Conservatives and "conservatives"

There are conservatives, in the mold of Edmund Burke, then there are “conservatives” or movement conservatives. There is nothing wrong in being a conservative; conservatives just don’t believe in rapid change, they would rather change be gradual and cautious. When Republicans took control of congress in 1994 and rolled out a paper listing over one thousand government departments that they wanted to eliminate there was nothing remotely timid or cautious to that change. What they wanted was nothing less than a complete overhaul of government. As was frequently stated “shrink government to a size that can be drowned in a bathtub.” In the argument between Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke, Paine argued for the rights of man which he saw as in conflict with a monarchy. Democracy and monarchy cannot coexist, he wanted to change the system to a democracy. Burke desired a gradual change. There is nothing gradual about the change desired by today’s “conservatives.” When Rick Perry states he wants to eliminate three government departments, even if he doesn’t remember exactly which ones, there is no discussion of whats wrong or what should be done differently, it’s all about the change. That’s why “conservatives” only disparage government as the problem never a solution, to discuss government in any other way would prompt the discussion of what needs changing and the best way to go about that change.