Host intro: If you thought you knew who the real conservatives were, Pete du Pont of the National Center for Policy Analysis says think again.
Are the Democrats the real conservatives? Absolutely.
Websters defines conservative as "tending to preserve established traditions or institutions and to resist or oppose any changes in these."
And on a variety of critical issues Democrats take the conservative stance: change is bad.
Sure, president Clinton was pressured into signing welfare reform.
But he and most Democrats oppose changing the entitlement nature of Social Security – even though a few, like Bob Kerry, agree with Republicans that we should take the revolutionary step of replacing it with personal savings accounts.
Democrats are unlikely to look with favor on taxpayer choice – that is, letting taxpayers take the portion of their taxes that go to welfare and give it directly to non-profit charities.
They oppose Republican reforms to restrain the growth of Medicare by giving recipients the option of taking their Medicare payments and putting them into a medical savings account.
And the president has said he opposes school choice for parents, more evidence of a downright reactionary attitude.
There's a clear cut choice between the parties in November. But who would have thought the conservatives would be the Democrats?
Well, those are my ideas. And at the NCPA, we know ideas can change the world. I'm Pete du Pont, and I'll see you tomorrow.
Host outro: Tuesday, Pete du Pont offers two ways to reduce the level of juvenile crime.