WANTED: STRAIGHT TALK

Conservatives generally hold the right positions on the issues but their arguments are not persuasive because they are missing two essential ingredients:  Precision and Proof.

PRECISION

Conservatives summarize their political position by saying they are for "less" government.

What does that mean.  Except for absolute dictatorships, all governments are "less" than they otherwise could be.  How much less?  We have 50 million people receiving food stamps.  How much less should that number be?  35 million?  25 million?  10 million?

And "less" Where has it overstepped its proper and Constitutional authority?  Exactly which programs should be eliminated entirely?

PROOF

Virtually always, no objective, logical proof is offered as to why a particular position is correct.  The two most common "proofs" offered about the correctness or incorrectness of what the government is doing are (1) it is supported by or violates the Constitution, and (2) the country was "better off" when that position was in effect.  Both "proofs" fail.

The fact that something is or is not in the Constitution is not logically convincing one way or the other.  As much as I admire and respect the Founding Fathers, I know they were neither omniscient nor infallible.  There were errors in the original Constitution (slavery was recognized and slaves did not fall under the provision that "all men are created equal"; women were not permitted to vote, etc.), and there are errors still.  The fact that something can be found in a document or book is not a shred of proof it is correct.

The argument that we were better off when the conservative position was in effect, is unspecific as to what "better off" means (see above), and also offers no proof that the standard being used to support "better off" (e.g., lower unemployment rate, lower crime rate, higher stock indexes) is, in fact, the right standard to use (which is maximum freedom for all).

Without proof, the position taken is merely a subjective opinion and as such has no...no...persuasive power.  I have no interest in your preferring vanilla ice cream, nor does it prove it is the healthiest and best flavor to eat...any more than you should care that I prefer chocolate.

There is a third error that all political pundits and commentators make and it is to speak of opposing political views as being monolithic.  Conservatives talk about what the Left wants as if every member of that political persuasion feels the same way.  Tell me the Left wants to transform our country into a socialist state and I might think, "I  have a good friend who is a Democrat and he doesn't want to do that.  The Conservatives don't know what they are talking about".  (The Democrats and Republicans do the same.)

So...we have to get back to basics on the road paved with logic and reason.