Not one and the same

While listening to one of my favorite radio shows, I heard the host talking about the need to get away from being either Republican or Democrat and be patriots and Americans. I agree with that. He made the same statement later, but this time he used conservative and liberal in place of Republican and Democrat. I disagree, with all due respect. Republican and Democrat are political parties. Conservative and Liberal are political models. They are not one and the same. There are many liberal Republicans and Conservative democrats. I have always been a conservative, but for a while, I was a registered Democrat. I was told that I had to in order to vote in all the elections our county had. As soon as I found out that was false, I changed my registration. I didn't change my ideals or convictions. The media likes to use party registration to say that America is more liberal. That doesn't seem to be the case. A lot of people, when asked very specific and easy to understand questions (which most polls do not have) give conservative answers. However, due to media spin and bias, they continue to vote Democrat. What is the solution? Many people won't listen to talk radio because of preconceived notions. Therefore, it is up to us. Don't try to get into discussions on party lines. Instead, focus on the issues. Talk about fiscal responsibility and job growth, then remind them what Reagan did. The same ideals he had as a Democrat, he put forth to the country as a Republican. He was a conservative, regardless of his party affiliation. So the next time someone tells you that you are in the minority because you are a conservative, don't believe it. Trust me, a former coworker tried to tell me that, but by the time the conversation was over, he was agreeing with me on almost every issue that I brought up. He might have been a Democrat on paper, but he was in his "right" mind.