Conservatives opposed progressive movements

It's absurd to call President Barack Obama a socialist, as Bill Strilich did in his Nov. 13 letter. It does not make someone a socialist just because he wants to help the hard-working lower and middle classes of Americans.

American conservatives have been opposed to almost every progressive movement in modern American history - the antitrust laws of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, preferring corporate monopoly power; women's rights, including the right to vote; labor unions, including the right to organize and strike; and minimum wage laws, child labor laws, Social Security, unemployment insurance, federal depositor's insurance, racial integration and civil rights.

Conservative Republicans opposed the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s, calling them “socialist.” Conservatives oppose women's reproductive rights (i.e., abortion rights) and consistently oppose equality for gay people. They are inclined to support knee-jerk military action and tossing away our civil liberties for “national security” purposes, which can easily turn into fascism.

Richard Vindante

Coralville