Conservative Members Of Our Forum

[Guest mia 1]

This is not a "flame topic"..so do not get defensive please..

But for the life of me why would a gender dysphoric person align him/herself with the political right.

If there is to be progress made and laws protecting transgendered people against discrimination in the work place and in the "fun place" it is not going to be passed or supported by any member of the right wing.....

I realize lower taxes and the Second Ammendment are important,, but honestly the civil and human rights of the transgenderd are nearly non existent and for your safety and your financial well being you need work place protection...because if you are fired for being transgendered you won't be paying taxes..you'll most likely be broke..and for the second ammendment ..yes you need to protect yourself against the "crazies" out there..but without laws to "protect your rights" as a transgendered person..there will be "self appointed" vigilantes" protecting their "kin against you and me".. and I'm a crosdreser/androgyne..imagine what it is like in Rawlins, Wy. for the truly out of the closet transgendered. You don't have enough ammo in your gun belt to protect yourself. You need the police on your side..and they will be! with the right laws.

Let me know what I am missing. I will not be defensive,,I truly am curious.......Mia

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

Mia, I totally agree with you. This is something I've been wondering about for a long time.

[Guest Zabrak]

Know whats sad...Canada has more Conservative's in our house this year. I'm told there was less people at the polls last time there was a vote. I guess some people just gave up hope fighting againts the rich(I didn't vote, and I can only image people voting for them if their rich and can afford them not caring about the little people). I do not like our Conservative party at all. Atlest they can't touch our GLBT protection rights/gay marriage and public medical. The worst they've done is shut down a bunch of hospitals, schools and woman protection centers to "save money" and that was before the recession...who knows what they were really doing with all that "saved money".

/rant over

[Carolyn Marie]

Full disclosure here - I am not on the right, so all I can do is surmise.

However, I've read conservative columnists, politicians and others for years. I've often

wondered why there are members of minority groups among conservatives. It seems

counterintuitive.

I think part of the answer is that there are many types of conservatives, just as there are many

different stripes of liberals. Some are social conservatives, and I would doubt you'll find many

transgendered folks among that ilk.

Others are economic conservatives, or Constitutional strict constructionists, who might, depending

on the issues, support a liberal or libertarian viewpoint. For example, there are many conservatives

who believe that government has no business in anyone's bedroom and don't think those issues

should be regulated at all. They might favor gay and transgendered rights. Others would object to

any group being singled out for special protection, since that wasn't written into the Constitution.

Too long of an answer, but I guess the bottom line is, there is no black and white even in a subject

like this. BTW, although I consider myself a liberal on social causes, I am very much a law and

order kind of gal. So go figure.

Carolyn

[Guest again]

In Canada, in my humble opinion, the reason that the conservatives are in power is because the vast majority of Canadians do not agree with the Liberal Party's view of "wide open doors for immigration" and I really do believe that this needs to be looked at---not to close the doors all together, but to tighten up the controls on criminals and the like. Unfortunately though, the outcome is that the Conservative party is in power in Canada and the fundamentalist christian right is backing them, so I do not agree that they will not be able to reverse the laws in place that protect gay marriage, etc. We can not be too complacent about such things, as that is how they reverse laws via the back door. Just my thoughts......

[Guest StormBird]

I do not know much about politics, especially in the US lol, but from what I can see in Australia we seem to be neglected, our government is quite behind the times when it comes to understanding transgender support and funding. I agree about being treated as an equal person but if that's the case, how come there is medical funding and benifits applied to 'certain' groups of people who have different kinds of physical/mental conditions at various degrees that effect their well being, yet it seems nothing will get done here to help out the trans community especially when there is such a high rate of depression and suicide, or worse as a result of our physical conditions and the way society treat us.

This is especially important to our low income earners who really struggle just to afford HRT, let alone SRS. I think SRS should be considered as it is non cosmetic unlike FFS, etc.

I pay taxes too, why can't I get a say about where my money goes?

That's my two bob ..minus GST tax.

xo

[Guest Zabrak]

In Canada, in my humble opinion, the reason that the conservatives are in power is because the vast majority of Canadians do not agree with the Liberal Party's view of "wide open doors for immigration" and I really do believe that this needs to be looked at---not to close the doors all together, but to tighten up the controls on criminals and the like. Unfortunately though, the outcome is that the Conservative party is in power in Canada and the fundamentalist christian right is backing them, so I do not agree that they will not be able to reverse the laws in place that protect gay marriage, etc. We can not be too complacent about such things, as that is how they reverse laws via the back door. Just my thoughts......

