This Continuum Called Conservatism

Liberals of this day and age, by and large, enjoy labeling themselves as "progressives", implying that anyone who does not agree with their socialist, statist world views is a "regressive" by extension. The liberal party here in the United Sates, the Democrats, describe themselves as a "big tent" party, supposedly able to encompass all views as long as their goal of defeating conservatism is not compromised. The flaws in this design are numerous, though one glaring one stands out - if Democrats are the "big tent" party, why are they also the party that has to have permission from the...