"Republicans"

There are a few things that I just don't understand about a lot of politicians today that classify themselves as Republicans. Conservatism, as I understand it, follows a set of ideals that include a smaller government and a free market economic policy. Regan's quote, "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem" is a popular one among many Republicans, as is Ronald Regan. Keeping government out of people's lives as much as possible can be a good thing in some cases, and encouraging competition in the markets is also a very good idea in my mind. And keeping taxes low, being fiscally responsible- who doesn't love those ideas? And yet, and yet.

Many Republicans today stand on a platform that wants to tell you who you can and cannot marry, and what women can and cannot do with their bodies. We have a deficit that is skyrocketing, and has been for awhile. The current administration has increased surveillance among its citizens and has taken away civil liberties (just look at the way people are treated in airports, for an example). To me, this doesn't sound like government staying out of the way, much less staying small. And now, the government has tried to take over huge parts of our financial system. What about this, exactly, classifies as conservative?

What confuses me the most is the "pro-life" stance. Look, let's all agree that we want to see less unwanted pregnancies. That's how we all feel, liberal, conservative, etc. So some Republicans want to outlaw abortion. My question is, then what? So young women, poor women, women who know the men who got them pregnant won't stick around, will have to carry the baby to term. What do Republicans then offer to do for them? As far as I know, they haven't offered to significantly increase funding to programs for teen moms to help them adjust to having a child, they haven't proposed quality government funded child care, or any other programs that would increase the quality of life for young mothers, and the current Republican nominee wouldn't require that health insurance covers contraceptives. Most Republicans also want to keep gay couples from adopting. So what help are they offering to young women if they want them to carry their babies to term? I've heard Palin and McCain say they want to overturn Roe v. Wade, and that is an argument that I, someone who considers herself very much pro-choice, will be willing to listen to if they can provide quality follow up to that decision. By endorsing abstinence only education and keeping contraceptives out of reach, I'm assuming they think they will also keep people from having sex. This is nothing but idiotic.

The "and then what?" question is the part of the argument that you rarely hear, because all those programs will cost big bucks, and Republicans also run on a platform of being fiscally conservative, which means keeping the cost of government programs down.

I hate the idea that I have to identify myself as a "liberal" or a "conservative," as I think that some liberals as well as some conservatives have good ideas. However, I do not consider our current administration "conservative," (and I'm not the only one). Although I do think that there are some traditional conservative policies that I could get behind, it seems that the majority of Republicans these days don't follow these ideals anymore. Maybe it's time for them to come up with a new party name.