America often seems polarized: are you conservative, Republican, or liberal, Democrat? Too often in our political discussions we use these terms interchangeably as if all conservatives are Republicans, and all liberals Democrats.

It is certainly true that more Republicans are conservative than liberal, but there are liberal Republicans, just as there are conservative Democrats, although most Democrats are liberal. The liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats are seen by their own parties and the media as so strange that they are often dismissed outright. 

For those of you old enough, Nelson Rockefeller was a liberal Republican. One does not have to go back three decades to uncover liberal Republicans. Rudy Giuliani is a liberal Republican. Of course, liberal Republicans are still seen as conservative by most Democrats and liberals. Clearly, Giuliani is to the right of, say, Barney Frank.

John McCain touted himself as a maverick. Before the campaign he was a moderate Republican. Just after he was nominated remember all the discussion about McCain’s need to win over the conservative base. No need to do that if he was a conservative. As the campaign progressed, McCain’s comments and stance on many issues portrayed him as a liberal Republican.

There really is no need to go into a post mortem on why McCain lost: Bush’s unpopularity, the war in Iraq, the economic crisis, etc. Name the last moderate or liberal Republican to be elected president. To make life a little easier, let’s just consider the Republicans who were elected president since World War II: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

At the time, Eisenhower was considered a conservative; no question about Nixon or Reagan being conservative; George H. W. Bush was elected as a conservative successor to Reagan then moved to the center and lost in his re-election bid; George W. Bush is certainly considered a conservative, although I believe he is responsible for killing the “Reagan Revolution”.

So, it would seem in the last 56 years, for a Republican to be elected president he had to be viewed as conservative. But, being conservative and being a conservative Republican are not synonymous.

Perhaps the best commonly used tag line to define a conservative is “small government”. In the mythology of the fans of Newt Gingrich this has come to mean the Federal government should spend less: cut the budget, cut the deficit.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...

The conservative Jeffersonian idea of “small government” is individual rights: …to secure these rights, Governments are instituted…

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union… The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. The Constitution, established by We the People delineates the powers of the Federal government, but those powers not granted to the Federal government are reserved to the people.

It is on this foundation that true conservatives and many “conservative” Republicans part ways. In most cases, certainly on social issues, if it is a choice between government or the people making a determination, conservatives believe that the people should always decide.

This does not mean that the people, “the majority” always rules. We live under a democratic (people vote) republican (representative) form of government. We empower our elected officials to give direction to our nation. In foreign policy this is most apparent in the defense of the nation. In domestic matters it is most critical in defense of individual rights. It is most obvious in the civil rights legislation of the 1960’s. The people would have never voted for civil rights, but the people’s elected representatives provided direction to the nation by their conservative understanding that the rights of the people had to be extended to all the people.

Which bring in a subject for another time, the incorrect and misleading use of conservative when what is really meant is reactionary. Contrary to the reactionaries who were against civil rights and were labeled as conservatives, true conservatives would want government to protect the rights of all the people.

As a conservative who is an independent (not registered as a Republican or Democrat), I am quite satisfied with the results of the 2008 presidential election. Now it may seem shocking that a conservative could be satisfied with the election of Barack Obama, a Democrat and apparently a liberal. I am sure I will be dissatisfied with many of President Obama’s policies, stands on issues, appointments, etc., just as I was with our current “conservative” president.

In a republican democracy there is no greater individual right than the right to vote. In a free and fair election, We the People elected Barack Obama. As a conservative American I find that very satisfying.