Posted on 10/06/2004 4:06:31 PM PDT by mlmr
Everybody remembers the "Clinton-haters," the people who disliked our libidinous former chief executive so much they not only spread (mostly true) stories about his amorous exploits but spun rumors about various dark conspiracies in Arkansas and elsewhere.
However, Clinton's enemies were pikers compared to today's crop of people who, while they may or may not hate President Bush, certainly seem to dislike him very, very much.
I'm not referring here to people who merely disagree with Bush on one or a number of issues. It's easy to understand partisans getting upset over an opponent's policies, and certainly U.S. history is replete with examples of using political differences as grist for harsh criticism.
But Bush has been simultaneously portrayed as Hitler; as a moronic puppet of his advisors; as an evil genius; and as Satan.
All that and more (much of it unprintable) leaves conservatives in awe of the depth of rage being targeted at such a genial, outgoing guy - who also happens to be waging a serious war on our nation's enemies, just as a president is supposed to do.
It's possible to identify three basic streams feeding into Bush-hatred. One - let's call it the "Moveon.org stream" - is described by John O'Sullivan, editor of The National Interest, in the current issue of The American Enterprise Institute's magazine: "Most of the time (Clinton hatred) was simply the frustration of the Right with an opponent who was just too quick and too clever for them. Bush hatred is something else, something really significant. It's much deeper - a personalized version of American anti-Americanism.
"There is in this country a considerable cultural self-hatred," O'Sullivan continued. "The adversary culture fears and hates American power. So anybody who comes along and defends America's values self-confidently, and even pre-emptively attacks America's enemies, is going to be regarded by this sect as an agent of the Great Satan. The same hatred was directed at Reagan."
Second, "progressivism" tends to produce a conviction about the essential goodness of its causes, almost as if there were no consciousness of natural human imperfection. Leftists really think people are perfectible, and they believe they are the ones who know how to do the perfecting.
If there is something wrong with the world, therefore, it is not because people naturally screw up. It has to be a plot.
And since Reagan's days, Americans have voted for Republicans on a regular basis. Even worse, not the tame business-executive, country-club RINO type, but real social, economic and religious conservatives.
Even after Clinton (hardly a textbook liberal himself) beat Bush 41 in 1992, the GOP took over Congress two years later, and now the right-leaning party holds the presidency, both houses of Congress (though marginally in the Senate), most of the governorships and is even making strides in state legislatures.
But if you're a progressive, conservatives are dumb and you're smart. They're evil and you're good. They're devious and you're honest. (I know, I know, but that's how they think.)
So they can only come to one conclusion - the American people have been tricked, fooled and bamboozled by these devious conservatives. The left thinks it is entitled to rule, and yet people are spurning it - making fun of it, even. How can that be? It must be a plot, a conspiracy.
In their minds, the idea that people have considered their positions and rejected them is an impossibility, because they are right and conservatives are wrong. By definition.
Thus, leftists had to spin a myth of a "stolen" election in Florida, to prove perfidy where none existed. The alternative - that they, the good guys, could have lost fair and square, by the rules - is not credible to them.
Third, we should briefly note that a commitment to serious, historical, orthodox Christianity is another offense that Bush, and many other conservatives, offer to the progressive mentality. The anger relativists hold toward the idea of eternal moral absolutes knows no bounds.
Now, I have no idea who is going to win on Nov. 2. But if Bush should be the victor, what are all his detractors going to do? Wrap their heads in duct tape so they don't explode like the telepaths in "Scanners"?
No, I suspect they'll do what they did in 2000 - create another myth about a "stolen election."
You can already see it taking shape, in recent claims that Gallup polls showing Bush ahead are biased, or that presidential advisor Karl Rove was the one who gave Dan Rather his famously faked-up memos, or that the Bush campaign created and financed the Swift boat ads.
If Bush wins, it will be because a plot involving the "biased conservative media" did in Kerry.
The fact that no such thing exists will deter them not one whit. The left proved in 2000 that mere facts can't stand in the way of a really outstanding conspiracy theory, and this year will be no different - if Bush wins.
If not, well, I'll have plenty of topics for columns.
