Can someone name a Conservative value?

[PurgedVoter]

The Republican Party Platform is to support a racist, lying, deadbeat, charity stealing, treasonous, sex offender, out on bail, with a history of walking into girl's dressing rooms. Any conservatives who are still Republican can drop the entire conservative value thing and really can't answer any question on virtue.
So I am asking this to get a response from non Republican's who can think. Is there a conservative value that conservatives adhere to enough to claim and do it better than others? Is there such a virtue that make the world a better, safer place? Please don't say family, hard work, sacrifice for the country, banking or investment, cause I have lived long enough to know better.
I just want to know what a conservative value is. Don't say selfishness, it's a four year old value, everyone has it and celebrating it is just lame.

[Drum]

1. Not these day, no.

[elleng]

2. averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values?

[Blue Owl]

3. Hypocrisy has become their #1 value

[RockRaven]

4. "I've got mine, so fuck you"

And the corollary "I don't have mine; and rather than interrogate why, fuck you"

[NameAlreadyTaken]

5. Greed, fear and hate

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

6. Don't forget resentment and grievance. (n/t)

[herding cats]

7. Revenge?

I'm not speaking tongue-in-cheek. The people I know have been out for revenge since they lost in 2008.

So much, seemingly, insane things have been normalized since then. They just keep raising the bar on what they'll excuse away to get their pound of flesh they seem to think they deserve.

[Straw Man]

8. Supposedly ...

... fiscal restraint and a strong national defense. Oh, and all that family values crap.

In reality, none of the above.

[dchill]

9. Money.

[limbicnuminousity]

10. A dime a dozen.

[Celerity]

11. Joseph de Maistre:

Evil exists because of its place in the divine plan, according to which the blood sacrifice of innocents returns men to God via the expiation of the sins of the guilty.

Government is a true religion: it has its dogmas, its mysteries, its priests. To submit it to the individual discussion is to destroy it; it is given life only through the national mind, that is to say, by political faith, which is a creed.

Every country has the government it deserves.

Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821)

[niyad]

16. This deserves its own OP.

[Brainfodder]

12. If it aint white it aint right but I aint racist I love all my lovers equally but don't tell my wife & she NRA lobbyist?

[usonian]

13. I found their value statement. In a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnall's front porch. Here it is:

• Government dictates what you read, your religion and your private life. Period trackers mandatory, and report to the government.

• More welfare for the rich.

• Americans pitted against each other along lines of race, color, religion, gender, sexuality, and income. Vilification of blacks, Jews, Muslims, lgbtq+ , homeless, and women of strength, with increasing violence, even murder against them.

• Private health care companies deny needed treatments to save money. (Death panels are here!)

• The wealthy pay even less in taxes.

• Every civil right is eroded by clown judges living in the 18th century rewriting the constitution.

• Worker's rights and benefits reduced in order to create greater profits for businesses.

• Safety nets removed, so that homeless, and jobless people are left to die on the streets.

• More, more, more of culture war.

• GUNS, everywhere, with no limitations or requirements. Kids get them freely.

• Minorities and women blamed for every imaginable blip.

• Support of authoritarian regimes across the globe, who eagerly imprison, "re-educate", murder and commit atrocities on others.

• Lies, hate speech and threats are welcomed on "social media" and given support by government officials.

• Medical care and prescription drug costs skyrocket.

[VGNonly]

30. Trash the environment for more profit.

9000 posts!

[usonian]

32. Thanks!

I could list 9000 slimes and crimes of the GOP.

Effem.

[walkingman]

14. The culture of the white race is dying and needs to be rescued is the basis

for most conservative values.

[LastDemocratInSC]

15. Selfishness.

[PurgedVoter]

17. Good to know I am not alone in struggling to find a conservative value.

We heard about conservative values a lot when I was little. Reading between the lines it was a combination of two broad concepts.

