I'm a conservative.

Saw someone asking if there is a difference between Republicans and MAGAs...

Esso® · 2025-03-26T14:57:30.350Z

And it reminded me of this episode from Newsroom. It's a bit dated, but I think the point still rings true. The video clip is less than 2 minutes long, but I think it does a good job of distinguishing the difference in what we've traditionally known republicans to be vs. what the then-emerging MAGA faction champions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbErkUE3Az0

Tiggity®

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Mar 26, 2025, 12:07 PM

At different times that's been a democrat, other times that's been a republican. Other times it's been a Dixiecrat. Other times it's been a Democratic Republican. Liberals have been Democrats, they were also republicans, and way back they were federalists.

Truth of the matter is politics are no different today, in America, than they were in the UK, or in Athens, or anything democracy in between.

The one consistent theme in politics is there is always a conflict, always some party, or world view that's generally "liberal" or "conservative". Parties come and go. Nations and states come and go. But the ultimate political divide in America today is the same as in the UK, France, Germany, Brazil, and in ancient democracies like the Greeks, even the Romans to a degree.

That difference is simple. You can see it on our bright red map republicans like to post, that shows the massive sea of red, with little blue dots scattered about. The MAGA mouth breather thinks that map shows the vast majority of Americans as republicans, and conservatives. The thinking republican and democrat BOTH know, that map shows one thing almost as crystal clear as it could possibly be drawn.....

URBAN VERSUS RURAL.

And those urban blue dots, contain roughly the same number of people/voters as the vast rural sea of red. And honestly, it takes both liberals running urban areas, and conservatives running rural areas, to achieve optimal results. We are all the sum of our experiences. If you grow up in an urban area, then you know and understand the value of rules, regulations, control, and laws. If you grow up in a rural area you understand the value of independence, freedom, and individualism.

Fact is, since cities were invented, and politics were invented, urban areas, where many people live close together, those areas require more rules, regulations, taxes, infrastructure, less freedom, etc. Less freedom in cities. Burn your garbage in Manhattan and you will be arrested. Shoot fireworks in Manhattan, the same. Your individual freedom can cause the city to burn down. Likewise, in western Nebraska, freedom promotes the best prosperity. You can burn your own trash because there's no one for miles around. You can play music loudly. You can build huge bonfires, race your truck up and down desolate roads at 100mph. So, take that liberal politician from Manhattan and put him in charge of a tiny county in western Nebraska. Ok, so burning trash is bad. It creates toxic smoke, can start wildfires, and is unsafe. All people in western Nebraska must drive their trash 40 miles to the nearest landfill. That won't fly. LIKEWISE, say the conservative republican leader of a small western Nebraska County goes to NYC and becomes mayor or whatever. He said Murica!! Freedom!!! No need for mass transit, everyone can drive a car. Everyone can burn their own garbage. You can drive as fast as you want. FREEDOM!!!! And yep, that won't fly in NYC.

No, our divide today is the same divide that separated Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Difference was those founding fathers were smarter than politics. They knew they were creating a nation and a governemnt, and they knew America would benefit best with Federalists running cities and democratic republicans running rural areas. So they devised a government structure that allowed, and supported, BOTH.

Personally, I wouldn't want republicans running all the cities, or democrats running all the rural areas. If I'm running for office, I'm not running to control anything, I'm not running to "win" anything. I'm running to serve MY area, the best way that I know how. And honestly, if I wanted to govern a city, I'd run as a democrat. If I wanted to govern a rural area, I'd run as a republican. And I'd know, and do what is best in both areas, because I'd do what is best for the people, the citizens, and not care about a party or any kind of political war or tribalism. It's honestly very conceited and ignorant to think your world view is best for everyone. And that's the main problem America has today, IMO. We need to go back to our REPUBLIC roots. Not republican, REPUBLIC roots.