Johnfitz, I do think defining our terms as to what "conservatism" is helps us to find common ground. I do agree with most of what you say when you state that basic values of this country "celebrates self reliance, a limit on taxation, a wariness towards goverment solutions to societal issues". The last part may be the area where "liberals" and "conservatives" really split hairs. I really believe that most Americans support government solutions, or at least assistance, on issues that effect us all - such as health care, enviromental controls, upholding civil liberties, etc. None of us support government making those decisions.   So why do "conservatives" support the government stepping in and making decisions on gay marriages or a woman's right to choose? What happend to "self reliance"???

Part of the big problem of the latter half of the 20th century, in my opinion, was that Ronald Reagan and his kind helped create a stigma of the word "liberal". By turning it into a 4 letter word, and the Democrats being afraid to stand up for their ideals, we turned "conservative".   We neglected the true values that built this country and fell into believing Reagan's 1950's ideals of what constitutes America. We weren't Ozzie and Harriet or the Cleavers.