# Can right and left agree on anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 19, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094 "2017-11-19T19:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/1 "2017-11-19T19:28:53Z")
Interesting question asked on Townhall: Do Conservatives And Liberals Have Enough in Common to Keep A Country Together Anymore? This excerpt lays out several of the fundamental differences and they are big ones. I’m not sure if the bridge can be gapped in my lifetime. > [@](#): > > Just as an example, ask yourself this question: how many of the fundamental questions about American life do you agree with Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi on? Think about the basic questions of American life. > > The Constitution? Conservatives believe in it. Liberals believe in a “living Constitution” which is fundamentally no different than having no Constitution at all. > > Religion? Conservatives tend to believe in Judeo-Christian values. Even atheists who are conservative tend to at least be friendly to those values. Liberals mock Judeo-Christian values. > > What about patriotism? Conservatives tend to love their country. Liberals love this country like a wife-beater loves his spouse. > > Conservatives tend to be capitalists. Liberals tend to be socialists. Conservatives believe people should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Liberals believe your race defines you. Conservatives believe in equality of opportunity. Liberals believe in equality of results. Conservatives believe in freedom of speech. Liberals are fine with silencing people that disagree with them. Conservatives believe in small government. Liberals believe in a frighteningly powerful central government dictating your every move. > **[Do Conservatives And Liberals Have Enough in Common to Keep A Country...](https://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2017/11/18/do-conservatives-and-liberals-have-enough-in-common-to-keep-a-country-together-anymore-n2411206?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=)** > > Just as an example, ask yourself this question: how many of the fundamental questions about American life do you agree with Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi on? Think about the basic questions of American life. So, what’s your answer to the question that Townhall asks? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/2 "2017-11-19T19:48:47Z")
I never drink from a poisoned well. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/3 "2017-11-19T19:51:34Z")
I think all it would take was an alien invasion to get us all on the same page regardless of political affiliation. Oh, sure, there’d be a few missteps at first as we squabbled over plans that’d fail while stakes are still lower, but once the aliens killed a bunch of us off, we’d be brothers and sisters in arms, presenting a united front against those damn dirty aliens. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/4 "2017-11-19T19:52:14Z")
So you’re saying (or the article is saying) that conservatives are wonderful loving good patriots, while liberals are terrible evil hateful traitors? ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/5 "2017-11-19T19:54:43Z")
I’m not optimistic. ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/6 "2017-11-19T20:00:42Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > So you’re saying (or the article is saying) that conservatives are wonderful loving good patriots, while liberals are terrible evil hateful traitors? That would be assigning biased value judgments against the attributes used to describe the groups. Great way to get the party started, tho! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/7 "2017-11-19T20:03:00Z")
“_Conservatives believe in freedom of speech. Liberals are fine with silencing people that disagree with them._” Yeah, sure. Like that guy who wanted to yank NBC’s broadcast license because they said hurtful things about him. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/8 "2017-11-19T20:03:36Z")
I’d argue that most of the “believes in” are false, for both sides, and it’s not hard to prove. Party platforms are fairly random and unrelated to any fundamental concepts, anymore. But, factually, both sides agree on most things. Basically, look around, note that if you got a person of the opposite political party to sit in your chair and look around, they wouldn’t be wishing for a fire bomb. “Windows!? Oh my god, WINDOWS? DESTROY! DESTROY!” “Streets!? Oh my god, STREETS? DESTROY! DESTROY!” “Electricity!? Oh my god, ELECTRICITY? DESTROY! DESTROY!” “Murder is illegal? Oh my god, DECRIMINALIZE! DECRIMINALIZE!” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/9 "2017-11-19T20:03:52Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Interesting question asked on Townhall: Do Conservatives And Liberals Have Enough in Common to Keep A Country Together Anymore? > > This excerpt lays out several of the fundamental differences and they are big ones. I’m not sure if the bridge can be gapped in my lifetime. > [https://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2017/11/18/do-conservatives-and-liberals-have-enough-in-common-to-keep-a-country-together-anymore-n2411206?utm\_source=thdaily&utm\_medium=email&utm\_campaign=nl&newsletterad=](https://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2017/11/18/do-conservatives-and-liberals-have-enough-in-common-to-keep-a-country-together-anymore-n2411206?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=) > > So, what’s your answer to the question that Townhall asks? I’m not interested in reading the article, but I think we can all agree the part you quoted shows a profound misunderstanding of “liberals.” So, perhaps that’s a start. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/10 "2017-11-19T20:04:59Z")
This isn’t “poisoning the well”. This is putting a “WATER” sign next to a sewage treatment plant. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/11 "2017-11-19T20:10:23Z")
