The  philosophy of the original liberals was the limitation of government.  In fact the word  Liberalism comes from the Latin word liberalis, meaning suitable for a free man.

Whereas "conservatism" used to describe a political and social philosophy that supported the "status quo" and tradition.   

You won't hear Barney Frank admit this at a town hall meeting but the original liberals were actually the founding fathers of present day conservatism.

Somewhere along the way another insidious philosophy, Marxism, slipped into American politics and the definitions of all three "isms" got thrown into a "linguistic blender".   The labels of conservative and liberal have been an ironic paradox ever since.   

To sort this mess out I think that a quick look at what the left and right deem important can help us to understand what we are dealing with.  After all, a skunk by any other name....

If priority equals emotional activism then it is easy to identity some of the issues that are most important to your average liberal.  Those being abortion,  homosexuality, assaulting Christianity, unfettered third world immigration, and finally the redistribution of wealth from producers to non-producers as well as the "never will be" producers.

That takes on an eerie resemblance to the 7 great vices of humanity: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride.  I have always said that liberalism appeals to the dark side of humanity...figuratively and literally

Conservatism  tends to support fiscal responsibility,  free enterprise,  controlled immigration,  and adherence to The Constitution and the principles of limited government outlined within...unless you are George Bush.

This of course leaves no room for compromise between the two philosophies and  the call for political discourse between liberal and conservative becomes nothing more than a tired old platitude that might as well begin with "Once upon a time".  

If CNN is a gauge then I would say that most liberals categorize conservatives as those that want to oppress minorities, plunder the earth, and start new wars every couple of years.  Most conservatives see liberals as a bunch of naive utopian fanatics running around with their arms held out begging for the shackles of authoritarianism.

We are faced, therefore, with a pending political arrangement (that's putting it mildly) that will leave at least one-half of a 300 million populace grossly dissatisfied with the result.  That's a lot of unhappy people no matter how you slice it.

That all seems so unnecessary too because there should some middle ground out there on many issues.  Unfortunately it seems that  conservatives and liberals are now standing on opposite sides of the Grand Canyon while our politicians and media are in the middle running excavating equipment 24/7.

There is no more American agenda.  Only left and right.

It does sadly appear that we are on a slide toward Marxism in this country no matter what the spin doctors call it.  

The only potential bright spot is that eventually the illegal immigration problem may correct itself.  As America begins to display all of the economic advantages of a third world banana republic Mexicans will not only quit trying to flock here,  but they may be forced to build their own version of the Berlin Wall just to keep Americans out.  And with our current political philosophy , who could blame them?