Conservative and liberal

In an ideal world conservatives and liberals are necessary complements to one another. The conservative values what is good and right about the present; the liberal understands that solutions are not permanent and looks to the future to see what changes to the good and the right may be necessary. Every intelligent person who cares, every intelligent and ethical politician will have elements of conservative and liberal thinking

In the real world there are polarization and simplification; and ideology begins to substitute for thinking. History goes through cycles and there are times when these ‘real’ tendencies become extreme. The politicians appeal to the basest emotions of the people, fear being primary among them, and tout their ideology as solutions to fabricated fears without regard to real need and, consistent with this disregard of truth, with regard to personal gain including reelection, power, influence, economic gain for themselves and a limited circle committed to the same agenda. Limbaugh is a chief apologist for this base turn in politics in its recent incarnation and the overwhelming victory of Obama owes no small measure to the maxim that “you can’t fool al the people all the time”