# Areas of agreement between conservatives and liberals **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 5, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435 "2014-12-05T19:09:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/1 "2014-12-05T19:09:24Z")
So, with all the disagreement and gridlock…what are areas of broad agreement between conservatives and liberals today? 1. The media is awful. 2. The United States’ days as No. 1 are numbered. 3. Governmental spying on citizens and infringement on civil liberties is getting out of hand. 4. America needs more focus on STEM. (Whether America is actually lagging behind in STEM or not is another question; this may be like the 1960s “Missile Gap”) 5. Higher education has become insanely - and questionably - expensive. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/2 "2014-12-05T19:37:02Z")
1. The American Dream is more difficult to obtain than it once was. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/3 "2014-12-05T20:36:11Z")
There are all kinds of conservatives and all kinds of liberals, and from time to time, different wings of each side find themselves in unlikely alliances with wings from the other side. Examples: 1. Both the far Left and the far Right (the “paleoconservatives” represented by guys like Pat Buchanan) are in agreement that the US should drastically cut military spending and scale back our military operations around the world. 2. Both the feminists of the Left and the Religious Right are strongly against pornography, for very different reasons. 3. Both the Left and the Pro-Business conservatives are strongly in favor of more immigration, and support amnesty for illegal aliens already in the USA. 4. Both the far Left and the far RIght are extremely hostile to Israel. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/4 "2014-12-05T20:59:37Z")
I think both conservatives and liberals support the ideal of individual freedom. They just differ on what means they feel best achieve that ideal. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/5 "2014-12-05T21:21:39Z")
Apple Pie. Also, Motherhood. Liberals and Conservatives want all the same things, just disagree on the means. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/6 "2014-12-05T21:23:03Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > So, with all the disagreement and gridlock…what are areas of broad agreement between conservatives and liberals today? > > 1. The media is awful. > 2. The United States’ days as No. 1 are numbered. > 3. Governmental spying on citizens and infringement on civil liberties is getting out of hand. > 4. America needs more focus on STEM. (Whether America is actually lagging behind in STEM or not is another question; this may be like the 1960s “Missile Gap”) > 5. Higher education has become insanely - and questionably - expensive. > > Any others? 1. As No. 1 what? 2. Government spying on citizens and infringement on civil liberties has been out of hand for 14 years. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/7 "2014-12-05T21:28:59Z")
1. That the other side is bad/evil/out of touch. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/8 "2014-12-05T21:32:22Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > 1. The media is awful. Agree. > [@](#): > > 1. The United States’ days as No. 1 are numbered. Disagree. > [@](#): > > 1. Governmental spying on citizens and infringement on civil liberties is getting out of hand. Strongly disagree. > [@](#): > > 1. America needs more focus on STEM. No opinion. > [@](#): > > 1. Higher education has become insanely - and questionably - expensive. Agree. > [@](#): > > Any others? I agree with conservatives on the ideas that sunshine is good, volcanoes are bad, ice cream is tasty, and bananas kinda look like penises. Other than that, not much. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/9 "2014-12-05T21:42:32Z")
I think we generally agree on ends, just not on means. For instance, Obama and I agree that health care ought to be less expensive. He believes this can be done with subsidies and Obamacare. I believe it can be done with rationing. Both of us agree that global warming is an issue. He believes it can be dealt with by pushing solar energy; I think nuclear energy is more nearly practical. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/10 "2014-12-05T22:11:37Z")
> [@XT](#): > > 1. That the other side is bad/evil/out of touch. 😛 True, every side think it’s the other side’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/11 "2014-12-05T22:20:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think both conservatives and liberals support the ideal of individual freedom. They just differ on what means they feel best achieve that ideal. > [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > Liberals and Conservatives want all the same things, just disagree on the means. Liberals and conservatives will often argue about means to a common generic objective, like a strong economy, but I think the differences are more fundamental than that. When it comes to the specifics of enacting policy, there are always conflicts between opposing rights and priorities, and that’s where the more fundamental differences lie. Employers and employees both have rights, for instance, as do businesses and consumers, parents and children, and so on. There are always conflicts between individual freedoms and the larger public interest, and that one is the elephant in the room. There are conflicts between economic growth and many other priorities, including social order and the environment. Different positions on the political spectrum are largely defined by how one prefers to balance those conflicting interests in accordance with one’s intrinsic values. I think in a sense liberals and conservatives have quite different ideals of the kind of society they would like to live in. