My friendships and relationships in the conservative world are not predicated on political correctness and enforced conformity of thought. They are based instead on mutual respect honesty and understanding - concepts many modern liberals should consider revisiting.

The idea that you earn things - that you earn respect that you earn income responsibility. the vote punishment... these ideas are anathema to the liberal mind.

I think I'm fascinated by the power of religion in our culture. Like a lot of secular liberal people I ignored it for a long time. Lately of course just from a political perspective it's impossible to ignore.

Liberalism is a religion. Its tenets cannot be proved its capacity for waste and destruction demonstrated. But it affords a feeling of spiritual rectitude at little or no cost.

Every fundamentalist movement I've studied in Judaism Christianity and Islam is convinced at some gut visceral level that secular liberal society wants to wipe out religion.

But like a born actor who only really wants to direct Gingrich has always been unsatisfied with what he's brilliant at. He can't still his hunger to deliver grand pronouncements on life liberalism conservatism religion and whatever else swims into his consciousness.

Liberal: a power worshipper without power.

For the liberal state to accommodate a diversity of beliefs while having few positive convictions is one of the more admirable achievements of civilization.

As I've gotten older I've gotten more liberal and my father is increasingly conservative. It's so shocking to me because I always thought we had the same politics. The day I realized we voted for different presidents I practically fell out of my chair.

Politics aside it will be hard for any new liberal radio network to outdo the professionalism of NPR.

I think one of the most threatening places to be in politics is a black conservative because there are so many liberals who want to continue to reinforce a stereotype that doesn't exist about America.

Liberalism is Rationalism in politics.

I will go to the next election saying to Australians vote for me vote for the Liberal Party and I will become your PM. So I'm offering myself as the alternative PM - that's one way people describe the Leader of the Opposition - but I'm not in politics for myself to realize a personal ambition.

I didn't become leader to transform the Liberal Democrats into an enlarged form of the Electoral Reform Society. It's not the be all and end all for us. There are other very very key ambitions in politics not least social mobility and life chances that I care about as passionately if not more.

Liberalism is I think resurgent. One reason is that more and more people are so painfully aware of the alternative.

Conservative n: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils as distinguished from the Liberal who wishes to replace them with others.

If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards that would have gotten you labeled a radical 60 years ago a liberal 30 years ago and a racist today.