Imagine you are a leading conservative columnist in the nation and you awaken each day to see those politicians to your left encouraging minorities, the poor, and the unemployed to embrace policies which are going to make their condition worse. You see the politics of class envy work so good on these uninitiated Americans, they willingly embrace any policy which attacks the rich , even if trickle down effects them adversely.
To your right, a political party so impotent, directionless, and inebriated by its failure to connect with and inspire the American people it tentatively moves left in some sort of acid-tripped kamikaze effort to maintain or regain some union with the populace. Meanwhile, the conservative base, the bedrock of your party, is left flailing without a political organization to call its home.
As a pundit and leader of conservative values, recognizing these party-less soles are starved for a leader and supporter of their values, you incisively throw mild epithets at some of the worst politicians who encourage and promote destructive leftist policies. In so doing, you sell more books, and drive a legion of fans toward your commentaries. Not a bad result for a few innocuous utterances. Of course, the drive by media magnifies and reports every scintillating detail, as you skip, laughing all the way to the bank.
Those of us totally disgusted by our party’s abandonment of conservative values rejoice and receive vicarious pleasure in the obnoxious display, not because we really think John Edwards is gay or even care, but because we are appalled by the unyielding march toward socialism celebrated by him and his ilk. We continually wilt under the assaults labeling us selfish, mean-spirited, racist, uncompassionate, and we do so contributing a disproportionate share of our income to taxes supporting bureaucrats prostituting the poor to achieve bigger more intrusive government where they (the parasites of wealth) get to tell us (the creators of wealth) how evil we are and what we should do with our money. Yay!
Of course, other bright leaders in the party that was, from Bill Bennett to Michael Medved, lament these colorful statements fearing they are going to drive more fence sitters toward our adversaries. That is some acknowledgement; if we don’t coddle and patronize moderates (a.k.a. confused people) they are going to embrace socialism?
If you think Ann Coulter’s comment, “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word faggot is obnoxious, try these on for size:
The rich don’t pay their fair share!
Over 84% of all federal income taxes are paid by the top 25% of wage earners.
Tax cuts for the rich!
When the poor start paying taxes, they’ll get a tax cut too.
No blood for oil.
Why does the price of gas keep going up?
Bush is Hitler.
Those Hollywood Jews must be shaking in their boots!
So even though the documents are forgeries, you can vouch to the veracity of their contents?
A Dan Rather beauty!
stinky bloody underwear sweaty why don’t you twins enlist
country’s Constitution’s most devastating enemy you and smarmy pundits and the smarmy pundits you have in your pocket can take your war and shove it.
An unintelligible masterpiece by Sean Penn.
It all makes you wonder if conservatism can survive. Conservatism is not some feel good ideology totally devoid of substance, that’s liberalism. If we can’t prompt, provoke, and encourage our citizens to use their brains, we will never amass followers of conservative doctrine. If that’s the case, let liberals have the presidency, the house, and the senate. Even idiots will come around after a couple decades of that kind of leadership.
In the meantime, if I can make some good dough swearing at my political nemesis even if it might hurt my political movement, I’m going to do it. I’m a staunch conservative, but I am a capitalist first and I am going to need that money to pay higher taxes.
Copyright 2007 Jim Pontillo