One set of virtues really helped the rich. Having folk consider paying debts, working hard, saving money, and not suing people when you got injured were virtues that rewarded those who would manage a banking disaster every so often and rob everyone. Believing in big business, Hating OSHA, environmental controls and social security were a bonus virtue. This was lumped into financial virtue, but the truth is that only those with money could really claim this virtue.

The other set of conservative virtues was veiled hatred for those that didn't fit into the "conservative" shoe. In school, bullies knew they could pick on the odd ones, the smart ones, and those who showed empathy. If you stood up against a bully, the principle was going to reach for the paddle he proudly mounted on the wall behind his desk. Careful racism, sexism and oppression of anyone who didn't fit their mold was lumped in to a brand that said, "We are good family people." It wasn't really a virtue then and it is quite well exposed today.

But as I though about this, I wondered if maybe I had missed something. What was a conservative then and what is conservative now is a bit different. So while I did intend this question as a commentary, I am also looking to see if someone has an actual answer. I doubt there is any virtue in conservative thought, even old school conservative thought. I read a short piece written years ago, titled, "Common Sense," and then I read it again and substituted "Old Money" and "Fabulously Wealthy" for Royal and Noble, and for me any chance of being conservative died right there. Odd since I think in his own way, Thomas Payne was a conservative.

Respect for what works and not tearing down a bridge before you have another good way across a river seems wise to me, but I have not noticed in my lifetime that conservatives ever showed that sort of conservationism. Nixon was a nightmare, but he did do a solid on environmental conservation, so for a while I though that might be a partial conservative value, but time has shown me wrong on that over and over again.

[Kennah]

18. Value of which conservative?

Trump?
Bush Jr?
Bush Sr?
Reagan?
Ford?
Nixon?
Goldwater?
Ike?

The path they've taken is circuitous, and several of these factions would engage in open political war on one another if both existed in large numbers at the same time.

Reagan and Bush Jr were quite a different pair.

[Backseat Driver]

19. Here's that virtous plank you seek!

Let me make this opaquely and disingenuously clear...The anti--plank #1: we should fear and love the carnivale circus show of every sort of idol-worshiper for it's a trinity of chaotic entertainment for enthralled spectators of ladies on horseback, crying clowns, and captive large animals like elephants who leave big odiferous piles behind, but this is BIG, the BIGGEST, it's also highly remunerative to all loyal participants under our Big Top, for we have no actual conventional platform for governance of the ticket office attendees nor the attendance on which to judge with certainty the faithful efforts of our ever re-newed ringmaster, for we are the invisible ghosts of faux virtue.

Happy Fat Tuesday, seekers of all things virtuous, for as long as it lasts...Better luck tomorrow!

[GoodRaisin]

20. "Make America Russia"?

[Midnight Writer]

21. "Be a total asshole in all matters shall be the whole of the law!"

[Johonny]

22. Low taxes for the rich, corporate welfare

And a criminal justice system aimed at the poor to keep their asses in line. That's been their platform since I was born. Hasn't changed.

[tenderfoot]

23. Pulling wings off of butterflies

Punching down, etc...

[ProudMNDemocrat]

24. What exactly IS a Conservative Value?

If they are what I think they are, the Democrats adopted and took them for their own decades ago.

Helping the least among us.
Investing in people
Supporting Unions
Protecting Social Security and Medicare
Providing for a strong National Defense
Standing up for the Constitution and the Rule of Law
Preserving the right to vote
Protecting Civil Rights
Respecting the Separation of Church and State
Representing the American people

I can list more.

[liberalmediaaddict]

25. Owning the libs & trolling the media

The GOP mission statement is to find new ways to drive liberals crazy and manipulate our supposed "liberal media" into adopting a right wing media narrative.

[Scrivener7]

26. Whiteness, maleness, straightness, guns.

[Rebl2]

27. Lies

Hypocrisy, communism, take us backwards and averse to progress. Taking rights away from women and anyone they don’t like and so much more.

