Wanna get high?
Just a little bit?
Posted on 10/06/2002 11:52:53 PM PDT by HAL9000
Picture a typical Republican. Perhaps you see images of George Bush, John Ashcroft, Ronald Reagan, or maybe even Alex P. Keaton. Basically, many people think Republicans are a bunch of stodgy white guys with money.Times are changing. The Republican A-list now includes Colin Powell, Christie Whitman, J.C. Watts, and Condoleeza Rice. Women and minorities have been making great strides in the party, but they generally dress, talk, and act like their predecessors. You are more likely to find them at a formal reception than a rock concert.
If Republicans are so different from mainstream America, then who voted for them? The nation has more Republican congressmen and state governors than any other political party, plus control of the White House. There are not enough Alex P. Keatons to account for these election results. Our nation is among the most diverse on earth. Half of the voters are women, a quarter are minorities. There are millions of union workers, retirees, immigrants, government workers, customer service employees, and individuals in low paying jobs, unemployed or on some form of public assistance. All of these groups are expected to lean left. Surely, the stodgy, affluent, religious white guys are outnumbered in the electorate by a huge margin. Yet Republicans candidates still do well. How is that possible?
The answer could very well be the "Southpark Republicans." The name stems from the primetime cartoon "Southpark" that clearly demonstrates the contrast within the party. The show is widely condemned by some moralists, including members of the Christian right. Yet in spite of its coarse language and base humor, the show persuasively communicates the Republican position on many issues, including hate crime legislation ("a savage hypocrisy"), radical environmentalism, and rampant litigation by ambitious trial lawyers. In one episode, industrious gnomes pick apart myopic anti-corporate rhetoric and teach the main characters about the benefits of capitalism.
Southpark Republicans are true Republicans, though they do not look or act like Pat Robertson. They believe in liberty, not conformity. They can enjoy watching The Sopranos even if they are New Jersey Italians. They can appreciate the tight abs of Britney Spears or Brad Pitt without worrying about the nation's decaying moral fiber. They strongly believe in liberty, personal responsibility, limited government, and free markets. However, they do not live by the edicts of political correctness.
The Southpark Republicans are an incredibly diverse group encompassing a variety of nontraditional conservatives, such as the Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bruce Willis supported Republicans because of their commitment to lower taxes and fiscal discipline. Rap artist and movie actor LL Cool J recently endorsed NY governor George Pataki.
The most important Southpark Republicans are not famous. They are the millions of people of every age, race, sex, and religion that generally agree that government spending is usually not the best way to deal with the nation's problems. Many of these individuals can tell you why Ayn Rand should displace some other authors in high school literature classes. They know firsthand from endless hours at the DMV, at the post office, and preparing income tax forms that government wastes time and money. They know a nation cannot tax its way to greatness.
If he were alive today, John F. Kennedy could very well be a Southpark Republican. He rightly proclaimed, "An economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget—just as it will never produce enough jobs or profits." You read that right. JFK was a supply-side tax cutter. His alleged private exploits would place him squarely within the Southpark wing of the Republican Party.
Sound farfetched? There have been many Democrats that changed parties. Ronald Reagan, Senator Phil Gramm, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg were all once Democrats that became Republicans. The Democratic Party moved left, and the people that stood in the same place increasingly found their views shared by the elephants of the GOP. But not all elephants belong in the same herd. Pat Buchanan pushes a Christian/protectionist agenda that has absolutely nothing in common with the Libertarian folks who support free trade and complete separation of church and state. Depending on whom you ask, "Conservative" can mean smaller government of lower hemlines. (Hint: Southpark Republicans are more likely to get Cosmo than the Weekly Standard.)
The Southpark Republicans are not new, though they may now be more vocal. The party finally seems willing to embrace members that listen to the hard rock and rap music long denounced by the old guard. Heck, even vegetarians are welcome.
The media generally misrepresents Republicans as religious rich white males. This is patently false. Half of the voting public is Republican. They watch R rated movies, enjoy a few drinks at happy hour, and even go to the occasional Wrestlemania. Hopefully, the Southpark Republicans will shatter the unfair stereotype and set the record straight. As Cartman would say, "That would be pretty sweet."
The author seems somewhat incredulous himself that we're not all cast in the mold of Jerry Falwell.
It must be one of the best lib/big media lies that we're all in lockstep with the Christian Coalition.
I'm not sure I want to disabuse the lefties of this notion, they keep underestimating us.
Just a little bit?
Saying that South Park is little more than potty-jokes is like saying that cake is little more than icing. There's a lot more to it, you're just being blinded by the f*rts. Also some of those potty-jokes are pretty funny.
(singing) Robert-a-Smith! Robert-a-Smith!
Although many in the cohort that this author describes do indeed support Republicans, the creators of "South Park" (two words) themselves, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have described themselves as libertarians. Small "L," that is, not being Party supporters.Parker and Stone both claim to have voted for Bush. They had an episode skewering the Florida attempted larceny six days after the election.So are many Republican. That was the point of the story.
Which would you rather have in your corner while attempting to persuade the next generation of voters to think your way: the teachers' union or the rudest "outlaw" show on TV?
-Eric
Some of the best episodes are the ones where they slam Babs. And to think she was gonna sue them. Poor, Babs...One of the Haloween episodes was hyped as being filmed in "Scary-vision", which turned out to be pictures of BS in the corners of the screen. >:)
-Eric
"Christian Right" = "Reagan Republican".Reagan was truly a master politician. Even after eight years of doing nothing on the "social issues" except abortion and loading up the FCC with small-l libertarians who believed in "regulation" by ratings (aka the free market), the cultural conservatives still believe he was one of them.
-Eric
Before people brand SPR's social liberals they should check out the Boy Scout episode where they defend the Boy Scouts right to kick out gays (not because they're anti-gay, but because they're pro-free association).Hell, they had the flamingly gay character defend them just in case anyone was obtuse enough to miss the point.
And then there was the NAMBLA episode, where the NAMBLA-leader's "we're victims" speech was punctuated with Stan's "Dude, you have sex with children".
-Eric
There's a significant body of people on FR that watch South Park, listen to heavy metal, and might even purvey smut once in a while.Back in the 80s when metal was big and female fashions were small 2/3 of younger voters supported Reagan. The Democrats were having conniptions about this.I could be the poster child!
Indeed, I personally suspect the sudden popularity of grunge/alternative and homeless-person fashion was partly the result of the cultural elite trying to reverse this trend. (Yes some of the bands are good, but G&R was better).
I was a YAF chapter founder and a CR chairman then, these days I'm not all that thrilled with the GOP in general and neither are a lot of the people I know. Most see the Democrats as useless, though....unless they think the cultural conservatives are gaining power.
-Eric
I heard that a lot of WWE performaers are Republican.The Rock is for sure. Of course he's Miami-Cuban, which might have something to do with that.
-Eric
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