The right is in trouble and they know it. Conservatism has failed.

[Renew Deal]

The right is in trouble and they know it. Don't believe me? Look at what's going on. Look at how they are protesting and what they are saying. The right wing that never questioned anyones patriotism is calling peace protesters "anti-USA."

The American legion is threatening violence against protesters. Throwing around 9/11 is becoming even more common, even from Bush.

The desperate, pathetic, right wing of this country is seeing the results of their policies and "ideas" unfold. It's unfolding in front of all of us and the only ones that will be left as Bush supporters (pro-usa?) will be around 28% of the population. Let's have a look at some of the inherent mistakes of conservatism.

Giving a tax cut during a time of war is OK.

Tax cuts will spur jobs.


We can send 15,000 troops to Afghanistan and use the Northern Alliance to do the fighting. Reality: We let Osama get away because there weren't enough Americans to capture him. We are still fighting because it wasn't done correctly in the first place.

We can attack Iraq with 150,000 and be out in 6 months. Reality: 1877 Americans dead and 30 months later, we are still there. If we left today, it would be considered losing the war. There is no reason to believe the situation will get better if something doesn't change. Bush will be the second American president to lose a war. Coincidentally, the other one is a republican too.

Fighting terrorism is a military operation, except when it's a police operation. Republicans can protect this country. Reality: The Republican President and Republican Congress are responsible for the most severe security failure in American history. Global terrorist attacks are up. Osama is still on the loose and Bush doesn't think about it much.

If gas prices go up, we will simply ask the Saudis to "open the spigots." Reality: Asking the Saudi's to open the spigots doesn't solve the core problem. The core problem is that there isn't enough oil and prices continue to rise.

Global warming is a myth. Reality: So is the Republican's credibility. Global temperatures are rising. Dangerous storms are increasing. Bizarre natural deaths are increasing (i.e. Red tide).

Ban abortion rights. Ban gay marriage. That brain dead girl is having fun. Reality: Majority of Americans support Abortion rights. Majority of americans support civil unions. Majority of Americans oppose interfering in people's private health decisions. BTW, not only was the girl brain dead, but she was blind too.

When the grown ups take charge, they will clean up Washington. Reality: Delay, Bush, Hastert, Duke Cunningham, Bob Taft and others belong in prison for obvious reasons. Ernie Fletcher may join them.

Let's face it. Conservatism is a failed ideology. Conservatives have put their "ideas" to work and they have been wrong or failed every time. The more conservatives realize this, the more bizarre their behavior will be.

[punpirate]

1. A quote to remember...

... in the context of that bizarre behavior: "Extremists are never more dangerous than when they have almost reached their goal." --Eric Hoffer, The True Believer

[Renew Deal]

2. Are you saying that all of this is intentional?

That would mean that they know the outcomes are bad.

[getmeouttahere]

8. I believe it!

remember Grover Norquist's quote that they want to shrink government to the size where they can drown it in the bathtub. It's absolutely intentional. They don't give a damn about anything but unfettered capitalism, and they think the free market is the answer to everything.

[punpirate]

10. No, I'm saying that the bizarre behavior is not...

... a reflection of their tacit admission of defeat--it's simply a symptom of what they wish to achieve--one party rule, with their God as a figurehead, and right now, they're very close to achieving what they desire, and if Hoffer is correct, they're now at their most dangerous.

You see this empirically--you're offering reasons for their failure, which in a rational society would bring about the political change which would greatly weaken them. But, this is not a rational society right now, for reasons which are obvious.

Another point of Hoffer's is that societies are not taken over by the majority--they're taken over by fringe elements which are effective in manipulating the fears of the public. Sound familiar?

You say this means they know the outcomes are bad. No. They aren't judging their efforts by the same standards as might you or I. They don't care about employment and the national debt. They care about getting and exercising power to further their aims, just as the politicians they elect care about furthering the power of corporate America, and in that regard, they have been rather successful--that's their standard of measurement--how well they've achieved what they want.

Cheers.

[countmyvote4real]

11. Cheers? I think not, cause you're right. n/t

[lonestarnot]

5. Damn... That is something to look forward toooooo

NOT!:nopity: :scared: :thumbsdown: :hide:

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. That is a wonderful book

and far more apropraite today than in the past. Problem is kids no longer read it, and most people have no clue...

Hannah Arend'ts The Banality of Evil is also a must read, will put the kids at Abu Ghraib IN CONTEXT

[punpirate]

17. It was very appropriate in the past...

... since it was written not long after the conclusion of WWII, when Hitler's rise to power was still fresh in mind. That was what sparked Hoffer's curiosity about the subject in general--how could a small group of fanatics take over Germany and plot to wage war on the rest of the world?

We just never expected it could begin to happen here. It's a lot more relevant today because of current events in this country, but the same thing has been going on in the rest of the world all along.

What Hoffer said in 1949 had just as much relevance in Cambodia in 1975, and in Myanmar in the last decade or two, in Iran in 1979, or in Afghanistan in 1992, for example.

Cheers.

Edit for syntax.

[countmyvote4real]

3. That "majority of Americans" needs to get to ballot box.

And their votes need to be counted and verified.

[lonestarnot]

6. To a ballot box that doesn't cheat!

[fishnfla]

4. True conservatives are against the war. Neo conservatives are out

lets get back to basics

[Mr_Spock]

7. Conservatives whole theory is based on failure

Their success depends on the destruction of the society that they are ruling - it is part of their core philosophy. If they don't fail, then we as a nation will no longer be a dominant power in the world. Only liberal democracies can survive in an ever-changing world - it's simply a fact.

[Tom Kitten]

9. they want 'our' government to fail as much as possible

they are doing quite a good job of it too because they are the new robber barons...been quite successful at it too, I must say...

[wli]

12. they're not failing, they're succeeding

They are trying to break the US because it's the last obstacle to IMF and World Bank hegemony over the entire world. The Third World is easily subjugated, Europe is trivially disrupted. China is effectively already a despotic regime, and Russia and the former Soviet Republics are already in the IMF trap. The US can resist mercenary armies because its military is so large, so it must be dashed against the rocks.

And here it is, getting annihilated in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the military decimated and the Homeland Offense Gestapo dedicated entirely to assassinations and massacres of protesters, demonstrators, and activists, the US is primed for debt slavery and total subjugation to coalitions of BCCI-like multinational corporations.

[Horse with no Name]

13. Recommended.

I want to look at this more in depth, but now have a headache.
Nice work though. Everyone rate it up please.

[Renew Deal]

18. Thanks

That's very nice of you. :hi:

[Lecky]

14. There is NOTHING conservative about this current administration

Not that I back conservatives in any way but I think it's misleading to say that 'Conservatism has failed' due to BushCo. Maybe Neo-Conservatism instead...

Not to be nitpicky but I see a big difference between the two, it's hard to believe that they share a party and support each other.

[Renew Deal]

19. You make a good point.

I feel that Bushco is a conservatives wet dream. These guys are as crazy as most of them are.

[mogster]

15. It has failed globally

Because it is not sustainable for the far future - the environment doesn't watch FOX news. Besides, it has transformed into authoritarian national-socialism instead of freedom for the individual.

I used to be a liberal conservative - today I'm only liberal.