GvR: No Counting
My artist and I had a discussion about a recent comic on our site. It went something like this:
Elissa: "I could get away with a tasteful Lady Liberty in chains, I’m not sure I can get away with a Lady Liberty on all fours getting kicked..."
Derek: "Conservatives are trying to get away with it."
Elissa: "Good point."
I have to admit, I am often times criticized by progressive readers for putting far too much effort into being rigorously even-handed. Generally, I try not to take cheap shots and while some of my recent comics would have qualified as exactly that six months ago; the times they keep a' changing. I see the conservative far-right has outdone itself yet again this last week, and mainstream Republicans are there to play along.
A census worker was killed in circumstances that seem politically motivated by everyone but the right. They have offered theories ranging from meth-crazed gangs to a hypothesis that the man may have been a child predator and it was a revenge killing.
We've seen Republicans trying to admonish the President for "abandoning American exceptionalism," oblivious to the fact that next to Obama's actual statements they are essentially advocating blind arrogance. This has been common, unspoken, knowledge for years but the GOP is basically making "blind arrogance and rage" their foreign policy platform these days.
Domestically, well Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), and a number of 2010 Republican congressional candidates attended the How To Take Back America conference in Saint Louis, Missouri recently. Apparently, the fringe wants to take America back to the glory days of 1915 when the government was small, corporations could shoot striking workers, certain people knew their place, and women couldn’t vote.
GvR: Mad Men
It's not an isolated dream. National Review’s John Derbyshire’s recent book, "We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism" included a chapter titled: "The Case Against Female Suffrage." In a recent radio appearance with Alan Colmes, he was asked about it, saying "Among the hopes that I do not realistically nurse is the hope that female suffrage will be repealed. But I’ll say this if it were to be, I wouldn’t lose a minute’s sleep." He went on to state that he thought America would be a better place if women didn’t vote.
Meanwhile, at the How To Take Back America, conference, host of the conference Phyllis Schlafly made the case that feminism is "the most dangerous, destructive force in our society today." She was later presented an award at the conference, the "American Hero of the Century" award. Again, I remind you this conference was attended by a number of Republican names. Mike Huckabee was present at teh awards ceremony. "God bless you," said Huckabee, "and God bless Phyllis Schlafly most of all."
In addition to vague talk about the social ills brought upon this nation by feminists and the gays, speakers and panels had concrete things to say about the rising fascism/Marxism/Hulkamania threat represented by President Barak Obama. In one panel Rep. Trent Franks said President Obama is "an enemy of humanity" who has "no place in any station of government." His staff later made a clarification stating that Franks was speaking specifically of the abortion issue and meant to say Obama is "an enemy of unborn humanity." An unconvincing correction, even if you ignore the fact that similar radical talk is what got Dr. Tiller killed earlier this year.
A general sense of doom and impending disaster permeated the conference. Worried activists and speakers discussed the Second Amendment, transnationalist threats to America’s sovereignty, and the Marxist designs of the Obama administration. This sense of doom is only a small step from dangerous desperation. My hope that we could avoid further lone-wolf attack in this country is non-existent.
For as you know, this sort of thing isn’t limited to a small group of activists on the right. Republican opinion in general is becoming far more bold and erratic. Example: a Newsmax columnist: Military coup "to resolve the ‘Obama problem’ " is not "unrealistic."
In a rare instance of the ever-expanding tolerance for terrible rhetoric actually failing to encompass some new attack that would have been a national scandal a year ago, the article was later removed due to reader complaints. (The article is cached in the links below.)
So yeah, a busy week in crazy, but don’t let the outlandish claims and almost comical conservative fears fool you, this isn’t safe. The fringe is firmly in control of the Republican party at this point. They push the talking points towards extremism and the Republican leadership accommodates them. Just look at the level of Republican congressional attendance at the How To Take Back America conference.
While the mainstream media continues to pretend it is simply politics as usual, the right continues to grow darker and more dangerous. While most of America is hoping for solutions to problems with the economy and health care, Republicans are on a far grander, more deluded, and potentially dangerous mission. To quote Limbaugh; "We’re dealing with a guy [Obama] who is out to destroy the whole concept of the West, Western civilization."
links: John Derbyshire say Women Should Not Have the Right to Vote- - -Newsmax columnist: Military coup "to resolve the 'Obama problem' " is not "unrealistic"- - -Trent Franks (R-AZ) Calls Obama 'An Enemy of Humanity'- - -Right-wing Icon Schlafly: Feminism is ‘The Most Dangerous, Destructive Force in Our Society Today.’- - -Fear of Fascism, ‘Gay Agenda’ Dominates Conservative Kickoff for Midterm Elections- - -Limbaugh on Obama: "We're dealing with a guy who is out to destroy the whole concept of the West, Western civilization"- - -Malkin Upset Obama Speech Includes "Rejection of American Exceptionalism"- - -Bill Sparkman: Tragic Details About Census Worker Found Hanged