Can a Republican be a ....

[Whiskeytide]

32. I have to weigh in on this...

... I live in Alabama - Conservative central - and many of my closest friends and business associates are pretty hard core conservatives. But most all of them are decent people. They love their country, and they love their families and communities. The problem is that a pretty good debate can be had on some aspects of the questions you raise:

They would not support torture, but they might draw the line in a different place than you would.

They might believe preventing crime justifies some intrusion into our privacy - again, its a matter of where you draw the line.

None of them want atheists to not be citizens, but they frame the issue as whether or not atheists are preventing them from worshiping as they choose. That may be an incorrect analysis, but its how they see it.

They don't turn their backs on the needy. Some of them are the most generous people I know, and not necessarily because they can afford to be. They just don't believe the government can efficiently help the poor - and you can legitimately debate whether our welfare system is efficient.

They are not singling out teachers and fireman. They support limiting government across the board. It may be short sighted, but its not immoral or indecent. As for tax breaks for the wealthy, I don't know a single one who supports that concept beyond the general belief that we should not "over tax" the business community to the point of stagnating growth and success. They believe in a balance, but again they draw the line in a different place.

And the unemployed? This is the best point you make. Most of them do believe that the system coddles people who are lazy if it goes too far. I agree that it is a wrongheaded approach, but they are invested in this one. These are southern conservatives - and they have been raised on the ideology of doing for yourself.

The mistake you are making is that you are associating ALL republicans with the political leaders of the party and the media personalities that serve them. Most of the conservatives I know think Limbaugh is a douche, Hannity is a Nazi, Beck is a loon, Santorum is a freak show and Palin is a circus clown. But they vote republican because they believe in most of the core principles of conservative thought. When I talk to them about it, it is readily apparent that they lean left on a lot of issues and sub-issues. Just my experience.