What do these words mean?

OK i am all the time hearing words like pundit, now I know that is someone educated on the subject they are speaking on but what does neo-con mean and all those other words used to describe politicians and people in the news. Like right wing and left wing and all that stuff. I get consfused because sometimes the people on tv use those words to apply to a person on day and the next they use the opposite word to apply to the same person. Anyway what are they supposed to mean?

In the perfict world of a dictionary, a pundit is a learned individual, usually someone holding forth an opinion through mass media, with a claim to some authority.

The others are labels for different schools of political thought. If the dictionary I referenced above doesn't give you what you're looking for on those, you could try the Wikipedia. That's a sort of public-domain encyclopedia. Because of that, it's usually best to take the entries with a grain of salt, but it's reliable enough for message board discussions

Neo-Con is a term coined to describe those individuals who claim to be Republicans, but resemble Fascist Democrats more closely. They believe in the power of big government, real Republicans don't. That's the most fundamental difference, but Wiki is the way to go for a more in depth, point by point comparison. Also, there are a large number of very active politcal forums floating around, maybe your answers are there.

Left wing and right wing I think originally reffered to the American Eagle. There are two wings, and both have their extremists, their moderates, and their traditionalists. The 'farther' left or right you are, the more extreme your views are considered (you are farther from the center, political compromise and agreement).

Check out PNAC if you want some additional information on the recent sea change in American politics.

Also, FYI, there is a political forum on ATS for discussing just this sort of thing.

A neo-conservative typically believes in several things:

*big government (the welfare state)
*globalist capitalism
*interventionist foreign policy

Bascially a "neocon" is no different than a democrat from the Wilson or Johnson era.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Left wing and right wing I think originally reffered to the American Eagle.

????????????????????????????????

The left and right wing have no origin in the Americas or eagles. They simply referred to seating arrangements in French parliament.

This is not bad as a potted history:

www.progress.org...

MA is correct,
As far as ideology goes...
Far left - Communism
Far Right - Fascism/Nazism
Centre left - Democrats
Centre right - Republicans....
Apparently. For someone to grasp the difference between left and right wing in a counrty whose main political parties are fighting over the middle ground can't be too easy.

Neo-Cons are an element of the Republican party who believe in using American military power to exert influence and create "client states" to trade with, by toppling governments and replacing them with pro-American ones. This is one of the motivations behind the Iraqi war and is no secret.