I spend a lot of time beating up on liberals, I know. Let's take a moment to remember that the modern "right" aren't our friends, either.
Remember Jonah Goldberg having the temerity to draw a connection between de Maistre and the Nazis? Or his and Norman Podhoretz's celebrations of sodomy? Or his and Ross Douthat's celebration of feminism? (Jonah Goldberg... what a shitbag).Holy smokes. I used to be a moderate fan of Jonah Goldberg ever since I read Liberal Fascism. I've never fully agreed with him, specifically on his brand of imperial neoconservatism, but he seemed to have his head screwed on reasonably straight. I don't think so anymore. There's a reason he didn't indict feminism in his book; he's sympathetic towards it!
Don't forget the endorsement of the abolition of marriage from Fox News, for Heaven's sake! Or their silence concerning (or even mild support of) the forced homosexualizaiton of the Armed Forces.
The reason faux-conservatives are so much more dangerous than self-professed liberals is that those on the right will listen to them. I live in an Evangelical conservative ghetto of empty-headed anti-intellectualism, and these folks, God bless them, will not listen to ANYTHING a liberal says. To them, the following is a truism: anything spouted out by a liberal is sh*t. And that's probably accurate.
Thing is, they'll accept what a nominal "conservative" says, even though its the same bloody thing liberals say.
Liberal ideologue says that woman's economic empowerment is necessary to cure world poverty "Friek feminism - typical redneck
Clinton intervenes in Africa, in addition to providing foreign aid, "Why can't we just leave the world alone?" - average Fox News watcher, considers himself an upstanding conservative.
Liberal Keynesian economist says tarrifs should be implemented to fix the trade imbalance, "Oh, so you want more taxes on MY Chinese goods?!" - TEA Party enthusiast
But.
Right Wing commentator approves of feminism and woman's suffrage,"Sounds good to me!"- typical redneck.
Bush gets conservative backing for the war in Iraq and the global spread of democracy, "Sounds like a good idea to me!" - average Fox News watcher, considers himself an upstanding conservative.
Free market economist writes new book espousing tarrifs, "Down with China!" - TEA Party enthusiast
This is no joke. It happens all the time. Ever wondered why conservatives cheered Bush on even as he was planting the country ever deeper in the plagues of liberalism? Because he was "one of their own."
Unfortunately, this is a problem that cannot be remedied. It's human nature. Most people would rather delegate their thinking to some higher authority, blindly accepting their views as their own so long as they profess ideological similarity. Most people don't think deep enough to construct a coherent worldview; they just combine contradictory bits and pieces of what they've heard.
