toadfrog - your assumptions about what conservatives are in America are simply wrong. They are based upon the bad things opponents of conservatives say about them. If I ask my dog dog why she hates cats, she will tell me all the terible things that makes her react sooo violently when she sees one. If I assume she is correct in her description of cats, I will hate them too. If I look for myself and consider the cat's own descriptin as possibly valid - well, I ought to at least have a better frame of reference for making my own judgement. AND that judgement will be modified as time goes by and I gain more experience with more cats.