I am a Rightist (Republican) because I am conservative. If I earn money, I want to keep as much as possible.
And if this is truely what being conservative is about then it means this sides actions are not based on what is morally right, but what is economical. However, it is often the conservatives who use the moral bully pulpit to attack their opponents on these grounds. One of the fundamental principles of gov’t especially in the States is that it is designed by the people to serve the common good. If you reduce it to merely dollars and cents then you can’t also ask it to be a moral authority on issues like abortion and what not.
Actually, the thing that most distinguishes a conservative from a “liberal,” is that conservatives believe that the government should have as little power as is necessary to protect the people. This does not mean huge welfare programs, massive social institutions, and ungodly high taxes. Also, as far as I’ve seen, it is the “liberals” that take the moral high ground, as in “you don’t want to pay higher taxes because you’re greedy,” or “well of course we need an enormous welfare state! You don’t want old people to die, do you?” Apparently, these people are incapable of seeing that the common folk are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, and do not need any help from papa government. And another thing: I don’t think the government should be a moral authority on abortion, homosexual marriage, etc. What makes the people we put up there any more capable of deciding what is right and what is wrong, than us? The decision on all those current controversial topics should be left to the state governments: as it was said in the tenth amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people.” As far as I can tell, this means that government has only the powers which are given it in the constitution, and all other powers are given to the states. It wouldn’t hurt these “liberals” to read the constitution once in a while. Preferably without dark glasses on.
Oh, and as to the voting right; obviously there must be some limitations to it. You wouldn’t want 14 year-olds voting, would you? Of course not; you, like the majority of the people, agree that there must be some restrictions on who can vote. The only disagreement is on what those restrictions should be. Personally, I think that when the voting comes to taxes, only people who actually pay taxes should be able to vote, as they are the only ones who will be affected by the vote. On matters that concern everyone, everyone (above a certain age, I think 18 to be appropriate) should be able to vote.