Hmmm...I guess I'm young and hopeful and don't think they can touch it. Because I'm sure Canada would go up and crazy if they TOOK AWAY rights like that. Don't throw eggs at me for being a optimist in this way. I may think people are sick of voting but not if rights are going to be lost.

[Sally]

I have never had two nickels to rub together but I have always worked so I describe my self as too poor for the Republicans to help me and too rich for the Democrats to help.

I have always ben amazed at the slef destructive nature of mankind.

We had a Govenor in Texas who git the teachers their first major pay raise in 25 years and they all applauded but as he was running for re-election they all turned out for 'silent protests' that were anything but silent and helped get him defeated - why, because along with the pay raises he wanted them to all pass a test to prove that they were cometent teachers in their fields.

Just look at the salaries of Congressmen and the judges as well as the President, then look at the money raised and spent to get them there - is there any doubt as to why they don't represent the average American - it is the same in every country - government out of touch.

I am rather liberal I suppose in most areas and I don't think that it is a bad thing.

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest Wendy D.]

Zabrak the Conservative party here in Canada is actually at least as left if not more to the left then the Democrats in the USA. Also it is the Liberals and the NDP that have been responsible for delisting SRS from health care in the past or stopping it from being adopted (in the case of Manitoba this year). The real reason that the Conservatives are in power right now is that the average Canadian was sick and tired of one scandal after another in the Liberal party in the last fifteen years. The Liberals need to completely overhaul their party before they'll have a hope of being elected again. They need to prove that corruption will not be tolerated and they need to stop acting like it is their divine right to be the ruling party. They've leaned absolutley nothing since the Conservatives won. The NDP doesn't have a hope of being elected either, especially not until the economy has recovered. There is very little in this country that constitutes the 'fundamentalist Christian right' in this country, especially not when compared to what that term means in the USA, and what little there is is not a power in any sense. The reality is that no matter what the average Canadian thinks of the Prime Minisiter he's preferable to Ignatief for sure and Layton is too frightening to contemplate for most people. Thankfully at least we can discuss politics unlike down south where it seems you are either left or right and whichever side of the line you fall on the other side are the most vile, disgusting, wrong headed, freaks of nature that must all die, die, Die, DIe, DIE, DIE,DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That I just don't understand. Things haven't really changed since Hamilton and Burr down there.

[Guest Zabrak]

Zabrak the Conservative party here in Canada is actually at least as left if not more to the left then the Democrats in the USA. Also it is the Liberals and the NDP that have been responsible for delisting SRS from health care in the past or stopping it from being adopted (in the case of Manitoba this year). The real reason that the Conservatives are in power right now is that the average Canadian was sick and tired of one scandal after another in the Liberal party in the last fifteen years. The Liberals need to completely overhaul their party before they'll have a hope of being elected again. They need to prove that corruption will not be tolerated and they need to stop acting like it is their divine right to be the ruling party. They've leaned absolutley nothing since the Conservatives won. The NDP doesn't have a hope of being elected either, especially not until the economy has recovered. There is very little in this country that constitutes the 'fundamentalist Christian right' in this country, especially not when compared to what that term means in the USA, and what little there is is not a power in any sense. The reality is that no matter what the average Canadian thinks of the Prime Minisiter he's preferable to Ignatief for sure and Layton is too frightening to contemplate for most people. Thankfully at least we can discuss politics unlike down south where it seems you are either left or right and whichever side of the line you fall on the other side are the most vile, disgusting, wrong headed, freaks of nature that must all die, die, Die, DIe, DIE, DIE,DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That I just don't understand. Things haven't really changed since Hamilton and Burr down there.

Oh nooo! I just watsed a bunch of time on my Harvest Moon game reading your answer. lol

Anyway..*cough*

average Canadian was sick and tired of one scandal after another in the Liberal party

I would not say the Conservative party was not guilty of this either. From what *I* heard theyve done the most damage to us little people...I agree that the NDP /Liberals need to start acting better but I really think ALL our parties are corrupt and dirty - last time I heard about politics on TV was them voting to raise their pay, I was sick of hearing crap so I ignored it ever since. Thats another reason I didn't vote, I didn't like any of them. It'll take one smart person to swing me towards a party that I DO like.

