Conservative rhetoric, as used here, is the rhetoric appealing to the Haves who seek to keep the good (protection) and to avoid the bad (prevention).

Conservative rhetoric is the rhetoric of the Establishment, justifying the way things are, defending the status quo. Generally, this is the rhetoric of the current administration (whoever is in the White House, the State House, and City Hall); the rhetoric of corporations, organizations, and bureaucracies; of those people who have power and control.

Conservative rhetoric stresses satisfaction, contentment, appreciation, and enjoyment of the existing "goods"; pride in the group, its past history, traditions, and heroes; and in its present accomplishments and leaders. In political persuasion, the incumbent party campaigns on their achievements and says "keep the good," "stay the course." Conservative persuasion tries to identify, link, or associate national patriotism with conservative policy, and any dissent with disloyalty.

Conservative rhetoric encourages the self-image of being a defender of the society (the nation, the culture, the existing order, the faith, the family).

Targeted at their own supporters, warnings, precautions, and anxieties are focused on the main threat: the fear of loss -- either suddenly (by seizure, by being conquered, overwhelmed) or slowly (by decay, attrition, or infiltration - "fall of the Roman Empire scenario").

It is reasonable to expect that people who have a "good" will want to keep it, and to avoid the "bad" of losing it or having it taken away.

Conservative and Progressive rhetoric, as I use the terms, describe situational relationships (between Haves & Have-Nots). I've used the term Progressive (a broader concept) rather than Liberal, which I believe suggests a degree of change sought: that is, a Liberal is a moderate Progressive wanting to change or fix an established system, not an extremist seeking to reject or destroy it. In Moral Politics, Professor George Lakoff uses the terms Conservative and Liberal based more on current common usage to describe a cluster of attitudes and worldviews. He emphasizes that people vote their values, as well as their self-interests. Such values are based on an unconscious, underlying "Society-as-Family" metaphoric worldview. For Conservatives, it is that of the "Strict Father" model.

Rod Martin, in “The Psychology of Humor” about humor and cheerfulness: “Conservatives tend to be happier than liberals in general. A conservative outlook rationalizes social inequality, accepting the world as it is, and making it less of a threat to one’s well-being, whereas a liberal outlook leads to dissatisfaction with the world as it is, and a sense that things need to change before one can be really happy.”