Election Questions

It feels like is always someone campaigning for a coveted position. This year, every candidate seems to to branding themselves as a ‘conservative’. But how do I decide which conservation truly deserves my vote? Naturally, the first step is to define what being a conservative means.

Google defines conservative as emphasizing tradition, stability and continuity.

The Sassy Spin - Steeped in tradition and comfy with continuity

Conservatives tend to dislikes rapid shifts in the status quo - preferring gradual change.

The Sassy Spin - overnight changes can be unsettling because they are rarely tested in real situations or debugged prior to implementation

Conservatives Support limited government involvement in economy

The Sassy Spin - Government often spend money they don’t have - please do not let them bankrupt anything else

Conservatives values personal responsibility and free market

The Sassy Spin - I am responsible for the choices I will make in life. The consequences of these actions are mine and mine alone. Ideally good choices bring rewards and bad choices lead to lessons learned.

SpinConservative seems to fit my self image well - so how does the opposition differ?

According to Google, liberalism emphasizes progress and reform and adapting to new social realities

The Sassy Spin - I believe in progress and was like most young people in the 60s and 70s we were determined to change the world - the establishment was not to be trusted

Liberals are open to government action to address inequality or social issues

The Sassy Spin - we burned out bras and fought fiercly to be paid the same as our male coworkers. Equality for all - regardless of appearance, sex, race or origin - was a battle hard fought. The inequities endured, sexual slander survived and the relentless effort to earn overdue respect would not have been enough without government intervention.

Liberals often supports programs like public healthcare, education funding or welfare.

The Sassy Spin - in my younger days I had no opinion regarding public healthcare, but as a senior believe Medicare is essential for retirement. Education funding should be available to everyone, but the focus has shifted - sports now dominate and scholarships often prioritize scoring over scholarship. There should be programs such as Welfare, available as a safety net for those hitting a rough patch, not a life long dependency

Values individual rights, diversity, and social freedoms

The Sassy Spin - hip hip hurrah for individual rights, diversity and freedom - however your rights end when they start to infringe on the rights of others - so where does that place me ? Conservative or liberal?

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AI’s simplification is conservatives want to preserve what works and liberals want to improve or change what isn’t working.

The Sassy Spin - isn’t that what everyone wants: keep the systems that function well and fix the ones that don’t? Sounds like there is no separation of principles when worded thusly.

I began this exercise hoping to clarify my voting decision for the current election cycle. Instead, I find myself grappling with more questions than answers. Perhaps it’s time to move beyond traditional labels like 'conservative' or 'liberal' and embrace a new category—one rooted in balance, practicality, and common sense. Let’s call it 'sensible.'