My fellow Americans: A liberal learns it's not so wrong to be right [MSM trolls FR]

Seattle Times ^ | October 3, 2006 | By Mark Rahner

[Jim Robinson]

"Tootsie," "Black Like Me," "Alias" — pop culture's filled with daring men and women who alter their identities to infiltrate different groups.

Now Seattle-based NPR personality John Moe has come out with a virtual "Crying Game" of political books: "Conservatize Me: How I Tried to Become a Righty with the Help of Richard Nixon, Sean Hannity, Toby Keith and Beef Jerky" (William Morrow, $24.95). His hilarious "experiment": shed the trappings of his liberal life and spend a month immersed in conservative culture — or rather, stereotypes — with the help of a power suit, puffy flag T-shirt and the music of Toby Keith.

I debriefed the radio commentator, 38, as he was settling back into his old life, over frou-frou coffee drinks.

~~snip~~

Q: You watched "conservative" movies?

A: I went online to freerepublic.com, which is a highly conservative, militantly so, Web site, and posted something saying "Raised a liberal, wanting to find out what movies conservatives enjoy, wanting to see if there are movies that could change my mind. Whattaya got?"

I came away from that with a bunch of suggestions. So I went to Blockbuster and got "Red Dawn," "Stand and Deliver," "Dirty Harry," "Forrest Gump," all three "Lord of the Rings" movies and "Patton." And then I would watch those in my down time as I was flying to the Nixon museum in L.A. or the Toby Keith concert in Indianapolis and do write-ups on their persuasiveness

~~snip~~

[darbymcgill]

And I play Dolly, and Jessie Colter, Bobbie Gentry, Don Williams, etc.

Way, way OT...

Over 30 years ago I was in a bar and played "Amanda" (5 songs for a quarter), 5 times in a row. Boy, did I get some "sideways" looks...;)

[Sloth]

But that's where I think a lot of conservatives are breaking away from the Republicans, because conservatives as I understood them are very interested in sacred texts — the Bible, the Constitution. These things are locked down.

Quite right. The conservative attitude toward Constitutional rights, I think, one of the things the 'honest liberals' out there really do not have any grasp of.

That's the one great mystery in the book that I really tried to figure out. I talked to this girl at the College Republican convention who said she used to shop at Target but she doesn't anymore because they give money to the United Way, which supports groups that are for "The Gay." And so throughout the book I refer to "The Gay." It's just an interesting bit of phraseology because it turns 10 percent of the population into an anthropological curiosity. I still don't get what is so scary about gay people.

The vast majority of conservatives are perfectly content to let homosexual adults do whatever they want to each other. It's the demand for not mere tolerance, but active government endorsement of their sexual behavior that is so offensive (just as it would be if, say, heterosexuals who really enjoy oral sex started proclaiming themselves 'Orals', formed the 'Oral Rights League', demanded public celebration of their choice to engage in oral sex, and tried to get fellatio and cunnilingus added to the anti-discrimination laws along with race, disability, etc.). It's the 'fisting' classes in public schools, the forcing of transgendered teachers on school kids, the attempt to use the courts to infiltrate private institutions like the Boy Scouts (in violation of their 1st Amendment freedom of assembly), etc.

And 10% is way high.

[Ready4Freddy]

Probably not, too old a thread (pre-LOTR). The one mentioned in http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1712608/posts?page=20#20 is more likely, I would think.

[Ready4Freddy]

Has he been seen lately? ;>)

[moneyrunner]

Read the interview. Rather snarky. But I’m curious about the hobbit comment:

How are the "Lord of the Rings" movies conservative with all those gay hobbits?

Has the reporter read the books? What makes the hobbits gay?

Is this gay thing something liberals obsess about?

[Ready4Freddy]

To say nothing of 'read my lips'...

[Chewie84]

I think "Demolition Man" and "Batman Begins" are both good conservative movies, too.

[Jason_b]

"conservatives as I understood them are very interested in sacred texts — the Bible, the Constitution. These things are locked down..."

So are communists: Kapital.

So are muslims: The Koran.

