When you put it like that.....

I guess if you articulate your argument well enough, it will sound plausible to almost anyone. At least Michael Laser thinks so. In his article, he lays out the basic liberal and conservative sides for a number of the polarizing arguments that divide our political land scape, then ends by saying that it is possible for opposites to be true.
Well, its all in how you word the positions. Lets take a look. he begins with what he calls the social safety net. I call it welfare.

The conservative view
• People are responsible for themselves – and, given the chance, they're capable of supporting themselves and their families. If the government makes a practice of providing for people (with welfare, for example), they become dependent and lose their will to work. Nothing could be more destructive to the health of our society.

The liberal view
• There are people in this country who struggle to put food on the table or can't afford medical care. A civilized society would try to help them, instead of leaving them to fend for themselves. (Someday, the one who needs a helping hand may be you, or someone you love.)

Is he right? Even the most hard hearted Scrooge has a soft spot. While he might brush off an adult, he would still offer some kind of aid to a small child. Its human nature (for the most part) to help others who are in need. Most of us will look at an individuals situation and decide if we feel our aid is warranted. If a person claiming to be in need is better off then we are, most of the time we will say NO. Enter the government. They give hand outs like Halloween candy. Every body with a hand out gets a handout, while some of us who work and pay taxes make do with less then the welfarians have. It galls me, and most sane people to see welfare queens in high dollar cloths and talking on expensive cell phones while we struggle. Conservatives and liberals both are generous, the difference is conservative only do so with their own money.
Next up, taxes!
On taxes The liberal view
• We aren't isolated individuals struggling for survival: We live together, in a society. And membership in a society that makes wealth possible comes with obligations. Those who benefit most from our freedoms must contribute their fair share to help support and protect our society.

The conservative view
• Private property means that what belongs to you is yours; if the government confiscates it, that's tyranny. Our most productive citizens – the top 10 percent of earners – already pay 68 percent of taxes collected. These rates should be cut, not raised.

Where is he wrong? In almost all cases, those with wealth worked hard to obtain it, and most of those with out were wasteful, or just plain lazy.

I'll go on more later. When you gloss things over, and deal in vague descriptions, communism sounds great. When you live it in the real world, it sucks. Don't believe me? ask any North Korean Except Lil Kim, or most any Cuban. Miami is full of people who had their fill of eewtopia.