[Guest Evan_J]

..........there are many types of conservatives, just as there are many

different stripes of liberals. Some are social conservatives, and I would doubt you'll find many

transgendered folks among that ilk.

Others are economic conservatives, or Constitutional strict constructionists, who might, depending

on the issues, support a liberal or libertarian viewpoint. For example, there are many conservatives

who believe that government has no business in anyone's bedroom and don't think those issues

should be regulated at all. They might favor gay and transgendered rights. Others would object to

any group being singled out for special protection, since that wasn't written into the Constitution.

Bingo.

There are 99,000,000 types of "conservatives".

I hate to admit it. I feel oddly "embarassed. " But pre-election my own mother, a black woman with a trans child, was "against" Obama She preferred a republican even though she is not republican. Her mom, my grandmother almost had a nervous breakdown. I personally was ready to disown her. But she's an economic conservative. For her it was a better business deal to look the other direction

I'm too poor not to go into 3second cardiac arrest just hearing that

And I'm a heavy liberal with regard to civil rights and equality.

On a more micro level -in the personal life- then I become the opposite of my mother. She thinks everyone in a relationship should be equal and that if the husband wants food he should be able to cook his own type thing; that its "insultive", sexist, and wrong to place a man at the "head" of a household and say that her "place" is whatever one supports what he's trying to accomplish. I disagree. A thousand ways one person may be conservative

[Guest ChloëC]

I think Carolyn Marie touched on one of the biggest problems in U.S. politics and that is the single issue voter. It's like they don't care about anything else except their personal favorite issue and whichever candidate agrees with them and will vote or push for their favorite issue, then all other issues are irrelevant to them. Including issues that could negatively affect them to a much greater degree.

It seems to me watching the evolution of politics here that the Republican Party is currently able to grab most of the single issue voters, by playing to their fears or desires.

I do think it goes beyond the costs of getting elected. At whatever level, it seems that once elected, the offical abandons the voters that got him or her elected and starts catering to the special interests that can help get him or her re-elected. I'm in favor of term limits for every elected office, as well as tremendously lower campaign spending limits, and small personal donation limits, with absolutely no spending on campaigns or elections by any group, business, or PAC. Money buys way too much, it's time to take it out of elections and politics.

[Guest Tammy Maher]

I won't be much help either... liberalness.

But I would like to take an opportunity here and say I tried that Jones Soda yes we can cola with obama's face on it. It looked so awesomely good, but when I tasted it, don't buy it. It sucks for soda. I think they tried to make a political statement of although Obama may look good he is horrible. Don't believe me? Go taste it yourself.

Sorry if I made anyone feel bad with that one.

(^ _^)/

Janelle

[Guest My_Genesis]

But she's an economic conservative.

That's kinda like me...I'm more like a libertarian though... I'm not a social conservative by any means...

ironically enough it seems I tend to befriend a lot of conservatives...gee no wonder I am so apprehensive about discussing trans-ness with/'coming out' to a lot of my friends ... LOL.

also ironically enough there have been several people (friends who are left-wing, for the most part) who made the assumption I'm a conservative. And I'm like "um why...?" i guess I have some kind of "vibe"

I've about had enough of the irony of my twisted life lol.

[Guest Mr.Yoav]

I've been wondering the same thing.

I read an article somewhere about gay Republican governors going against gay rights because they are too ashamed to admit that they are also gay. Where's the logic in that?!

[Guest CharlieRose]

I've been wondering the same thing.

I read an article somewhere about gay Republican governors going against gay rights because they are too ashamed to admit that they are also gay. Where's the logic in that?!

Yeah, there have been more than a few quite conservative, married, outspoken anti-gay rights members of congress who have later been outed, their homophobia revealed to be more internal than anything else. Sad people, thinking they can choose not to be gay if they try hard enough. It never works.

And anyways, agreeing with the general consensus, conservativeness has so many forms, though it's tricky to try and be half one or the other, it's all a matter of priorities. Our system makes it so you kind of have to choose because very few people are really partisan.

[Guest again]

Hmmm...I guess I'm young and hopeful and don't think they can touch it. Because I'm sure Canada would go up and crazy if they TOOK AWAY rights like that. Don't throw eggs at me for being a optimist in this way. I may think people are sick of voting but not if rights are going to be lost.

