There are millions of perfectly competent, perfectly decent individual conservatives. You can find them almost everywhere, in every neighborhood, in every city and town across America. But when you shift your gaze from their individual lives to the philosophy they share, and its historical record, the conclusion is inescapable: It's a complete disaster, utterly incapable of producing sound, sustainable policies. Worse yet, the political leadership it produces is incompetent at anything, except for making excuses for itself, and shifting blame onto others--not exactly the sort of behavior that squares with the famed conservative mantra of "personal responsibility."
First, consider the macro record, which goes way beyond "heckuva job, Brownie!" Conservatives have dominated the federal government on two separate occasions over the past 100 years. The first was 1921-1933, the second was 2001-2009. (Although the GOP did not control Congress throughout all of 2001-2009, its post-2006 ability to filibuster in the Senate, combined with an Executive Branch that conceived of itself as accountable to no one effectively marginalized any Democratic influence.) Both these periods ended in financial crises of unprecedented proportions, for which conservatives disavowed any responsibility whatsoever.
Indeed, conservatives today are still trying to deny any credit whatsoever to FDR's remarkable record of saving the nation the last time conservatives screwed up this badly. And their two-fold purpose in doing that is to (a) continue absolving themselves of any blame and to (b) block us from dealing with the crisis they've produced this time around.
Individually, I doubt that one conservative in ten would act this irresponsibly. But as a group, it's virtually impossible for them to act any other way.
And so it's hardly surprising to note how the conservative Washington establishment is conducting itself at the beginning of the Obama era. First, there's the battle to see who will head the Republican National Committee. TPM reports:
RNC Chair Candidate Traces Political Beginnings To Opposing Busing
By Eric Kleefeld - January 22, 2009, 11:16AM
In the race for the RNC chair, it's becoming difficult to figure out which candidate is the most problematic in terms of party outreach to minority voters and adjusting to the political realities or our times.
The Politicoreports that South Carolina GOP chairman Katon Dawson has publicly traced his political coming of age to the civil rights movement -- that is, opposition to 1960's busing policies. "Government reached into my life and grabbed me and shook me at the age of 15," Dawson told a University of South Carolina audience in 2003.
The star of this particular show has been Chip Saltsman, who sent out a CD to committee members containing a song called "Barack the Magic Negro." But some more attention is also being paid to Dawson, who has faced scrutiny for his membership in an all-white country club -- which he only resigned shortly before starting his current campaign. And now there's this, too.
And no, that's not the SNL version, though it's certainly not ready for primetime.
To Prosecute Torture or Not to Prosecute? Cornyn's Holder Holdup Splits GOPers
By Elana Schor - January 21, 2009, 5:28PM
Sen. John Cornyn's (R-TX) decision today to force a week-long delay in Eric Holder's Judiciary Committee confirmation vote has opened an unexpected fissure in the GOP. On the one side are Republicans who want Holder to echo President Obama's promise to "move forward" -- widely interpreted as a hint that Bush-era officials and operatives would not be prosecuted for the torture of detainees -- and on the other side is, well, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
First Shot Fired in the GOP Battle Against Action on Climate Change
By Elana Schor - January 22, 2009, 10:09AM
It happened so quietly that few media outlets noticed. But Republicans are already rolling out their strategy to delay -- and perhaps even stave off -- congressional action to combat climate change.
The Journal's blog relays the basic fact: an anonymous senator has placed one of those pesky "holds" used prerogatives to slow down action on the nomination of Lisa Jackson, the president's pick to head the EPA, as well as the nomination of Nancy Sutley, future head of the Council on Environmental Quality.
.
This is what they conceive of as staying "true to their principles." Yet, if one did a reality check with individual conservatives, and what most of them take to be basic conservative principles (even though plenty of moderates, liberals, and even socialists share them as well)m none of this makes a lick of sense.
A lot of individual conservative really do seem to have been brainwashed around torture over the past 7 years, but that's about as far as it goes, I'd wager. Since when did individual conservatives think that the rule of law should be treated with contempt? Since when were they proud of their racist past--or, more likely, that of other conservatives 30 years ago? And since when did they think it was wise to gamble with our future, instead of taking prudent steps to ensure against potential risks?
For all these reasons--and more--I am in complete agreement with Barack Obama that we ought to try to reach out to everyone and make them feel welcome and included as we move forward to solve the daunting array of difficult problems we face.
The only problem is, Obama seems to want to reach out to that very collective conservative leadership that is utterly committed to continuing its incompetent and delusional ways, rather than reaching out directly to the vast majority of basically sensible individual conservatives.
Yes, I know, it's harder to reach out directly to the individuals, when their collective leadership is screaming, "Don't listen! Don't listen! Don't listen!" But right now, they're the ones that no one, outside of Versailles, is listening to. You've got the bully pulpit, Obama. It's time to use it, and reach out directly to those who are willing to reach back.
As an anti-spam measure, there is a 24-hour waiting period after registering before new users can comment. blog advertising is good for you
blog advertising is good for you
