I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what makes someone conservative and I think the main difference these days, although I do think there was a period in history where people wanted to do for themselves and be completely independent. And even that fits in with my definition of what conservatives want, and that is that they don't see that other people may not want the same solution as they want. Not all people want or can be completely independent.

Sometimes people want to be completely independent and there is nothing wrong with that. I am the last person to demand a person be dependent on anyone or anything. Whether it is being part of the power grid, depending on the government or private enterprise to deliver me water, food or clothes, whatever. If you want to make your own clothes, make your own food, produce your own water or produce your own electricity, that should be your right. But not everyone can be fully independent and sometimes the best they can do is be partially independent. That should be alright for them too.

We all have different priorities. We all have different needs. We all have different requirements.

But it seems to me that conservatives think that what suits them should suit everybody. They can't seem to acknowledge that other people might have other needs and requirements.

I remember Sarah Palin parading her special needs son around like he was some kind of trophy. Some people choose to abort special needs children because they take extra time, extra money and often extra training to be able to deal with them. Often people place their special needs kids in government run institutions which a gravely underfunded because of the economy crash and current trends in government funding, if it will help ordinary people then it should not be funded, but a woman was telling me that these government run institutions didn't pay staff well so they were magnets for pedophiles because special needs people often cannot speak up or defend themselves from predators. She knew this because her brother was special needs and she was annoyed Sarah Palin didn't use her public position to advocate on the behalf of parents of special needs children. It's fine for Sarah Palin to praise herself for raising a special needs kid but she has the resources to do so and possibly without the help of government assistance.

Sarah Palin demanding other women and families raise special needs kids by outlawing abortion is cruel because it can be additionally expensive and mentally exhausting and can be completely unrewarding to do so.

Sarah Palin thinks what suits her should suit everybody else when it is not the case.

The blindness of conservatives to the plight of others often baffles me. But then they also failed to see that other people contribute to their success. I remember hearing George W Bush claiming he was a self made man. I wonder how many conservatives believed his claim? His father being president had absolutely no baring on his various successes?

Other self-made men include the spate of men claiming to have built a business all by themselves and don't consider their employees as being instrumental or that their customers having money was at all important either, a stable country where there was no rioting, police protecting the peace in whatever capacity whether it is the threat of criminal charges to prevent people from stealing from the the business or the ability to purchase goods to resell at a good prices also had nothing to do with the business persons' success? And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

But the shortsightedness doesn't end there, it is assuming that all people want to be entrepreneurs or self-employed and all getting all the ideas, help and luck they need to be able to do so in the first place.

Conservatives always think everyone has a family that is willing and able to help them. Not all families are capable of helping family members and sometimes family members die or people no longer associate with them.

So next time you think other people can do whatever you can do, think again. They may not have the same resources, family or luck as you do. What suits you may not suit them at all.

One of the cutest things I've observed is even the most right aspire to those things the left offer, and the left like what the right offer.

My husband's parents come from the heart of the red states, Texas and they had voted for years against their own interests, they voted GOP while the family struggled with poverty. My husbands family often lived on food stamps & state charity so they could be fed.

They didn't choose to live in poverty like this guy thinks. I can so imagine waking up one morning thinking it would be cool to be poor. Clearly the education system failed him as we can see from the abundance of misspelled words.

My husband ended up with a stellar academic career. He could have gone to Harvard but knew he'd never be able to pay back the tuition fees. His academic career culminated in him getting a Stanford PhD. He got merit based scholarships so he was debt free when he finished. His parents were/are so proud of their academic son and chuffed at his success in these bastions of liberality.

Similarly a friend who constantly fights for liberal causes is so proud her son is an entrepreneur. She's delighted he is making money and actively chats with GOP and describes them as rich, like rich is desirable.

Liberals neither shun hard work nor dislike money, despite what the people from the right say; and we are not welfare queens. But as someone from the left, I am so glad there are those programs available so my husband was able to survive and go on to prosper. Also I am so glad he was clever enough to get merit scholarships so he didn't bury us in debt.

Wanting to cut funding to programs is a tragedy for the people who didn't cause the problems in the first place, austerity is a cruel penalty for those who are already hurting.

Poor people who need help from the government tend to vote GOP, while the wealthier tend to vote Democrat. The rich areas of California are the bluest parts of the state, whereas the poorer parts of California are the reddest parts of the states. The richest people tend to live in blue states. The poorest states are all red states.

Don't you get tired of people bemoaning welfare payments to the poor? I know I do. Do people think it really is a joy ride being poor? This guy thinks its a choice! I can so imagine waking up one morning saying: wouldn't it be cool to be poor, NOT! Clearly the education system failed him as we can see from the abundance of misspelled words.

Being criticized as being lazy when they probably applied for every job they could apply for, if they lost their job. I can't imagine how demoralizing it would be to be out of work, and the boredom!

I would sooner they get some kind of payment so they can live rather than breaking into my home stealing so they won't starve. How do they pay for their utilities, rent, food and any kind of entertainment if they have no income at all. The combined boredom and need for money drives many into selling drugs which creates crime.

What is outrageous is we give the rich a pass when it comes to doctors and hospitals charging ten times what they would normally charge when the patient is on medicare. Same with the military industrial complex, well known for ripping off the govt.

I am all for removing regulations, specifically that government is NOT to use its bulk purchasing power with medicare. Removing that one regulation would probably allow every single American medicare, and ease the burden on every household and business across the country.