Reply #6: As I said, I think there are Republicans who aren't racist.

[MostlyLurks]

Certainly, there's a large bloc that vote Rep due to racism, as LBJ knew when he said we had lost the South for a generation after signing the Civil Rights act (would that it had been only a generation; I fear it may be more like a century).

But I believe that there are *good hearted* and *good intentioned* conservatives (these are mostly the old-style, pre-Reagan fiscal cons). I believe that because I know several who are not racists in any form or fashion. They are Republicans primarily out of their own fiscal beliefs and beliefs about capitalism and free markets. While I disagree with many of their views, I know that they come by them "honestly", not out of some subterfuge designed to hide a racist core. At the same time, I think the Republicans leadership has done an uncanny job of hiding the racist undertones from these particular Republicans, to a point where they are often blind to its presence.

So let me make the somewhat controversial statement, at least controversial on DU, that I believe conservatism CAN be a good thing, just as I believe liberalism can be a good thing.

Ideologically, I'm liberal to a rather large extent, except where gun rights are concerned. But pragmatically, I believe that societies are best served by moderation that comes from representation of all views. That's why I believe the Clinton era was so prosperous - there was a lot more balance in the US and state governments than there is now. That's also why I believe the current state is so dangerous - absolute power and all that (paradoxically, I believe a liberal government would be mostly for the greater good - how's that for self-centered blinders?).

If you want to argue that there are absolutely NO "good" Republicans, that's certainly your right, I simply disagree based on anecdotal evidence.

Therefore, I refer to my OP - when will these types of Republicans have that flash of insight? As I said, I fear that the Republican powerbrokers (like Rove, et al) have played the linguistics and language game so well for the past X number of years that I wonder if it ever will. The only hope is that these occassional bubbles of verbal diarrhea will puncture the shroud at some point.

Mostly