Why is South Dakota such a conservative state, to the extent of adopting such an extreme abortion law?
489049
Because it's their right to do so.  There are people that believe life begins at conception. Roe v. Wade was bad law anyway because the Supreme Court usurped the power of the Legislative branch and has at times usurped the states rights to restrict abortion.  There is no right to privacy in the constitution.\n\nPlus abortion violates the hippocratic oath that doctors take:\n swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfil according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:\n\nTo hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it - without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.\n\nI will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice. \n\nI will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.\n\nI will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.\n\nWhatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.\n\nWhat I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.\n\nIf I fulfil this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.
813435
Missouri is pivotal because of the large liberal voting populations in the Kansas City and St. Louis inner cities and some suburbs.  Most of the remainder of the state votes conservative.\n\nWhen "Proposition B" (concealed firearms carry) was first put to a popular vote in largely rural Missouri, it passed in nearly every county in the  state, but was narrowly defeated at the time (51% to 49%), largely by inner city and suburban voters.  It didn't make a lot of difference because Democrat Governor Mel Carnahan would have vetoed it, as he did regularly with anything that he didn't like.  Missouri later became one of the 48 states that have legalized concealed carry of firearms.\n\nMany other issues are resolved on this basis (conservative rural vote versus liberal big city vote).
845405
The thing about the abortion debate is that the two sides are arguing entirely unrelated issues. Pro-life people say "abortion is bad". Pro-choice advocates say "The government not should be making personal decisions that like". It's not about abortion. It's about who gets to make the decisions.\n\nFace it -- someone is going to choose.  It's either going to be the individual, or it's going to be the majority (through enacted laws). If the majority gets to choose, then they are effectively imposing their belief system -- which is almost always religiously-based -- on everyone.\n\nRight now, the conservatives happen to be in the majority, so many of them seem to have no objection to imposing their religious and moral views on others.  But allowing the government to choose doesn't resolve the question. It just means that the decision on whether abortion is justified is being made by those in power, rather than those personally affected.\n\nDo you really want to abdicate that much of your personal freedom and choice to a group of politicians? Do people really want to live in a country where state legislatures can decide who can be pregnant, and who cannot, and who must? Do people really have that much trust and faith in government that they think the legislature will always make the right choices? Because we'll be stuck with those decisions.\n\nThe concept of reproductive freedoms is not whether you agree with the individual choices being made. It's whether you think the government should have the right to take away and mandate those choices.\n\nWhy can't people understand that freedom of choice is not a minority value, even if the majority happens to disagree with the minority's choice?
751636
Don't know about the partial.  In SD, the most restrictive ban on abortion was soundly defeated, and in CA the parental notification law was also soundly defeated.\n\nFundies were again given a nice dose of reality.  Abortion rights and and woman's right to chose will never go away.
1059286
Most Roman Catholics tend to be pretty conservative - I definitely am!!  You might want to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church for more information.
470461
Liberals (Democrats) as they're called in the States are actually not followers of traditional liberalism. Classical liberalism is more closely followed by Libertarians and some factions of the Republican party. Extreme liberalism can be seen in some forms of anarcho-capitalism or anarchy. Just so you know.\n\nAnyway, conservatives are for the protection of a traditional way of life, of the status quo, of stability. Conservatives are therefore against any social upheaval or change. Conservatives feel that too much change is dangerous, destabilizing, and ultimately the death of a society, and that a strong government is needed to protect the people, even if it means restricting freedom somewhat.\n\nModerates see the value in both. They agree that change is necessary and that freedom is important and that both can be beneficial, but that full-blown anarchy is not desirable and that the government can actually help the protection of freedom.
337470
I grew up in Taxachusetts.  Their entire delegation to the U.S. Congress is far-left Democrats, so your question is a very good one.  I've asked this of my family that still lives up there, because I was puzzled by it too.  What they tell me is that, despite their leftward bias, they still don't like paying high taxes, and they want a good economy.  So, at the state level, they have often elected moderately conservative Republicans for jobs like Governor, just to balance things out.  However, I don't think Romney is quite as conservative as you think on every issue.  He tends to be somewhat moderate on a few things, and that's what makes him palatable to voters up there.
269271
That would all depend on the state. South Dakota was considering a law that would terminate parental rights for people convicted of rape AND require them to pay some form of compensation in lieu of child support, but it was ammended so extensively that the bill as passed did not even mention rape.
478099
This is another long one, sorry, but asking complicated questions and expecting short simple answers, isn’t realistic.\n\nThe religious right has two issues with Democrats; abortion and homosexuality.  Their need to impose their beliefs onto others is their motivating force behind supporting the Republican Party.  \n\nI am against abortion, but instead of creating laws which take control of a person’s beliefs and body out of that person’s hands, I believe in working harder to create a world where teenagers don’t get pregnant with unwanted children, where fathers don’t rape their children, and life is considered a gift from God.  Instead of being so determined to force a person to give birth to a child who will live a life of abuse and neglect or be dumped in a trash dumpster, they should work harder to create a world where people want to keep their children.  I believe they have given up on the power of faith and prayer.\n\nAs for homosexuality, most Christians don’t understand what the Bible says about homosexuality; they keep quoting a scripture from Leviticus which is alongside scriptures which condemn wearing cotton, shaving, and eating shell fish.  None of these Christians follow those rules, but still quote good old Leviticus to condemn something Jesus said nothing about. \n\nUsing watered down versions of the Bible which replaces the words for male prostitutes and rapists with homosexuals (a word and a culture which did not exist during the writing of the Bible), the Christian right are lost in a sea of misinformation.  \n\nInstead of following what Jesus commanded, they use the scriptures to justify what Jesus warned them not to do;  throw the first stone and judge in God’s name.\n\nUnfortunately there’s a lot of truth to what “bring ‘em on” says.  Up until the mid 1940’s modern day Republicans were Southern Democrats.  When Truman betrayed the party’s agenda of a segregated America by introducing the Fair Deal, they switched to the Republican Party.\n\nThe Republican puppeteers use the issues of abortion and homosexuality to instill fear into well meaning Christians in order to gain support for their agenda of a white, rich, segregated America.\n\nThe history is long and complicated and most people don’t have the desire to study Plato, Shakespeare, and read the philosophies of a man by the name of Emanuel Kant.  They don’t know who the Bones or the Skull and Crossbones are or how they originated.  It was no accident Roosevelt stayed out of WWII until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor or that every American city named Delano is almost 100% white. They take the word of their leaders and don’t know much about underlying philosophies of their party.\n\nTo learn all the history, or study a man named Erasmus, or understand how the Bible came about, takes years of research and can’t be found on some propagandist web-site.   The answer to your question is written in the history of mankind by philosophers, religious leaders and world rulers, but is like a mystery which you must unravel.
