Conservatism: 1995 vs. 2005

1995 Definition	2005 Definition
Pass a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget.	Who cares how much the government borrows as long as it can fight wars and give tax breaks to the wealthy.
Keep the government out of citizens' private lives.	No change... unless it has to do with abortion, sexual orientation, or removing feeding tubes.
Keep the government from telling schools what to do.	The federal government can tell schools what to do as long as it doesn't have to fund mandated programs.
The government should minimize bureaucracy, red tape and paperwork.	No change, except when it comes to schools, social services and state and local governments.
The separation of church and state is one of the founding pillars of our constitutional democracy.	We need more religious involvement in our schools, prisons and elsewhere. We also need to give religious organizations taxpayer dollars so they can provide the social services that the government doesn't want to pay for.
All countries should separate church and state, as it is one of the key elements to all democracies, except Israel.	No change, especially when it applies to Iran. Still doesn't apply to Israel, and may not apply to Iraq or the U.S.
Communism is bad.	Communism is okay if it's in China where they produce lots of cheap goods for Wal-Mart, and as long as they keep financing the U.S. federal debt. It's bad if it's in Venezuela or Cuba or anyplace in South America, for that matter.
Dictatorships are bad unless they supply the U.S. with lots of oil or cheap goods, or act as a hedge against our other enemies.	No change, but delete Iraq from the "hedge" group.
Government should not interfere with business and let the "free market" reign -- except, of course, when businesses need handouts and special deals from the government.	No change, except more emphasis on the "exceptions" clause. (See Thune provides payoff to the DM&E.)
Term limits should be mandated for all elected officials.	The Republicans are in power, so term limits don't apply anymore.