Oh gosh, no---I'm not throwing eggs at you at all---just am more of a pessimist than you I guess, LOL! I always refer to myself as a realist when people call me pessimistic. I'm just recalling the news article where the feds withdrew funding for a gay pride event that they had been supporting for decades---happened this summer. I'm sure it would not have happened if the current conservatives were not in power.

[Guest KimmyRose]

I'm a libertarian, don't drag me into this .

[Guest again]

Zabrak the Conservative party here in Canada is actually at least as left if not more to the left then the Democrats in the USA. Also it is the Liberals and the NDP that have been responsible for delisting SRS from health care in the past or stopping it from being adopted (in the case of Manitoba this year). The real reason that the Conservatives are in power right now is that the average Canadian was sick and tired of one scandal after another in the Liberal party in the last fifteen years. The Liberals need to completely overhaul their party before they'll have a hope of being elected again. They need to prove that corruption will not be tolerated and they need to stop acting like it is their divine right to be the ruling party. They've leaned absolutley nothing since the Conservatives won. The NDP doesn't have a hope of being elected either, especially not until the economy has recovered. There is very little in this country that constitutes the 'fundamentalist Christian right' in this country, especially not when compared to what that term means in the USA, and what little there is is not a power in any sense. The reality is that no matter what the average Canadian thinks of the Prime Minisiter he's preferable to Ignatief for sure and Layton is too frightening to contemplate for most people. Thankfully at least we can discuss politics unlike down south where it seems you are either left or right and whichever side of the line you fall on the other side are the most vile, disgusting, wrong headed, freaks of nature that must all die, die, Die, DIe, DIE, DIE,DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That I just don't understand. Things haven't really changed since Hamilton and Burr down there.

One of the things that the Conservative government in Canada did after coming to power, was to withdraw funding for legal aid for gays and lesbians. The leader is a fundamentalist christian, whose church believes that homosexuality is an abomination against God. He has built a group of allies from the religious right---not only christians, but other religions as well---that will make sure that he stays in power. Focus on the Family has set up office in Ottawa--this is a very powerful organization from the USA that is against LGBT rights and same sex marriage & they provide political advice to the conservatives, as well as publicly calling for legislation to roll back the rights of LGBTs in Canada. A few years back, when legislation was being passed to make it a hate crime to denounce gays, there were hundreds of evangelical ministers, here in Canada, who fought to try to block the passage of that bill. Make no mistake about it, there is a war going on---the conservatives just don't want anyone to know that they are on the other side, instead they quietly infiltrate our institutions while Canadians complacently stand by and watch & even vote for them!

[Guest Zabrak]

You have a link to this news article to back this up? I'm sure it would be more public then I've noticed. *No one* I know family wise or friend wise has ever brought that up so it would be nice to have some "poof" on my side if I ever talked about it.

[Guest again]

Hi, the gay pride parade was in Montreal---here are two links to the story---it was all over the news at the time though:

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jul/09072207.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2298927/posts

[Guest Zabrak]

Hi, the gay pride parade was in Montreal---here are two links to the story---it was all over the news at the time though:

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jul/09072207.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2298927/posts

How about your other comments, beside the parade?

He has built a group of allies from the religious right---not only christians, but other religions as well---that will make sure that he stays in power. Focus on the Family has set up office in Ottawa--this is a very powerful organization from the USA that is against LGBT rights and same sex marriage & they provide political advice to the conservatives, as well as publicly calling for legislation to roll back the rights of LGBTs in Canada.

Any links for that too. ^

[Guest again]

another good link to follow to see what the conservatives are up to:

http://www.harperindex.ca/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=00196

[Guest Zabrak]

another good link to follow to see what the conservatives are up to:

http://www.harperindex.ca/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=00196

Thanks.

[Guest Fwip]

I think that trying to split political thought and feelings into two parties is nearly impossible. There are as many viewpoints as there are issues. Trying to identify the candidate that contradicts the fewest of your views does not make for a happy populace.

Ideally, I would like to see our voting system reformed so that every person may cast either zero or one votes for each candidate, allowing third (and fourth and fifth) parties to gather support without siphoning votes from candidates more likely to win.

Of course it is possible to agree with both parties on separate issues. For example, I favor both universal health care and capital punishment, am pro-life, and support anti-discrimination laws of many types. While in my mind, these are all perfectly consistent, there are many other perfectly rational people who would disagree. Not because they are immoral, illogical, or ignorant, but simply because they hold different values than I and so reach different conclusions.