AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

what?? oh, crap! i didn't get the memo, i thought we're all supposed to be bozos..

Two Mewls for Sister Sarah
(James Wolcott, Vanity Fair Blog, May 11, 2009)

It's a symptom of how forlorn and grasping for a foothold the right blogosphere has become that it can raise a flutter over this flap of doodle, yet another repentant confession by a former lefty who now sees the tragic error of his (in this case, her) ways. All the standard ho-hum ironies of the apostate genre are here, such as the discovery that liberals, who make such a big fetish of preaching tolerance, are in fact the most intolerant of all! "My local greeting card store sold very flattering cards about Obama, insulting ones about Hillary, and a Hillary 'nutcracker.' When I complained, the young male manager literally laughed in my face." Literally! Like Lucifer!

Such mockery and disrespect was but prelude.

"Things went from bad to worse when Sarah Palin entered the scene. When Geraldine Ferraro ran for Vice President, there was no debasement of her character, no sexual threats. But with Palin, a full scale "wilding" ensued that chillingly reminded me of the random sexual attacks on women by gangs of men in New York. She was called every vile name in the book by both male and female liberals.

Actress Sarah Bernhardt hoped a gang of black males would rape her..."

Wait, whoa, Sarah Bernhardt, "The Divine Sarah," the greatest actress of her era, portrayed on screen by the equally formidable Glenda Jackson--she rose from her coffin bed and interjected herself into the Palin debate? Shurely shome misthake, as they say in Private Eye. The pseudonymous "Robin" must have been thinking of Sandra Bernhard, whose uninhibited mouth and willowy swagger has gotten her into many a controversial scrape but in person couldn't be more charming, at least in our one exchange of pleasantries.

Sarah Bernhardt, Sandra Bernhard--it's a mixup anyone might make, yet everything else in this piece is so creaky, dubious, and carpeted with hyperbolic horse manure ("with the Left in charge, expect gangs, crime, indoctrination of 5 year olds and general anarchy to be coming soon to a neighborhood near you") that if I were a conservative, this is one defector I would turn away from the clubhouse door. There's more than a faint whiff of the fraudulent in this too-pat litany of liberal sins by someone who refuses to use her real name for fear of retribution from those near and undear: "My husband of 30 years is a far Left, Obama loving man, who already feels like he's living with the she-devil. The one friend I told already threw me under the bus, and all of my others would literally do the same. I work in a career where I would literally lose all of my clients (no kidding here). Berkeley is very fascistic."

"Literally," "literally," "literally"--it's like attending the recital of a self-taught parrot.

Berkeley is very fascistic.

Letter of Amends from a Recovering Liberal in Berkeley

To my cousin Joe for calling you a traitor when you became an MBA, started holding a real job (as opposed to most of us Berkeley types who are psychotherapists, massage therapists and aromatherapists), and became a conservative, my bad.

Wandel's source wrote:

Berkeley is very fascistic.

This is one of the most hilarious aspects of this recent election. Reactionaries and other varieties of Republicans are now calling liberals and Democrats fascists and nazis. Them boys crack me up . . .

Foxfyre, gay marriage has somehow become the new rallying cry or signature issue with liberals. Figure that one out. Anyone that doesn't agree with homosexual behavior is to be hated, marginalized, and thrown under the bus. So much for freedom of speech and opinion these days. That is not liberal America anymore. Behavior is now equal in their minds to color of skin, or whatever. If each and every person does not place their stamp of approval on their chosen lifestyle, we are the bigots. If I disagree with speeding on the highways, I guess I am now a bigot. Actually, the same applies to illegal immigration. We are now bigots if we believe in upholding immigration laws. Just ask O'Bill. And I thought he used to be somewhat conservative on some issues. The whole world has gone bonkers. If anybody can figure out their thinking process, let me know.

You're FREE to spew hate from your mouth anytime you wish. But we're also FREE to criticize you for your hate-mongering. Whether you "agree" with anyone's sexuality doesn't matter. Our government is required to provide everyone with equal protection under the law. That's a constitutional imperative that you ignore while you're beating your "freedom of speech" drum and hypocritically trying to silence those who denouce your hate speech and fight against your mission to enact oppressive laws.

Men are created equal, but not behaviors, DTOM. If you can find gay marriage in the constitution, let me know.

One of the problems for their side is a lack of experience being in the minority. Truly. By jumping to accuse the Dems of Fascism, they are blowing their wad way too early. It's a poor argumentation structure.

WHEREAS, the American Heritage Dictionary defines socialism as a system of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has outlined their plans to nationalize the banking, financial and healthcare industries; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has proposed massive government bailouts for the mortgage and auto industries; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party has passed trillions of dollars in new government spending, all with strings attached in order to control nearly every aspect of American life; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party and its leadership have dedicated themselves to a new taxing objective of direct income redistribution which takes additional taxes from one group of people and gives it in direct cash transfers to another group of people who pay no federal income taxes at all; and

WHEREAS, the American people are crying out for truth, honesty and integrity in politics; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that we the members of the Republican National Committee recognize the Democratic Party’s clear and obvious purpose in proposing, passing, and implementing socialist programs through federal legislation; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we the members of the Republican National Committee recognize that the Democratic Party is dedicated to restructuring American society along socialist ideals; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we the members of the Republican National Committee call on the Democratic Party to be truthful and honest with the American people by acknowledging that they have evolved from a party of tax and spend to a party of tax and nationalize and, therefore, should agree to rename themselves the Democrat Socialist Party.

Chief sponsor: Jeff Kent, NCM Washington State

Co-sponsors:
Cathie Adams, NCW TX
Jim Bopp, NCM IN
Donna Cain, NCW OR
De Carlson, NCW NE
Gio Cicione, Chaiman RI
Cindy Costa, NCW SC
Demetra Demonte, NCW IL
Linda Herren, NCW GA
Betti Hill, NCW MT
Ron Kaufman, NCM MA
Peggy Lambert, NCW TN
Willies Lee, Chairman HI
Kim Lehman, NCW IA
Carolyn McLarty, NCW OK
Lilly Nunez, NCW CO
David Norcross, NCM NJ
Randy Pullen, Chairman AZ
Peter Ricketts, NCM NE
Steve Scheffler, NCM IA
Brian Sullivan, NCM MN
Helen Van Etten, NCW KS
Solomon Yue, NCM OR

a political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism)