The notions of conservatism and right-wing comprise a large number of entirely different mindsets, some of which are mutually exclusive. The literal meaning of conservative is of course to conserve an existing condition, but the interpretation is always very selective.

More precise notions are "nationalist", "free enterprise", "theocratic", "law-and-order", "ethnocentric" etc. At Mudcat, the "free enterprise" faction seems to be particularly quiet (as far as I have read), although "pro-gun" may be viewed as a variant of it.

Left-wing is slightly better defined. Basically there are two flavours of it: individualist and collective.

Many issues are shared by self-proclaimed conservatives and leftists. In practical politics, the consequences of any principal mindset are far from clear - see for example the recent discussions about Greece.

A particular problem at Mudcat is that the loudest debaters do not reply to their opponents' messages carefully, and thus miss the opportunity to convince any undecided reader.