Abraham Lincoln Quotes

But you say you are conservative - eminently conservative - while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?

A conservative is a man who will not look at the new moon out of respect for that ancient institution, the old one.

We [Republicans] don’t need any new ideas.

Change is not what we expect from religious people. They tend to love the past more than the present or the future.

The Tea Party is a rear guard, not a vanguard.

A radical generally meant a man who thought he could somehow pull up the root without affecting the flower. A conservative generally meant a man who wanted to conserve everything except his own reason for conserving anything.

To the old, the new is usually bad news.

I don't like overt traditionalism.

To me, to be a conservative means to conserve the good parts of America and to conserve our Constitution.

Conservatism, I believe, is mainly due to want of imagination.

There are people and interests that do not want change. It is not in their interest for this system to change.

Keep yourselves to what is old, for that is good; our ancestors have proved it to be good; why should not we do as they did? New ideas [i.e. democracy, parliamentary reform] are now coming forward of which I do not nor ever shall approve. Mistrust these ideas and keep to the positive.

The worst enemy of the new radicals are the old liberals.

France has chosen to ignore the great transformation of the 21st century and cultivate a [culture of] status quo and rigidity.

Of course, it is the case that conservatism as I envisage it distances itself always from abstract conceptions and tries to find the concrete reality.

Conservatives hold on to things not only because they are attached to them, but also because they do not see the sense in radical change, until someone has told them what it will lead to.

Admirers can be a tremendous force for conservatism.

Conservatism is itself a modernism, and in this lies the secret of its success.

I'm known as a small-c conservative.

A good conservative is someone with an open mind.

The Steve Bannon I know - I locate Steve's politics as a Democrat circa 1962.

I think our culture is moving forward - slowly. And also, as we move forward, we're witnessing some of the old stalwarts rejecting that forward motion.

My friends have always known there was this more serious side to me, and all my life, I've had Conservative values.

The conservative may clamor against reform, but he might as well clamor against the centrifugal force. He sighs for the "good old times,"--he might as well wish the oak back into the acorn.

Conservatism has always meant more to me than simply sticking up for private property & free enterprise. It has also meant defending our heritage & preserving our values.