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/12 "2014-12-05T22:40:59Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Both of us agree that global warming is an issue. He believes it can be dealt with by pushing solar energy; I think nuclear energy is more nearly practical. Has Obama opposed nuclear? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/13 "2014-12-05T22:41:09Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I think we generally agree on ends, just not on means. For instance, Obama and I agree that health care ought to be less expensive. He believes this can be done with subsidies and Obamacare. I believe it can be done with rationing. Both of us agree that global warming is an issue. He believes it can be dealt with by pushing solar energy; I think nuclear energy is more nearly practical. > > Regards, > Shodan Out of curiosity, when you read that Obama’s means are achieving your ends, does that make you reconsider your beliefs about means or do you just discount his? Health care cost increases were the lowest in 2013 since they started tracking them in 1960: > **[Health costs in 2013 grew at slowest rate since 1960](https://www.vox.com/2014/12/3/7328423/health-costs-lowest-growth)** > > Vox is a general interest news site for the 21st century. Its mission: to help everyone understand our complicated world, so that we can all help shape it. In text, video and audio, our reporters explain politics, policy, world affairs, technology,... ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/14 "2014-12-06T00:01:52Z")
Freer trade initiatives produce bipartisanship both in favor and opposed. Both parties have elements that oppose them out of differing protectionist urges. Both sides also have elements that can see the long term benefits to the country as a whole. The Trans Pacific Partnership is a great example of pending work that can produce bipartisanship in the last years of Obama’s time. NAFTA was a prime example that got implemented. Bush took the lead in getting it negotiated but it likely took Clinton to form the coalition that eventually got it ratified. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/15 "2014-12-06T00:24:13Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Out of curiosity, when you read that Obama’s means are achieving your ends, does that make you reconsider your beliefs about means or do you just discount his? > > Health care cost increases were the lowest in 2013 since they started tracking them in 1960: > > [Health costs in 2013 grew at slowest rate since 1960 | Vox](http://www.vox.com/2014/12/3/7328423/health-costs-lowest-growth) In fairness to Shodan, he and I agree that lower taxes are a good thing, and he could quite easily demonstrate the Republican policies lead to lower taxes than Democratic policies. That’s not going to get me voting republican, though, because the means by which they achieve an end I like includes doing a lot of things to the social safety net that I think are worse than high taxes. As for the OP, I think left and right can agree that those ISIS guys are dicks, and Ebola is pretty nasty. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/16 "2014-12-06T00:53:43Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > In fairness to Shodan, he and I agree that lower taxes are a good thing, and he could quite easily demonstrate the Republican policies lead to lower taxes than Democratic policies. That’s not going to get me voting republican, though, because the means by which they achieve an end I like includes doing a lot of things to the social safety net that I think are worse than high taxes. I think you may be getting your means and your ends a little mixed up in that example. As for me, if lowering taxes had positive effects, I’d be all for it. As you say, the consequences are poor for the social net, AND lower taxes are bad for the economy, employment, the stock market, and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/17 "2014-12-06T01:07:26Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Out of curiosity, when you read that Obama’s means are achieving your ends, does that make you reconsider your beliefs about means or do you just discount his? > > Health care cost increases were the lowest in 2013 since they started tracking them in 1960: > > [Health costs in 2013 grew at slowest rate since 1960 | Vox](http://www.vox.com/2014/12/3/7328423/health-costs-lowest-growth) The problem is that they were still increasing. The costs need to go down, not slightly up. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/18 "2014-12-06T02:18:40Z")
I started a slightly more whimsical version of this thread a while back, about things that the stereotypical left and right would like but for different reasons. My example was Mythbusters. The right loves it for all the guns and explosions, the left loves it because it’s set in San Francisco and very clearly respects science. Someone else suggested national parks and the outdoors, which the right love for hunting, isolation and hardcore survivalism; and the left love for conservation and environmental reasons. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/19 "2014-12-06T03:05:06Z")
In Washington, DC, I believe both sides of the aisle agree Redskins’ owner Daniel Snyder sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435/20 "2014-12-06T04:38:19Z")
Bold times demand bold decisions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/areas-of-agreement-between-conservatives-and-liberals/706435.md?page=2)