Having unfortunately heard Phyllis Shlafly's radio address today, I was dumbfounded by how bizarre the thinking process of conservatives is. But it did give me some insight into why they are losing the battle for the intellectual direction of this country. Ms. Shlafly offered a clear rationale for a liberal idea and then rejected it on no grounds whatsoever, then offered no conservative substitute and then signed off for the day. It was like something out of "Through the Looking Glass."
My cabdriver in Milwaukee happenned to have on Christian Right radio on my long cab ride from the AMTRAK station to my hotel in the suburbs where I'm staying this weekend. So I got to hear the insanity that is Phyllis Shlafly's radio address. I may be spelling her name wrong and if so, I apologize. Anyway, here goes:
She began with a step by step indictment of China's regulatory systems and how they allowed chemicals in their milk that poisoned babies. She showed the cronyism that allowed the plants that knowingly tainted the milk to avoid inspections and the muzzle on the press during the Olympics that allowed the stories to go unreported even though the Chinese knew babies were being harmed by the unhealthy stew being pumped out by the corrupt factories. Essentially building a case for any number of sound progressive ideas: regulation of food, inspection of all factories, tight limits on imports from China, etc.
Then, at the fever pitch peak of her China bashing tirade she says, "Some say," and once this conservative favorite phrase is heard, you know you're going to hear the "bad liberal idea." "Some say," she went on, "that we need to throw more money at the FDA, but not even increasing the budget a hundred times could uncover all of the Chinese poisoned milk."
The End.
Seriously. That was it. No reason WHY incresed FDA inspections would be useless. No grounds to reject a sound inspection policy. And then, even more bafflingly, no alternative to the only solution she ever mentions, the bad one that won't work (though she doesn't feel she needs to explain why the "some" that say this are wrong.) So, what then, Phyllis? Do we halt all imports from China? Do we break off trade relations? Invade them? Stop giving babies milk? What?
Silence.
So there's conservative thinking in a nutshell. The world is dangerous. Liberal ideas will not save you. We have no ideas that will either. Good night.
No wonder they just got their asses kicked.