Random, on politics and culture

Just blowing some steam:

I am a bit curious if there is, as some have noted, a substantial rise in the power and fervor of the conservative and religious right.

At some point I'm a bit curious as to how socially liberal Republicans and/or economically conservative people (often, but not always, something along the lines of Libertarianism) feel about this. Unfortunately America is a two party system but I wonder if these people feel underrepresented at all. I certainly don't hear about it, other than Ron Paul supporters. It just seems odd to me that those who are more socially liberal would still be willing to follow Republicans, giving that much of the platform (at least recently) is so incredibly heavy in religious and socially conservative rhetoric.

I know that a lot of people who follow Democrats will often bring up the differences and alienation they may feel from the party (and quite frankly, I think the Democrats are even more varied; with the Republicans it seems to divide on being socially liberal/fiscally conservative vs socially conservative/variance while Democrats are all over the damn place).

Perhaps this is all a result of these uncertain economic times? I definitely think a lot of this can be traced back to 9/11, and all this "extreme" conservative backlash is still a ripple effect of that.

But I also wonder if this is the last frantic attempt at conservative power before the "liberal storm." A lot of the conservatives out there seem to worship the idealized notion of the '50's, where all those damn women and minorities knew their place and the economy worked. However, all that led to the "explosive" events of liberalism and social change in the 60's, so maybe this is something similar? Like the 50's, there has been a slow and steady gain in right (especially for gays), but more importantly just awareness. So while we have taken some steps back perhaps this is just the opening act for more open social change and awareness?

I really, really fucking hope so. Or else I'm screwed. Honestly it seems like just bad luck that I got stuck growing up (or living, really) in one of the more troubled decades America has had to deal with.

Here's a picture to cheer me (and you?) up: