America needs a conservatism that can deal with reality ☀
Alsson at Large wrote:
A Phoenix Rising: Common-Good Conservatism (via azspot)
Today, American conservatism has degenerated into an intellectually and morally bankrupt ideology. It offers nothing more than bumper-sticker slogans that pander to the prejudices and ignorance of the lowest common denominator in order to enrich and empower an oligarchic elite. Angry, cruel and sneering, it is exemplified by the carnival barkers on talk radio and Fox News. High in volume, but devoid of substance, it has no long-term future because it lacks credible solutions to the range of very real problems American society is facing.
Indeed, what passes for “conservatism” today is actually nothing of the sort. Modern American conservatism has forgotten its rich legacy and betrayed its best traditions. It has become infected with a virulent strain of extreme libertarianism heavily influenced by the thinking of Ayn Rand.”
Luckily we Conservatives don’t conform to this guy’s interpretation. And so many of us don’t watch the talking heads on any channel. Mostly we read and think for ourselves and have studied history and political science and know what a failed mess collectivist visions and models are. It’s really not that complicated. But you can find sloganeering on both sides. And ignorance. No doubt about that. We’re going to win this one.
Some quick-hit notes, fired off, here, in response to this vapid retort:
The article cited was penned by a pair of conservative Republicans, in a followup to a previous article expressing dismay with the party by a long time (~30 years) Republican congressional staffer. They rightfully decry their party’s descent into insanity, barbarism and bigotry.
You might not “conform” to this “interpretation”. But all the social science indicators reveal a strong anti-intellectual, anti-science, delusional authoritarian bent in the bases staunchest supporters. And simple electoral map breakdown reveals how “severely” the Republican party has become a rural/southern regional party, defined more by what they are against, than what they are in favor of.
Some of you do indeed “read and think for ourselves” as you state, but most are in lock-step with the influential thought leaders like Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly, Fox News (with its Chinese/Saudi foreign billionaire ownership), Glenn Beck, etc.… It’s amazing how “on message” they are — the ludicrous fear mongering (like, for example, the recent hubbub over Obama campaign’s “Forward”). Just watch The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, where this repeated drumming of the same verbal mantra is captured brilliantly.
Committing an egregious error in adopting a binary switch for economic models; a grievous flub that fails to correctly identify the true villains of economic advancement over 6,000 years of human history — oligarchs, plutocrats and aristocracy. Failing to observe the nation’s very own economic history and noting the collective efforts that catapulted the United States into economic giant-hood. Public education, electricity, the interstate highway system, the transistor, the modem, the internet, just about every modern medical miracle you take for granted, etc.… are just a few elements procured by such public investment.
As far as “ignorance” on “both sides”; true, it exists. But ask yourself, why only 5% of scientists are Republican now (and less than 10% define themselves as conservative). This is a relatively recent phenomenon; in past generations that mark was near equally split between the parties and political philosophies. Is it because the Republicans have defined themselves as anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-science (with most in the party in disbelief over evolution, climate change science, or just about any other science that conflicts with dogma)?