M.D. Harmon is an editorial page writer and editor. He can be contacted at 791-6482 or at:
mharmon@pressherald.com
See my post #175. I have a plan and it will be fun! I have a digital camera with a telephoto lens. We might take pictures of the women who look like they ate a lemon:) Once a woman sits down, she's pretty well committed. Thats the funny part:)
Bob
I would either A) change jobs, or B) take your coworkers apart. My coworkers or others who spout such crap don't do it twice with me. You have to be the same way.
Welcome to Free Republic - your home page is well-written and very clear! I wish I could go over to DU and engage in the kind of discourse you will be embarking on. That's the difference between the two sites - you are correct that FR's been trolled to saturations, so I hope you excuse the wariness. :-)
I understand about the comments about Democrats. I used to be one. Then the party stopped representing what I believe in, and I found that Republicans generally filled that bill.
I'm very careful when I discuss politics with my middle school-age son - I say "leftists" and "leftism" to be most precise. Why? Because of the concept of classical liberalism, which is pretty close to modern conservatism. I don't even bash Democrats as a whole, because of people like Zell Miller and Toby Keith (yes! An Oklahoma Democrats is pretty conservative.).
Yes, the Democrat party is a shameful shell of what it used to be, and resembles the alien-inhabited Edgar from Men in Black (the Edgar Suit). But it's the mindset, the philosophy of leftism and socialism that is the danger, and I want him to be clear on that.
Liberals know that they are wrong, but they are trying to convince everyone (themselves included) that their values are right.
It is easier to fight against someone else's values system than it is to recognize the inferiority of one's own.
It's easier to "hate" someone who has the confidence of his convictions than it is to acknowledge one's own lack of integrity.
"Yes, radical feminists are still out there and should not be underestimated, but notice how you just don't hear much about "sexual harassment" anymore..."
Because it's only about sex. I think every attorney can Cite the case (Clinton versus Paula Jones) versus the U.S. Senate!
You can get impeached but you can't get jail time for lying about it. Most people won't mind the impeachment....ha ha
bttt
Unfortunately, far too many conservatives who should have stood their ground in the Democratic party left during the 80's and 90's. They left a power vacuum in their wake which...guess who...filled. No struggle really. Just a forfeit.
That was a terrible strategic mistake in my view, and conservatives have paid the price ever since. And continue to pay it.
I plan on it. Like all of us, I have a busy life. Busier since I tend to like to fill niches that not many other people think of or want to fill. Both personally and professionally.
Just my personality I guess.
But it does make for serious sleep deprivation.
Gospel truth: never been to DU. I had to ask a FReeper what "DU" stood for. I'm an active and partisan Democrat, and had never heard it mentioned. Surprising, actually. I usually hear about stuff like that.
I imagine curiosity will get the best of me eventually and I'll look it up. I've been told that they have been known to post pornography on their site(??). If so, it would not be my cup of tea, by a long shot.
It looks to me like FR has an incredible auto-immune response to trolling, so I wonder why they bother.
Many people left. The problem is that they didn't cover their retreat.
All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. Or to be absent from the field.
I would either A) change jobs, or B) take your coworkers apart. My coworkers or others who spout such crap don't do it twice with me. You have to be the same way.
They treat me with kid gloves.
Unfortunately, far too many conservatives who should have stood their ground in the Democratic party left during the 80's and 90's. They left a power vacuum in their wake which...guess who...filled. No struggle really. Just a forfeit.
I never left the Democratic party...they left me. I got my wake up call six months after electing Clinton.
True, terribly true.
But with the current meltdown going on with the extreme leftists, there is a small possibility of taking the party back.
But that may be a forlorn hope for now until many more wake up and see what the Clintons and Kerry have done to the Democratic party.
If and when that happens, people can step up and point out that the clintonites and kerryites don't represent what the majority of Democrats believe.
Which is true.
The majority of Democrats in my immediate local area feel like they're being pushed away from their political party.
But as they say, "What other choice do we have?"
Considering the people fielded by the DNC as nominees this year, there didn't appear to be much of a choice for them.
There is so many layers to this....
most being that those without a moral core hate those who do have one.
And lots of self-hatred....I would say that of the 10 women I know who are anti-bush, 9 of them have extreme self-esteem issues....
"I'm an active and partisan Democrat..."
***
We haven't driven you over the edge yet? Boys, we're slackin'...
Ha ha! Good point! However, some of the more physically attractive people become butt-ugly pretty darned quick once you find out their lunatic-hatred and cluelessness.
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