THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, August 18, 1995                TAG: 9508170016
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A18  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   34 lines

FOUNDERS WEREN'T LIKE TODAY'S LIBERALS

I was appalled by Patrick Brady's letter (``Liberals won cherished freedoms,'' Aug. 2). To suggest that the founding fathers held views that were even remotely akin to the rot espoused by modern-day liberals is shameful.

Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution does it say that the federal government shall be the provider of a particular socio-economic status. Such tenets are contrary to the the founders' beliefs.

With regard to Mr. Brady's classifying historical conservatives, let's set the record straight. True, the Tories were the ``conservative'' party of their day. However, the Tory Prime Minister of England, Robert Peele, was instrumental in bringing about a number of economic reforms. Furthermore, the emancipation of the slaves was ordered by Republican Abraham Lincoln.

All too often we are told that the liberals are the only ones who desire change. Look at the guiding principles of liberals and conservatives over the past 30 years. Conservatives have held firm in their commitment to low taxes, less government and moral decency rooted in Judeo-Christian values. It is the liberals who have been reactive, jumping form one avant-garde bandwagon to the next. If the liberals are such agents of change, why are they so determined to maintain the status quo of the tax-and-spend policies of the past 30 years?

KEN JACOBSON

Chesapeake, Aug. 3, 1995 by CNB