[iscooterliberally]

28. If I had to distill it down to one word, that word would be "hate".

Honestly I can't get passed that. It seems to me that republican "happiness" is contingent upon the suffering of others. They always have to blame someone for something and punish them. That's all they have.

[Amishman]

29. focusing solely on virtues of the many conservatives in my extended family - hard work

My wife's family is very conservative, pretty much all Republicans or libertarians. Big, close knit family.

I could say a lot about their collective flaws and misconceptions, but that isn't what was requested.

What is a common virtue among them? They are just about all very hard workers and DIY minded. Determined to the point of stubbornness to not pay someone to do something they can do themselves.

[Caliman73]

31. Sure but is that a "Conservative" value?

Or, is it a value that many people have that happens to be important to your Conservative family?

My family is Liberal, me likely being the furthest Left within my family of origin. My father worked for 37 years for UPS, rarely if ever, missed a day of work. My mother was the same until a significant illness forced her to retire after 35 years with Pacific Bell. My sister and I work equally hard as our parents and our children are straight A students.

We are the antithesis of Conservatism and we value hard work.

[Amishman]

37. Good point

I'd say it still counts, as it is something they claim to value - if you ask a conservative if being a hard worker is a conservative value, they'd say yes. It also is one that based my experience seems to be something where the reality matches the claim.

Doesn't mean that they have exclusivity over that virtue.

[PurgedVoter]

39. I think that is indeed what they claim, that and family.

As far as family goes it's a definite myth, I have seen the insides an results of conservative family values. So many keep quiet about the child suicides.

As far as the work ethic goes, they will also say "Christian work ethic" Ignore the judge not and the lilies of the field.

When considering the work ethic, I remember the smoke breaks and I remember all the times the conservatives gathered and talked nonsense with the boss while those who were not as comfortable with racist humor continued working. I remember being told I was working too hard. Probably true, but at the time I had energy to spare.

I even remember when getting a good education was considered a conservative value. My grandfather didn't sit in the shade cause that seemed lazy to him. You didn't want to show weakness in front of your employees.

Yet among all of this was the hint that these people wanted to own the people they called lazy and they wanted them to do the work. The not so well hidden hypocrisy was always there.

[Caliman73]

33. I tend to frame it differently.

If you have read my posts and responses, you will find that I often challenge those "planks" that the Republican Party represents as Conservative Values. I take them and deconstruct them because, as you pointed out, they seem to fall by the wayside fairly easily.

I tend to see Conservatism and Liberalism as a broader worldview. How do they see the world? Specifically, how to the leaders within the movement, the ones that set the framework, how do they see the world.

Another poster put up some quotes by Joseph de Maistre, one of the architects of the modern Conservative movement along with Edmund Burke.

Conservatives tend to believe that people are inherently unequal, that some have been "blessed" with gifts that have allowed them to accumulate wealth and power. That subsequently, those people deserve to have a larger voice than others who have not achieved as much. They believe that societies have a "natural hierarchy" and that we should all accept our place and adhere to the rules created by our betters.

To sum it up, Conservatism grew out of the defense of Monarchy. The "defenders" saw that Monarchy was being challenged and rather than accept the idea that people were inherently equal and deserved a voice in their governance, they took the ideas inherent to Monarchy and aristocracy and applied them to Capitalism which was becoming the dominant economic idea of the time. You can trace that line of thought from Hobbes to Burke and De Maistre all the way to Krystol, Peterson, and Shapiro. The language has changed around the idea but not the idea itself.

[surrealAmerican]

34. Freedom:

... specifically, the freedom to impose their will on others.

[jcgoldie]

35. racism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia...

Trump is not a bug he's a feature... their true champion.

[Beausoleil]

36. Grifting

Lying
Undermining democracy
Rolling on allies
And of course the ubiquitous hypocrisy.

I keep trying to think of any "conservative" policy implementation that has improved the lives of the majority of Americans.
I got nothing.
At least since Reagan.

[LastDemocratInSC]

38. Opposition to anything that happens for the first time.