879507
The law started because to many young girls were going to the guy with the dirty knife and folding table to have abortions, getting infections and dying... it also started because to many young girls were having the babies and throwing them in dumpsters or trash cans- did you ever hear about the girl at her prom, that had the baby in the bathroom threw it away, then went out and continued dancing... it was one thing after another.. so to save the young girls lives and the born babies, they came up with that law, which in some states has been retracted- like mine... which I was upset about... People's excuse was that they would want to know, they wouldn't want their child to go have an abortion without them knowing... and that's all well and good for the stable households, but there are girls out there that can not tell their parents.. they have that dad that's going to smack her around and throw her out the door... not all young girls lead good lives with their parents.. some parents are extremely abusive and mentally unstable
775211
I think you might not know what the word "absolute" means, because republicans certainly have not, never have, and never will have absolute power.  To even get close to that they would need at least 60 seats in the US Senate, and a strong conservative majority on the US Supreme court, as well as on the federal circuit of appeals.\n\nI can assure you that the reason the partial birth abortion ban isn't the law of the land isn't because republicans stopped it.
396123
very little because of roe v wade has made it more of a federal matter. every state law that is passed will automatically be filed against in federal court. that is part of the reason why pro life movement wants roe over turned. so that the states and the people of the states can decide the issue.
175213
Texas is very strict with abortions.\n\nCalifornia is a lot a looser.
869578
Ok..I live in the South..and it is indeed predominantly Republican in a sense.  There are, like any of the States, some educated people here that vote Republican based strictly on the issues and what they believe.\n\nThe majority of people down here believe in a persons right to bear arms..and that is a notoriously republican platform...and it leads a lot of folks here to vote specifically on that issue.\n\nThe abortion issue is a big one too..here in the bible belt..folks don't like that kind of thing..it's just plain old murder in their opinion.\n\nThe sad facts are that if you asked the vast majority of people here in the South (and I mean the DEEEEEEEEP SOUTH) what the main differences are between Republicans and Democrats they wouldn't be able to tell you..(and folks, I've lived here a long time..so I'm not just blowing smoke)..they may be street smart here but most of them haven't read any book beyond the bible..(which they tend to take literally)..so I would call it 'blind' voting..\n\nThe truth is that a very small percentage of the population down here actually vote...and those that don't may well be Democrats..they just choose not to exercise their rights because they think that other people are out there doing it for them...\n\nAm I blasting Southerners? Nope, I'm one too...I'm just merely giving an educated opinion based on experience..
669033
Souter is a conservative.
574641
We have always had opposing political parties in our 200+ years as a nation. It is not politics that are destroying the peace and unity of this country. It is issues that were never before issues. No prayer in school or the workplace, no discipline for our children, else go to jail, same-sex marriages, children being allowed to divorce their parents, instead of morals, we have abortion clinics on every corner. Why is it a 15 year old girl can't be treated for appendicitis without her parents' consent in a hospital, but she can get an abortion with no one the wiser? We are a country of double standards. We can't discipline our children, but parents are sent to jail for the actions of a child they aren't legally allowed to discipline. Look at the statistics in the last 50 years. Crime has elevated, morals and ethics are in the dumpster. The family has declined while drug and alcohol use has skyrocketed. This has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with good old-fashioned values which are quickly becoming extinct. If we keep on this way, we won't need to worry about nuclear destructing. We will destroy ourselves from within. But hey, that's just my opinion.
743220
The differences have become less pronounced over the past several decades, but if you want the differences between real conservatives and real liberals, then they are many.\n\nReal conservatives believe that the federal government should only do what it is specifically authornized to do in the constitution.  They believe that the military is one of the few areas where federal spending is appropriate.  Anything not specifically assigned to the federal government should be handled by the states, county or local government, and preferably by individuals themselves or their neighbors or church or private charity.  Liberals seem to disagree with that heirarchy of responsibility.\n\nConservatives embrace religion and feel it should be an important part of private and public life.  Liberals seem to think religion should be a strictly private matter and not be seen in public at all.\n\nConservatives believe abortion is a horrible evil, and should be stopped, except perhaps in the unfortunate situations of rape, incest or where abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother.  Liberals feel that abortion is simply a medical procedure to remove unwanted cells from a womans body, akin to removing a mole or having a tooth pulled.\n\nConservatives believe that this country is founded on freedom and equality only in opportunity.  Liberals seem to value equality more and feel that where equality doesn't exist, it should be forced into being by a progressive tax code, which takes money from the "rich" and gives it to the poor.\n\nThe biggest difference is empowering people and private enterprise vs. empowering government.