Walking the Conservative Plank

From an NPR story on a conservative conference:

"The Republican Party has abandoned conservative values" and from someone else "It needs to come back to the conservative planks, which make up the platform"

So my question is - what is a conservative value and/or plank? Where to look for answers......Google!

First one up - not a paid advertisement mind you but the very first one listed" http://www.american-conservativevalues.com/ reading through.......blah... blah... liberals bad....conservatives better...blah....blah.....OK there it is...I think these are values (verbatim by the way):

1. Conservatives love facts (not sure if that is really a value but, well ok, its a start)
2. Government - which I assume means the federal one - should run the military and other related protective services. (OK - aggreed)
3. Private sector better (not sure what they mean by "capitalist free")
4. Liberal values must be expressed privately.
5. If everyone is free how can you force a large amount of people to accept freedom? (Say what? So a value is to make sure some are not free?)

OK, so.....that's it? Those are the values we need to come back to? Next!

http://www.conservapedia.com/Conservative_values Ahhhhh finally something spelled out.

1. placing ideas and principles above personal desire, weaknesses, fears and regrets
2. a never-ending quest for the truth, despite obstacles based on emotion and personal experience, and spreading such truths for the benefit of all
3. recognizing and utilizing the benefits of competition and hard work
4. emphasizing charity, with its unexpected benefits, rather than compulsory tax-and-spend programs
5. teaching self-help rather than dependence on government and others
6. a devotion to the principle of justice
7. supporting self-defense
8. recognizing the media for its bias, bullying, deception.
9. frugality and efficiency
10. rejecting the deification of government officials
11. giving those in authority due respect, but not to the point of accepting orders or assertions that are contrary to logic or morality
12. downplaying significance of wealth, disparities in wealth, and materialism in general
13. emphasizing self-reliance and being able to keep the fruits of one's labor
14. not complaining, and instead taking practical action to improve one's situation
15. emphasizing self-restraint against hurtful activities
16. emphasizing humility and open-mindedness instead of arrogant certainty about one's own views
17. recognizing the power of the free market
18. understanding that a rising tide lifts all boats, e.g. tax cuts benefit all.
19. self-control as opposed to a self-indulgent search for instant gratification of desires.

OK, so most of these are the same things most folks want/can agree to - regardless of wheter you call yourself a conservative or not. So which ones bear a little further review.......I choose these, which I'll give my take on my next few postings.

• a devotion to the principle of justice
• recognizing the media for its bias, bullying, deception.
• frugality and efficiency
• downplaying significance of wealth, disparities in wealth, and materialism in general[11]
• emphasizing humility and open-mindedness instead of arrogant certainty about one's own views
• self-control as opposed to a self-indulgent search for instant gratification of desires.

I was going to add the "rising tides" one but that one can go both ways depending on how its played out. OK, so now I can sleep better knowing what these values are and how some tea loving Americans are trying to get them back.

"emphasizing humility and open-mindedness instead of arrogant certainty about one's own views" Really? - that's one of their values? No, really......you serious?