Rick Santorum says the quiet part out loud

[William Seger]

6. "We want the human condition to flourish" translated

The essence of reactionary "conservatism" is that society is forever sliding downhill and will go over the cliff unless authoritarian father-figures slam on the brakes by defending the status quo. Lee is right: democracy can "thwart" that kind of "flourishing" and instead actually improve the human condition. That was the original meaning of "progressive," and it still holds.