For the second night in a row, Top Comments consists of an essay response to a Facebook ‘friend.’ Chrislove wrote last night about an argument with a very conservative ‘friend’ who loves to use Facebook for ax-grinding, and, perhaps, for influencing voters through the tools conservatism has embraced, fear and hatred and prejudice ...
This diary, by contrast, is a response to a good man who posted honestly and speculatively, for dialogue, not coercion or indoctrination. I felt it was worthy of a response in kind.
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Here are excerpts of my friend's words, followed by my responses.
Clip One of my friend's words.
Well, of course, immigrants are not respected in Republican politics. They are one of the easiest ‘out-groups’ to target for discrimination and exploitation. The framing Republicans use is that immigrants have come here to take away things (jobs, opportunities, prospects, possessions, resources) that ‘belong’ to us, by right or myth. Thus, any measure complicating the lives of immigrants is reasonable and right. The point goes double for non-Christians, this being (in THEIR view, not mine) a ‘Christian’ nation, where others should expect nothing more than a reluctant tolerance, and only then with very rigid constraints.
But, you make a far stronger and clearer point with women, not just pertaining to reproduction, as, of course, their attacks on women aren’t limited to that in any way. They want compliant women, obedient women, unambitious women, subordinate women. The world is in the process of growing beyond that - thank goodness! And it’s never going back. The genie is out of the bottle, and there is no path to ever putting it back in. The war on women is one of the greatest flaws of modern conservatism, and it has played (and will CONTINUE to play) a role in every political defeat they experience.
Clip Two of my friend's words.
As you know, the repudiation of ‘fact-checkers’ could only exist if the campaign was conducted (as indeed it is, as indeed it MUST be!) outside the bounds of honesty and integrity. Why do they do that? They do it because they can’t afford to be honest with the American people and achieve any electoral success. When they DO slip up and speak openly, Americans learn what they REALLY think. We learn terms we’ve never conceived of, terms like ‘legitimate rape.’ We learn they have such rigid ideas about religion and morality that whenever something bad happens to an opponent or political enemy of theirs, it is because that is what God wished to happen to that individual or group. If something bad happens to them, by contrast, it isn’t God’s judgment upon them, it is at most God behaving in ‘mysterious ways.’
They trumpet a big game, with their religion, but their Christianity does not hold Christ as their champion, but rather, old testament hatreds and cherry-picked examples of small-mindedness and deeply rationalized exclusion. Do unto others before they can do unto you, do unto others even if you know they’ll never have an opportunity to do unto you, these are their watchwords. Their words sometimes contain elements of compassion, their programs and their policies never do. If they really had the courage of their convictions (and expressed them!), they would lose a huge percentage of the voters they currently win with rhetorical distraction and the cultivation of jealousy hatreds and animus toward Democrats and Obama. This is a cynical, cowardly approach.
Clip Three of my friend's words.
On Clinton’s talk of cooperation ... I think here is the gist of the problem with the modern day Republican party. They have a nearly pathological fear of cooperation, of working together toward important goals for our people and our country. It is no accident that individuals like Richard Lugar have been ‘purged’ from the party. Here is what Lugar said after his defeat by a tea party candidate:
He (referring to the victor) and I share many positions, but his embrace of an unrelenting partisan mindset is irreconcilable with my philosophy of governance and my experience of what brings results for Hoosiers in the Senate. In effect, what he has promised in this campaign is reflexive votes for a rejectionist orthodoxy and rigid opposition to the actions and proposals of the other party. His answer to the inevitable roadblocks he will encounter in Congress is merely to campaign for more Republicans who embrace the same partisan outlook. He has pledged his support to groups whose prime mission is to cleanse the Republican party of those who stray from orthodoxy as they see it.
And this ...
This is not conducive to problem solving and governance. And he will find that unless he modifies his approach, he will achieve little as a legislator. Worse, he will help delay solutions that are totally beyond the capacity of partisan majorities to achieve.
(I found the quotations here, but they’re available at many sites.)
I applaud Lugar’s insights into ‘developments’ in his party, but I don’t think his understanding is complete. Of COURSE his would-be replacement would achieve little as a legislator. That is because achievement is not and will never be his goal. Proving the thesis that government cannot work is his much higher objective. Keeping government from working effectively - the easiest job a 'politician' could ever have, just ask Jim DeMint - is what he wants.
Ronald Reagan is often cited as the author of the quotation:
“government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
In fact, that is an out-of-context paraphrase of the exact quotation, which is:
In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.
(Source:
Wikiquote.)