So are feminists: The Feminine Mystique---any anti-man book.

...All sacred texts to those groups. It is just a question of which book the individual finds sacred. It would be that book which tells us what we want to hear.

[MissAmericanPie]

I wish there were a way to explore this "ceiling" in the liberal mindset. One can engage them in a discussion as I do on other sites when I go there to engage in the battle of raising them above this ceiling they seem stuck at, and that ceiling is made of lead.

At some point they cannot rise their thinking to a higher level and resort to personal insipid attacks that is embarrassing for them. When I challenge them to go to the next step in "what is the answer to this problem" and they deteriorate the only thing that has a chance of working is using old debate tricks such as, "Because you refuse to answer that issue I must assume this means you think this".

Then their hysteria sets in and my confusion on just what it is that is wrong with their ability to rationalize to the next step frustrates and scares me for them. At times I am so sorry for them. I have found there is some limit, some lack in their basic human make up. Most of it can be attributed to ignorance of current events. I have been accused of lying when revealing a recent event in the news media.

So are liberals merely morons with big mouths and flawed ideas and a lack of knowledge who exhibit rage when someone dares to attempt to challenge them to think on a higher level? I wish a conservative author would do a book on that question.

[SueRae]

LOTR are my favorites, for a lot of reasons. They are violent but this was a world at war. There is not one cuss word that I recognized and there was no sex, not even a smidge. I guess that makes these movies conservative by Hollywood standards.

[2Jedismom]

Q: How are the "Lord of the Rings" movies conservative with all those gay hobbits?

Hmmmm! Hurmph!!!! Hoooo!!!

Please support The Hobbit Hole Pocket knives for the troops project.

[Gaffer]

Don't know....they're still castigating him and he's been cooperating with some self-flagellation, of course...

A drunk's rant, and that's pretty much all it was, IMO. The thing that sets humans above the other animals is to be able to reason above (and control) the baser emotions (sometimes instinct, sometimes otherwise). Alcohol counteracts reason.....

[Osage Orange]

I'm probably one of the more diverse, "hip" and "in tune" Conservatives a person will ever have the occasion of getting to know.

Naw....that's me. : )

[2Jedismom]

Heh heh!!

[Laserman]

"The Islamics are the awks."

Did you mean Orcs?

[Gvl_M3]

"So are liberals merely morons with big mouths and flawed ideas and a lack of knowledge who exhibit rage when someone dares to attempt to challenge them to think on a higher level? I wish a conservative author would do a book on that question.

I agree with your analogy.

One on-line discussion group I belong to is focused on cars. There is a politics section and I go there on occasion. I have had to take breaks from it because there are about 4-5 liberals who will not discuss any topic. Just tout the Bush Lied, It's Bush's Fault, Clinton was a Saint, bs. and that is where any discussion ends.

I'd love to see someone study it and write a book. It just baffles me.

[bobsatwork]

He also just didn't campaign in 1992...It was as if he was throwing the election.....That is so true. It shocked me to watch. Bush41 gave the speech of his life at the RNC, polls showed him neck-and-neck with BJ, and then the sleepwalking act for the entirety of the campaign. I wanted to scream. I never understood it. I never will.

[anechoicroom.blogspot.com]

"what is the answer to this problem"

In the past, when discussions got heated on a shared platform (lib/con). I discovered that often was a quick way to end a discussion.

"So are liberals merely morons with big mouths and flawed ideas and a lack of knowledge"

Well as a lib on 9/11 I would have to say, yeah. I was smart in a few limited ways. But in politics, my understanding was severely limited. A depth of microns. I thought I knew. Was even convinced. Just the way people are ..... raised on a steady diet of the L.A. Times, and the L.A. Weekly. Kind of not only hipper than thou, but smarter too. Even though it not be the case.

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

Whatever they call those murderous, rag attired creatures...

[pgyanke]

{Donning tin foil hat...}

When you look at the 1992 election where GHWB just gave the office to Clinton and the following election where the Republicans put up an ineffectual and nationally unelectable Dole, it sure looks like it was orchestrated for a Clinton Whitehouse.

{Removing tin foil...}