Quote:
Originally Posted by Jewish Lawyer
The only way I see conservatives regaining America would be violently
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I don't think I am as pessimistic as that. Although I am left of center based upon the population of this board, I am slightly right of center for the population as a whole. In some communities I am even seen as the reincarnation of Attilla (only slight exaggeration).
I would completely agree that for the moment the country has shifted to the left. More liberal than I would prefer. But since the majority of the people I talk with keep telling me--and it is consistent with their deeper conversations--that they typically vote for the lesser evil (i.e. they don't like any of the options they are typically given) I in essence blame the conservatives.
There is no reason for the liberals to change--as you and I both say, they are "winning". They would be happy to keep things as they are. It is the folks who are NOT happy who need to change. And I believe they will in time.
I strongly believe in macro demographics. Whether I like the facts or not, there are certain macro trends:
--The US is becoming more multicultural, more diverse
--The number of people who categorize themselves as "strongly religious" is decreasing
--The number who say they use religion as a MAJOR factor in how they vote has decreased
--Largely as a result of the two points above, the country has become more excepting of things that were morally taboo
So I see the "conservative" who wants a conservative fiscal environment PLUS conservative MORAL environment PLUS does not want to notice inequality in places it still does exist, well they will be hard pressed to find a majority of like minded individuals.
Right now, the liberals have done a far better job of building coalitions of voters. The conservatives have alienated people who probably do agree with the conservative message on more things than not--but the conservatives seem to convey a more intolerant image.
I suspect the conservatives as we know them will become a minority party sooner rather than later.
The liberal coalition, with no "viable opposition" will start fractionating because in reality they do NOT all agree with each other on some very serious issues. I would expect a future US true multi=party system in time, driven by the country's greater diversity. Not saying this will be good or bad, but I expect it will happen.
Out of that will emerge one (or more) parties that are "conservative", though who knows what the labels will be.
Through all this I do not see armed revolt in the US based upon dissatisfaction with the government. The only way I would see armed revolt in a large scale is if a very substantial number of people loose hope that they have a fair shot at changing things through the vote, i.e. they feel the democratic process has been stolen from them, not that they disagree with the laws of the moment.
