What Conservative Means

One reason our politics is screwed up is because words no longer have meaning. Look at this background paragraph from a WaPo article about Alito's hearing:

That would leave Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, as the swing voter. Kennedy has compiled a record of conservatism punctuated by votes in favor of gay rights and reaffirming Roe v. Wade.

Now, as I understand things, a "conservative" is someone who values individual liberty over state regulation. I've never understood how conservativism ended up being the side with the moralists and regulators when it came to individual liberty questions like equality for gay citizens or healthcare choices.

I only suggest that Kennedy's support for individual liberty in these instances continues, rather than breaks with, "a record of conservatism", but perhaps not the type practiced by most American conservatives.

Posted by shamanic at January 13, 2006 06:58 AM | TrackBack