I do think that conservatives will never agree with the fantasy version of liberals that live inside the minds of right-wing bloggers and infotainers. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/12 "2017-11-19T20:12:29Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Can right and left agree on anything? Yes. We actually agree on all sorts of stuff, but because there’s a consensus on it, we don’t spend much time or energy discussing it. > [@Clothahump](#): > > Do Conservatives And Liberals Have Enough in Common to Keep A Country Together Anymore? I’m less sure about this one. I hope so. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/13 "2017-11-19T20:13:08Z")
You linked an article demonizing liberals. But we live in an objective reality. There are actual physical quantities and numbers outside people’s self imposed bubbles of political belief. Ultimately, that reality determines who “wins” in the end. And it’s [overwhelmingly clear](https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/on-the-liberal-bias-of-facts/) that most conservative beliefs are based on **incorrect facts**. Pretty much every conservative position is based on a false belief in something that isn’t actually true or has changed since the conservative formed that belief. To name a few : Conservatives for unrestricted capitalism : the fact are, America is less of a meritocracy than ever, and while capitalism has produced a lot of wealth, virtually all of the newly created wealth in the last 30 years has gone exclusively into the pockets of the rich and hyper-rich, and none is going to anyone else. Conservatives against abortion : There’s no divine spirit in a clump of cells Conservatives for religion : Religions are just a viral meme, a parasitic computer virus. It has nothing useful to tell us at all. Conservatives for gun rights : it’s nice to fantasize about having a gun and getting to save the day, but the evidence shows a clear causal relationship between freer access to guns and accidental and deliberate gun homicides and suicides. Conservatives against climate change : the data is now unequivocal that climate change is real and happening Conservatives for tax cuts : these ‘tax cuts’ are actually the super-rich skiving out of paying the bills, instead running up the National credit card with those bills instead. Like a CEO borrowing money so he can pay himself a bigger bonus. Those are the major issues. All of them, the facts are against the Conservative point of view. So what is going to happen is, either a sufficient majority of voters are going to switch sides, die, or America is ultimately going to fail, because you cannot make a correct national policy decision that doesn’t agree with reality itself. If you believe you can fly, your life is going to be very short. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/14 "2017-11-19T20:13:57Z")
The ‘town hall’ is a bunch of absurd and patently untrue claims meant to poison the well of discussion. This isn’t the basis of any sensible discussion, this is a chance for some conservative to declare how good he is while ignoring reality. > [@](#): > > The Constitution? Conservatives believe in it. Conservatives actually oppose the constitution in many areas - for example they are extremely in favor of entertwining church and state and implementing religious law, opposed to due process for minorities, opposed to free speech, opposed to the equal rights for minorities (especially voting rights), and the like. > [@](#): > > Religion? Conservatives tend to believe in Judeo-Christian values. Conservatives actively reject Christ’s teachings as laid out in the bible. They are the party actively opposed to helping the poor and less fortunate in spite of what Jesus said on the topic, and reject basic Christian tenants like ‘love they neighbor’. > [@](#): > > What about patriotism? Conservatives tend to love their country. Conservatives fly the flag of traitors who forswore their oaths to the united states. You can’t fly the flag of traitorous losers and claim to be the patriotic ones. > [@](#): > > Conservatives believe people should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. This is completely at odds with conservative position on Civil Rights from 1865 to the Civil Rights act to today. > [@](#): > > Conservatives believe in equality of opportunity. Conservatives actively oppose education and medical treatment for children, which are needed for that equal opportunity idea. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/15 "2017-11-19T20:14:42Z")
There’s not a single paragraph of that quote that doesn’t contain a significant lie. Kind of remarkable, really. The OP needs to find better sources. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/16 "2017-11-19T20:17:52Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > And it’s [overwhelmingly clear](https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/on-the-liberal-bias-of-facts/) that most conservative beliefs are based on **incorrect facts**. I believe they prefer to call them, _ **Alternative Facts** _. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/17 "2017-11-19T20:20:19Z")
I’d be pleased if conservatives and liberals could just agree on what liberals actually believe, but the linked article shows that even that may be too much to ask. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/18 "2017-11-19T20:20:24Z")
“The Constitution? Conservatives believe in it. Liberals believe in a “living Constitution” which is fundamentally no different than having no Constitution at all.” This is just simply bullshit. Can I say that in this forum? If not, then this thread is in the wrong forum. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/19 "2017-11-19T20:24:11Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m not interested in reading the article, but I think we can all agree the part you quoted shows a profound misunderstanding of “liberals.” So, perhaps that’s a start. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I do think that conservatives will never agree with the fantasy version of liberals that live inside the minds of right-wing bloggers and infotainers. We can only go by what we see. ---
**Author:** ![BeenJammin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beenjammin/32/448_2.png) [@BeenJammin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeenJammin)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094/20 "2017-11-19T20:27:05Z")
Anything that is alive can be killed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-right-and-left-agree-on-anything/802094.md?page=2)