>I don't disagree with what you're saying. But I have a question: what do you believe are the qualities, characteristics and predispositions of "typical conservatives"?
>
>Kevin

I think a typical conservative would display some of the following characteristics (and I'm already aware that President Bush has been spending way too much to fit the mold):

When times get hard, we are in favor of cutting spending, not raising taxes. This is one concept that seems to have eluded most of the people in government. When did you ever hear of anyone cutting spending or programs in government. The military builddown is an exception that comes to mind, but they went too far.

We favor fiscal restraint, with the knowledge that sometimes you have to spend money.

We favor programs where the outcomes are measured. If the program doesn't meet expectations, we favor scrapping it and retooling. We are not in favor of continuing to throw money into programs just for the sake of saying we're doing something.

We are for less government.

We are for cutting the government red tape so business can thrive.

We are for gun ownership. We believe you should be allowed to defend yourself. Just this year, congress passes a law and the president signed it, so that law enforcement officers can carry their weapons anywhere in the US. Why wasn't that a law a long time ago? What threat would a police officer be to another police officer? duh! Individual citizens should likewise be able to defend themselves, within the constraints of the law.

We believe separation of church and state doesn't necessarily mean you have to take God out of government. If you take God out, who does that leave? Satan maybe? The US Supreme Court, both houses of congress, most every state legislature and most every court in the nation opens each day's business with references to God. So, you might say, we believe in freedom to worship as we choose.

We are for reasonable regulations in regards to the environment. I don't think you should totally eliminate logging. However, you should not be cutting down precious resources. Responsible forestry, mining, etc. are good things. We are a consumer society and as such, we need resources. Making sure we aren't stripping the land, and still are able to harvest and replant forests should be a paramount concern. I am a hunter and fisherman and I love the back country. I want it to always be there, clean and pristine.

We believe a family is the most basic societal unit. That would be at a minimum, a husband and wife (that's male and female for some of my liberal friends). A family is a solid foundation that grounds each member. Kids are taught that the family will always love them, no matter what they do. A functional family is a support system for all it's members.

I think most conservatives believe this world and everything you can see was created by a creator. We call him God. Creation demands a creator. Many of my liberal friends laugh this off. They say we just happened and when you die, you lay in the box and rot. I think your body does that, but my study has shown me there are too many pieces of evidence that say otherwise.
I dare any "athiest" or "agnostic" to go into a place like the Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana where the grizzly bear, mountain lion and wolves roam free and spend a week or two by yourself. Probably an hour would be plenty! Tell me you don't believe in God when they rescue you! We are way too comfortable in our cities these days, with all the modern amenities.

These are a few of the things where I believe you would find agreement in the "typical" conservative.