44 States

[The Grand Nudger]

Meh, they aren't liberal in any meaningful way that I'm aware of.  I wouldn't necessarily describe them as conservative either.  I have another, less kind adjective in mind.

Now watch one of them come along and accuse me of being a leftist extremist.  You know who I speak of.

I know, it's one of those dirty little secrets of american politics that the neocon movement sprang out of american liberalism and, like having a undesireable ancestor, they go to great lengths to hide that fact.  Sure, the two branches of the tree have diverged since then - but the key differences between actual conservatives and neocons lie precisely along their liberal tax and spend heritage.  The only thing they share with traditional conservatives being social conservatism (which is falling out of favor with non-neocon rightwingers anyway - mostly because the optics on that blow, hard).  While they share the fundamental ideological fiscal policies of modern liberals, they apply big government and big taxes to a different group of people and to decidedly different ends.  Back in the day, traditional conservatives tried to pull the cat out of the bag on this one..but obviously they failed, the culmination of this bait and switch being the election of Bush the Dumber.  

@Thump

Not really.  OFC republicans object to having the feds make a list of citizens names.  As you mentioned earlier, that's their entire brand on federal level gun control.  Obviously, the "fraud commission" was one toke over the line on this one.  What -may- be surprising, to some anyway..is that among those republicans standing up to the request from Kris Kobach...is Kris Kobach.  Sure, in a wheedling semi-compliance sort of way, but still..credit where credit is due.  That Kobach guy knows what an asshole that Kobach guy is better than most of us.