I watched snippets of the CPAC--the largest annual gathering of conservatives--and I kept wondering how in the hell so many people fall for this bullshit. Most of it was trite exhortations about freedom, God, patriotism; labels, simplicity, and rightwingnuttery in ample supply. These people are fit for the Dark Ages. Any politician associated with this circus isn't appropriate to lead the country forward. But, that's the point: they don't want to go forward, but backward to the "good ol' days".... making a brief stop to Reagan's 1980s, and then a fast rewind to the days when unbridled capitalism ruled, when most people who got sick died, when religious morality & freedom meant discrimination, segregation, and bigotry. Yeah, that's the kind of America the conservatives want.
More often than not, the conservative disposition can be explained by a sense of a personal loss or a price to pay if the "unworthy others" receive anything from the social safety net. They don't understand that in a proper civic society everybody receives benefits. Everybody! From the very top to the bottom. More so, for those ontop, even though they don't see it that way, as if they operate in the vacuum of space--where they make their money of course.
The following statement is, sadly, typical not only of a conservative mind but also of a college student. Most--and I include both sides of the political divide--don't know how to write a proper sentence or explain simple ideas, let alone the fundamental beliefs they hold.
In my personal opinion, our democratic system
has so many holes in it, which is leaking, causing chaos in peoples minds. With
the recent reelection of Obama, there was clearly havoc that rose among people
who are against him; and in good reason. Obama wants to redistribute the wealth
of others to people who did not necessarily own it and he wants the government
to pay for expenses for people that cannot afford it by taxing the wealthier
class. The government is basically
making people rely on others to provide for them without really trying
themselves, thus making this one of the laziest generations.
I can't count the times I hear this theme from conservatives; it's part of their narrative along with misguided patriotism and inability to imagine reality. Yes, conservatives can't think in the abstract very well. That's why they may change their minds only if they experience something themselves. Have a gay son, oh, maybe it's OK. Hurricane Sandy destroys your home, oh, where's the government to bail you out? Have a retarded baby, oh, yes, how come we don't spend more to find a cure and support such.
The conservatives have opposed the abolition of slavery, desegregation, equal rights for women, civil rights, personal reproductive choice, science, access to voting, Social Security, Medicaid, food stamps, clean air, consumer protection, science (yes, even science irks them!), etc, etc, oh, and electrification! All those things that make our lives better and are the norm in every advanced liberal-social-democracy! But, listen to the CPAC speakers and it's clear what horrible society we'd have if they got their way. Of course you have to part the smoke & mirrors of misguided patriotism, and the empty slogans about freedom. On your knees, you pitiful, wretched creature.
A Typical Conservative Prescription Bad for Your Health
Gail Collins in this NYT editorial shows how the conservatives think and operate. If you think it doesn't matter, think again. Elections have consequences, from the state and local to the national and the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Texas is moving on to Step 2. As of September, it will
require the clinics, which perform only simple early-term abortions, to
have all the equipment, space and special air and water filters
necessary to do a surgical procedure like a hip transplant. Miller
determined the cost of complying would be in the neighborhood of $3
million per clinic.
There’s been a vague attempt to cloak all
these new laws as health care imperatives, but, really, the cover is
pretty thin. During the debate on the Texas bill, State Senator Dan
Patrick told his colleagues to ask themselves: “How would God vote
tonight if he were here?”
I am mentioning Patrick because this
week he came in first for the Republican nomination for lieutenant
governor, campaigning as “a Christian first, a conservative second and a
Republican third.” He has also been desperately busy ginning up
anti-immigration sentiment; this is the guy who claimed illegal
immigrants were threatening Texas with “third world diseases” like
leprosy. The lieutenant governor, by the way, is possibly the most
powerful public official in the state.
Well, turnout for the
primaries was very low. It was freezing down there on Tuesday. Once
again, we leap at a chance to blame the weather.
The social right
has been waving the banner of religious freedom lately. What that
generally means is the right to impose one’s theology on other people.
Particularly, it seems, when sex is involved.
For instance, the
Supreme Court is scheduled to decide, in its next big Obamacare case,
whether the craft-store chain Hobby Lobby can refuse to provide
insurance coverage for contraceptives on religious grounds. Hobby Lobby
actually already covers its employees’ birth control pills. Its owners
just object to a few things, like intrauterine devices, because they
have religious convictions against preventing a fertilized egg from
implanting in the uterus. Scientists disagree that’s what an IUD does,
but what the heck? It’s their theology.
The Texas conservatives are not alone. Again, take a look at the CPAC conference [here's their official site so you can watch their videos]where all the major conservative and Republican leaders attend and make speeches about the kind of society they want.
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