Today's Washington Post has a must-read opinion column by Rutgers University Professor David Greenberg.
I don't use the term "must read" lightly, any more than I toss around the word "fascism" lightly. I have always believed that there are critical differences between mainstream conservatives and right-wingers, and that, even among right-wingers, there are critical differences.
For most people who are paying attention, including liberals, political libertarians, social gospel evangelicals, and legitimate conservatives, Authoritarian Conservatives have the most dangerous mindset in the political spectrum.
Rudolph Giuliani is the poster child for Authoritarian Conservatism.
Greenberg makes some critical points that can help derail his bid for unaccountable national power that would make the Bush-Cheney regime look like a practice round. New Yorkers with long memories know all this. But many others either don't or are being lulled into forgetting by lazy MSM journalism.
MSM stalwarts like Jake Tapper and Mara Liasson consistently overstate the importance of Giuliani's stances on gun control, abortion, and gay rights. They ratify the image of Giuliani as a "social liberal", without ever looking at his underlying police-state mentality.
We cannot allow this fundamentally false message to succeed.
Greenberg's article gives us all two counter-messages to spread in letters to the editor, to personal networks, in op-eds, and questions to media ombudsmen: Why do responsible journalists continually ignore the most signficant parts of Rudolph Giuliani's record? How much does the Constitution matter to them on a personal level?
If you don't want to read the whole thing, Greenberg sums up the whole thing at the very end:
When Bush ran for president, his slippery slogan of "compassionate conservatism" convinced many Washington journalists that he was a moderate. When he then pushed a right-wing agenda, they were stunned. They hadn't looked hard enough at his record. Likewise, if Giuliani becomes president, he will probably emerge as an unabashed social conservative -- as seen in his judicial appointments, his efforts to aid religious schools, the free hand he gives the government in fighting crime and terrorism, and an all-around authoritarian style. Let's not get fooled again.
Let's not let anyone else get fooled either.