Conservatives have historically argued against progressive policies on a variety of fronts: the unintended consequences of change, the primacy of the individual over government, the dangers of a growing bureaucracy (or more generically, "big government"), the importance of traditional values and local control, the worry of people growing too dependent on government, etc. With increasing vehemence, though, conservatives have begun to argue that kind-heartedness, compassion, and a sense of community are actually evil: that they lead inevitably to Nazism and death camps.
Political debate has always been hot and heavy in this country, with conservatives swinging hard and heavy and making some pretty wild claims: the pro-British Tories in the 1770s decried the "rats of democracy"; the pro-slavery Southern planters in the first half of the 1800s said that slaves were better off than if they were free; the Social Darwinists said society would be better off if the poor were allowed to starve to death, because their death would improve the gene pool. But the compassion equals evil argument didn't really get laid out in detail until Ayn Rand's writings, where she actually did argue that people with compassion and concern for others were leeches who drained society of its competitive life blood.
Just as Ayn Rand took the Social Darwinist argument and made it more virulent, the conservative author Jonah Goldberg brought a new, more extreme twist to the argument, literally saying that progressives like FDR were ideological soul mates of Hitler and Mussolini's brand of fascism. This easily debunked book has become the right's excuse for accusing everyone arguing for progressive causes of being a Nazi.
Glenn Beck is, of course, the present day leader of the pack when it comes to this kind of invective. Here's his latest insight on the subject:
It's ironic Bush is recommending his staff read Bill Kristol's latest drivel, "Why Bush Will Be A Winner." Fortunately for Bush, he doesn't read. Otherwise he would know Kristol recently wrote this hate-filled screed:
For President Bush, loyalty is apparently a one-way street; decency is something he's for as long as he doesn't have to take any risks in its behalf; and courage--well, that's nowhere to be seen. Many of us used to respect President Bush.
Unfortunately for Bush, lots of adults do read. That is why old chickenhawks like Kristol lack credibility with the rest of us. It also explains why the purveyors of perpetual war are busy grooming a new crop of spokesmen in a futile effort to continue fooling the masses.
Like old wine in new bottles, these "fresh conservative voices" are being used to con people into swallowing the same War Party swill everyone rejected in 2006. It's an old trick that shows how desperate they are to push a poor product.
Here's the good news: We just found their Achilles Heel...
STATE BLOGS