Mr. Lugar and my friend, the current Republican party does not take Reagan’s quotation to be a one-time comment on a specific snapshot of a moment in time, as the first four words of the quotation say it is. Worse, current Republicans don't take the words as a call to arms, a challenge, as something to be corrected and improved upon, so that government WILL serve societal ends. Rather, it is a rigid thesis to be defended, a conclusion to be proven, over and over, ad infinitum. The person seeking Lugar’s seat is a purely partisan politician. Partisanship is far more important than achieving anything for his state or the country, and the truth applies doubly if Democrats hold the presidency.
You’ve seen the bumper sticker: Keeping millions unemployed to put one man out of work.
And the point the bumper sticker makes is most apt. If a governmental achievement might accrue to Obama’s benefit, it shall not pass. When it comes to jobs, legislation Obama supported to create jobs just was never going to pass the House. They blocked it and defeated it by never allowing it to come to a vote in the House. Now, brazenly, they trumpet ‘Obama's’ failures in their ads. It is a subtle form of bragging, but they rely on the electorate to not think about THEIR role in governmental failures. They WANT government to fail, because it bolsters their ‘argument,’ and it fosters a deep sense of cynicism and pessimism, which also, in their opinion, boosts their political prospects.
This is why their campaigns are campaigns of rhetoric, of denigration, of pathological focus on the opposition, rather than on their hopes, dreams and vision for our country. They never speak of that vision, they never share it. Why not? Because it is a bleak vision of exclusion, of dismantling Medicare and public education, of destroying health care and Social Security, of personal success and collective failure, of a huge military and prison system, of a huge discriminatory mechanism, and scarcely crumbs for the middle class. Romney won't paint you that picture, Ryan won't paint you that picture, no Republican will. Not now, not in the foreseeable future.
I congratulate you on asking questions, on considering, in a very open-minded way, what is and what should be. Perhaps this ‘glimpse behind the curtain’ will help you to understand that regardless of the details of your personal vision for our country and our people, there is no path to that vision through Republican electoral success, not as long as they embrace scorched earth politics and partisan perfectionism. I am sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but, sadly, there it is. Best wishes to you and your family in this time of great turmoil and political viciousness.
On to tonights comments, once again graciously compiled by brillig, TC Queen Bee!
(Very sorry, but there were no comment submissions tonight, totally bare box. Due, no doubt to people recovering from a fantastic convention! Still, when you see great comments in your diary threads, please share them further! They deserve the attention, and so will you, for the find!)
From BeninSC:
Scott Wooledge, on the possibilities offered by 'social issues' for Democrats in this election.
mmacdDE writes about some of the problems Republicans face with their limited focus on abortion.
Sometimes a snarky comment fits the bill! As this one, by beltane.
agnostic on the heresy that is football, beware the wrath of Yahweh!
Top Mojo for yesterday, September 7th, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
mik for the mojo magic!
1) You had me at by stunzeed — 220
2) You know what? by Attorney at Arms — 207
3) Since this hit the list, I'm gonna use it to by Crashing Vor — 187
4) Seems most retweets are to the Secret Service by RickBoston — 185
5) Hah! by angry marmot — 172
6) What's sad is by NWTerriD — 165
7) Beyond Satire by Sun dog — 161
8) Yes. by penguins4peace — 151
9) Ha! Bullies usually do back down when someone by gustynpip — 142
10) We're sorry you lost Musical Chairs, by noweasels — 141
11) This should be a mainstream news story... by Magster — 124
12) Damn liberal elitist muscians... by ontheleftcoast — 120
13) Eh, he called his lawyer. by Remembering Jello — 119
14) I'm in love. I have no clue who this by marabout40 — 116
15) The girl has just ruined her young life by dnta — 115
16) I read some of her twitter feed by Haningchadus14 — 113
17) Not the least surprised he thinks that, but by Gary Norton — 113
18) Indeed, when the Secret Service by Captain Frogbert — 113
19) It's damn hard to be creative by ipsos — 112
20) Indeed, but podium wasn't focus of TV coverage by TheCrank — 110
21) All the superPAC money in the world... by ssmt — 109
22) Doesn't matter how many ads you buy by Dallasdoc — 105
23) I Worked My Entire Life In Advertising by webranding — 97
24) Out of habit by NMDad — 96
25) Sounds like every football team by drewfromct — 96
26) Bets on how long by Mister Met — 95
27) She'll get a visit alright. by G2geek — 89
28) Postscript: by Inland — 88
29) Here's the thing, Mitt- by Remembering Jello — 88
30) Not even important as a prop by AggieDemocrat — 88
Top Pictures seems to be
stuck in a moment reliving its
glory days of September 4th, 2012. When we have it
back to good, we'll update!