I have wanted for some time to write about a viewpoint, which, though certainly obvious to many, I haven't seen many references to in print. I think it's also something which it is necessary to put out forcefully if progressive forces are to regain the power in the government which they should have, given the views of the majority of the voters. It has to with laying the blame for the current scandals squarely on the conservative movement as a whole.
I apologize that the following is not as concise as I would wish, but I think it's important. Please bear with me as you continue below the fold.
There has been a growing unease with the current administration, fueled by the series of scandals, including Plamegate and the indictment of Libby, as well as the scandals and legal troubles surrounding Delay, Frist, Cheney and Rove. To this could be added the scandals surrounding many lesser figures such as Abramoff, Gannon, and the many election issues such as the New Hampshire phone jamming, backlash to smear tactics such as may have occurred in Virginia and New Jersey, and on and on. But underlying all of this is the fact that, with Bush's personal integrity eroding, people are no longer so willing to give him benefit of the doubt on the many issues that the Republicans have put into the forefront, but with which most Americans are at odds. The biggest of all of these, of course, is the war in Iraq, which most congressmen and citizens only supported because they were misled by the administration, and which now that the truth is coming out, people are increasingly incensed about. But there are many other issues as well, including health care, the environment (seen by politicos as such a luke-warm issue that Kerry hardly mentioned it in his campaign, but I think voters see it as more important than is given credit), social security, the treatment of the Katrina victims, the list goes on. Furthermore, the connections between the scandals are multiplying, as so many multiple scandals are found to lead to the same individuals.
There have been many claims that the Bushies' ills stem from Bush's, or Cheney's, or Rove's incompetence, or stupidity, or that of their subordinates. All untrue. Bush continues to be popular with his base, because he is doing what he should be to further the conservative agenda. Similarly, for example, FEMA director Brown was doing a good job at what he was hired to do, as Bush correctly pointed out.
This administration is certainly guilty of unprecedented abuse of power, in the White House, the House, the Senate, and the Courts (e.g. the Bush 2000 appointment). The investigations should go on, in fact I wish they would accelerate. And calls for impeachment are certainly fully justified. As I believe Jon Stewart said, this is no Watergate. It is far more serious.
However, in our anger at the current administration, and Bush in particular, we must not lose sight of the big picture. It is not accidental that the most conservative administration in current times is the most corrupt. After all, the biggest scandals in recent times have all been in the conservative administrations. Nixon had Watergate and Reagan had the Iran/contra affair. No comparable scandals occurred at that level in any Democratic administration in the 20th century. Although Clinton's last term was dogged by investigations leaked almost daily to the news, no wrongdoing as President was ever found. The only thing they finally got him for was lying about sex, which had nothing to do with his governing.
Now I am not claiming that Democrats, or liberals, are squeaky clean. Far from it. They have certainly had their share of troubles. But there is a structural reason why conservative administrations are prone to such abuse. I claim that conservatism is inherently abusive. Not usually as blatantly as Bush and Co., but abusive nevertheless.
The central tenet of conservatism is to preserve the power structure of the past. As George Lakoff brilliantly lays out in Moral Politics, this has as its model what he calls the Strict Father family. (Lakoff's views are widely misrepresented as being about framing of words, which is completely untrue. It is about framing of ones worldview.) For loyalists to the administration it's not treason, because Father Bush is always right.
Not all conservative families are abusive, of course, but the model is widely seen by childrearing experts as being destructive to children. Similarly, conservative governments are bad for the governed. The privileged few elites, those with power and riches, may see their power grow relative to the hoi poloi. The ordinary Joe may be satisfied that he is at least lord of his little castle.
But ultimately, conservatism is bad even for the powerful elites. As oil becomes increasingly scarce and expensive, as the oceans rise, if the U.S. and/or world economies collapse, they will be the last to feel the effects, but they will feel them nevertheless. Increasingly, even some of these people are coming over to our side.
Of course there are many varieties of conservatives. They have many contradictory ideas. But they all share the same rigidity of thinking in at least some area. And with the increased power of today's communication, today's weaponry, today's economy, and so on, rigidity at any higher level of power is harmful. Liberals believe in the power of thought. They believe that the truth is objective, and must be arrived at by looking at the issues and thinking about them, rather than by relying on authority. This is the attitude that is needed for humankind to survive this century. Conservatism is a death cult. It is generated by damaged people with damaged minds. Some of them are unfortunately conventionally brilliant, such as Supreme Court nominees Roberts and Alito, but they are lacking in a fundamental understanding of the human mind and condition.
The voters are beginning, only beginning, to understand what is at stake. When reporters saw what was happening to the people of New Orleans, they could not but speak out. Americans feel empathy for them partly because we see that we could have been in the same situation. The statistics about how much things have been getting worse under Bush didn't work for Kerry. But now we see we are all New Orleanians. We must push this meme. The Republicans are starting to distance themselves from Bush and the others. We must not let them (except inasmuch as some of them have truly liberal tendencies). The worst thing that can happen to conservatives is that that they gain power, and people can see who they truly are. This has happened. It's not just Bush. It's not just Cheney. It's not just Rove. It's the whole conservative movement. We must help as many people as possible see this.