On Fake Conservatism
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, ConservatismThe thing that needs to be said, over and over, though, is that Rush Limbaugh and those guys simply aren’t conservatives. They just aren’t. Radically restructuring government to create an unaccountable executive is not conservative. Building a security apparatus that is designed to spy on citizens is not a conservative principle. Runaway spending and bloated budgets are not conservative ideas. Torture and permanent aggressive wars are not conservative principles. Fearmongering and keeping the electorate scared is not a conservative principle. And on and on.
But hey John, it’s good for business and that’s what these media guys know. It’s any which way the wind blows with them, but let’s not forget it happens on the left too. Ever heard a Randy Rhodes show? Mike Malloy? Ugh.
Ultimately, at the end of the day, these people are entertainers and that’s what gets lost in all the politics. And if you get the majority of your news from the Rush Limbaughs or the Randy Rhodes of the world, the so-called truth tellers, you deserve to be ridiculed for being misinformed.
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February 1st, 2008 at 12:23 pm
That any one person or pundit can dictate or steer a particular school of political thought is ludicrous. You might as well go stand out in the driveway with your $12.98 WalMart oscillating fan dictate wind speed and direction.
The only thing these pundits, especially Limbaugh, dictate or steer or set the bar for is hypocrisy. Leave it to a “conservative” with three or four divorces under his belt to say who should get married, and whom they should get married to, and why adultery is wrong. Leave it to a “conservative” drug addict who made himself half-deaf to tell us how his fellow addicts, and their suppliers, should be dealt with. And don’t even get me started on that weird plane trip to the Dominican Republic with a big bottle of Viagra ( :shiver: gross! )
What goes up, must come down. What rises, eventually falls. What begins, ultimately ends. I think what some of these folks–again, “especially Limbaugh”–see over the next horizon is the inevitable sunset of their days as a source of any kind of direction. The knighting of somebody like McCain by the GOP is the irrefutable klaxon, signaling their relegation to the fringe. It is their own people saying, “We no longer need you to tell us what to think–we can think for ourselves, thank you. We can define our own political roles, pick our own leaders. You’re no longer needed.”
Similarly, as I hinted at in another thread, I think RINO, DINO, WINO, and all these other terms are equally tired, equally boring, equally laughable. “You’re not a true ‘conservative.’ You only think you are.” How utterly sad and pathetic.
Labels and platforms were convenient markers 100, 50 or even 20 years ago, when news and information crawled at a snail’s pace, and information was limited because there were only so many column inches available on any given day, or only 30 minutes in a newscast (24 minutes, once you carve out the gawdy car dealer ads). Those labels and party affiliations saved a bit of time, and knowing somebody was a “conservative” or a “liberal” or a “Republican” or a “Democrat” meant that certain things were a given, and that you only had to worry about the details, because the bigger ideas and concepts were already part of the mold.
Fewer and fewer people fit into those old molds, and fewer and fewer voters are willing to settle for cookie-cutter politicians and leaders from either side.
Time for Limbaugh, Coulter, Franken, Rhodes, Drudge, Beck, O’Reilly, and all the rest to make a big, big decision. We’re tired of the lectures–we’re ready for some real conversation.
–Ag
February 1st, 2008 at 5:06 pm
all points come from political talkings points based on lies, misinformation and ignorance. i.e. politics.
From the Constiutional Originalist at the Federalist Society, here is a debate on FISA….Rush is on the Conservative, Constitutional side as well as the side of the founding fathers:
http://www.fed-soc.org/debates/dbtid.13/default.asp
February 1st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
“…these people are entertainers and that’s what gets lost in all the politics…”
NZ saw the introduction of “newslebrities” with a nasty little gent by name of Paul Holmes. “News” became secondary to presentation and celebration of the “personality”.
And that really is why Holmes, and if I were unfortunate enough to come across them on tv, Limbaugh and the rest would rank somewheres below being violently ill and chained to the toilet.
FMPOV one of the very great sadnesses in today’s society (NZ at least) is that so very many people mistake it’s good for business and that’s what these media guys know. It’s any which way the wind blows with them…’ for truth and fair reporting.
Even worse, the MSM is in the very sad position of having to follow the lead of the “newslebrities”, promote the sensational in place of the truth, to the very great detriment of all. Mind you, I very much doubt that the politicians are at all upset about it. The chances of anyone, from Granny Herald to WaPo, doing a major expose that did not involve sex or tennis balls is very remote.
February 2nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
It’s not just the blowhards, it’s the entire republican party. There is nothing even remotely conservative in any of their positions anymore. Their only concern is to rob the treasury blind by bribing voters telling them they shouldn’t have to pay any taxes. The sad thing is that so many Americans are so incredibly stupid that they buy it.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:21 pm
The Federalist Society and every other group that claims that they are the ones who truly understand what the Founding Fathers wanted and only they have this Truth are a joke. Every last one of them.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
In fact, they remind me of people who believe in Biblical inerrancy while they conveniently ignore the internal inconsistencies in it.
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
The problem is that most people now choose their politics the same way they choose a sports team to root for. Their team (party) is always good and right and the other is always bad and wrong. It is very easy to test this. If a democrat had started 2 wars without any exit plans and run up trillions in debt the republicans would be howling blood murder (as they should) but since one of their team did it, they are all for it. It’s the same as when democrats acted like it was just fine for Clinton to screw around in the oval office and lie about it.