The Stupid Party
I need your help on this one.
Please (please please) tell me that Washington DC is the most far-left city in America. I know that it’s not as immediate a choice as Chicago, New York or San Francisco, but it is bordered by Maryland and northern Virginia, two liberal enclaves whose residents pour into and out of DC every day, and it is the lair of the federal government and all those who worship at that false idol’s altar.
That and the fact that 97 percent (!) of DC voters went for Barry last November.
So, needless to say, that when I go out in DC it’s very frequently with liberals. I’ve learned not to bring up politics too often myself, partly because I don’t want to humiliate liberals who think that Obama is so wonderful, quote because-even-Europe-loves-him unquote, and partly because I don’t want to incur my wife’s wrath.
But when other people raise the issue, then it’s fair game.
Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with a member of the AFL-CIO, a proletariat at Al Gore’s climate hysteria NGO (I can’t remember what it’s called and am not going to waste any time searching for its name) and an aide to a certain well-known and much-despised – by both sides – member of the Senate.
And this friend – for he is a good guy and a good friend – went on the quick-boil when I told him that the town hall meetings are, in my opinion, spontaneous outpourings of individual anger. Nonsense, he replied, they’re all organized by Hannity, Limbaugh, etc.
While saying this, he denied that Democrats are the masters of this dark art. Hello Code Pink, ACORN, MoveOn.org, George Soros, Greenpeace, AFL-CIO, UAW, Teamsters, SEIU, etc? He was particularly aggrieved by the frequently uncivil nature of the town halls, but wouldn’t concede that this is how Democrats act every time that a Republican president is elected. He denounced those carrying Obama/Hitler signs (who we know were Democratic/Lyndon LaRouche plants) and denied that the old BusHitler chestnut was the same thing.
Worst of all, he could not conceive of how ordinary people would be against a policy that will deprive them of their choice, their money and, very possibly, their health and life. In his mind, as in Barry’s, there is no counter-argument.
And this is the problem. For socialists, there is never another side to the story. I accept that other people have different opinions to mine, but I dislike that these views are often uninformed. For those on the Left, it is far easier – they simply resent each and every divergent view.
This is a necessity for them. There is no logic, no evidence, no intelligence behind any of their proposals. In the absence of anything to support their views, the only path open to socialists to defend their actions is to take offense at being disagreed with and quickly proceed to slander their opponents. They cannot argue persuasively on the issue itself, so they argue with the person.
Conservative are confident enough in their own values that disagreement will not shatter their fragile world view. But liberals are not. Hence the jolly game of let’s call conservatives “racists”, “fascists” and “fear-mongers” every time that they oppose anything put forward by The One.
Unfortunately, just as there will always be stupid people, so will there always be a stupid party to represent them.
on 
on 
August 20th, 2009 at 22:08
And everybody knows you can’t fix stupid. Liberals speak in rhetoric and they are emotional, they don’t use reason and logic and that is why they will fail. They can’t debate because we do use reason and logic. They offer no solutions only entitlement and they constantly blame someone, everyone else for their problems and the problems of the world. They can’t see the forest for the trees. i.e. wanting everyone to drive hybrids or electric cars, but refusing to acknowledge that there will be more refuse in the landfills because the batteries of these vehicles will wear out some time and they have to go somewhere. They refuse to see that there must be a balance in life. And that is proven in their majority in CONgress and the fact that they will do anything to keep that majority so as to have their way, regardless of what the rest of us want. They are spoiled children throwing tantrums. Maybe they need a nanny state government to take care of them and make their decisions for them, but for those of us who grew up and are governed by our own personal responsibility, we want none of what they’re selling.
August 20th, 2009 at 22:09
Track: Interestingly (maybe perversely) there are a lot of conservatives and libertarians in the federal agency where I work.
August 20th, 2009 at 22:12
And everybody knows you can’t fix stupid.
August 20th, 2009 at 22:29
Sorry for the multiple posts, TAC. I was having trouble posting for some reason. If any more of duplicate posts show up, feel free to delete them. It wasn’t my intention to eat up your bandwidth.
August 20th, 2009 at 22:31
skiri’ki, glad to have you here, no problem at all about the repeat posts!
I have to approve the first comment from new readers, then you should be good to go.
Welcome!
August 20th, 2009 at 23:15
I’ve been posting as one of the Anons and since I check in daily I figured it was about time to come out of the closet.
August 20th, 2009 at 23:45
Big waste of time discussing politics with a liberal. My husband ended a conversation quickly last night after a friend told him she thought everything is great since Obama became president. When he realized she was serious, he changed the subject…no use in raising the blood pressure over “stupid”.
August 20th, 2009 at 23:54
No, no–you MUST speak up! Stupid is like weeds: it grows quickly and spreads all over. It’s no good to anyone and chokes out more fruitful plants. Fight it!
August 21st, 2009 at 08:29
What really frosts my libertarian rear is that people assume all conservatives (no matter how we may distinguish ourselves) are the same people Obama referred to during the election – bitterly clinging to our guns and our religion.
I don’t believe that all liberals are like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. I recognize nuance in belief systems.
Why can’t liberals do the same? I resolutely refuse to discuss politics at work; bad combo (though my boss is also a Libertarian and we’ve had some pretty spirited conversations). However yesterday a coworker stopped by my office and brought up the healthcare situation.
She claimed that all conservatives just want to let the uninsured flap in the wind, to preserve their profits and bottom line.
Since she and I had never talked politics before, I think I stunned her when I indicated that I am a conservative. Yet she would not back off the idea that all conservatives are satan – she acknowledged that perhaps I may feel that healthcare needs reform – but she refused to acknowledge that any other conservative could possibly feel the same way.
So here is a big announcement: Kris, living in New England, is the sole conservative in the country who believes that our healthcare system needs to be reformed, that some kind of public option should be available.
And here is where she loses the nuance of the position – I also quite firmly and clearly stated that while I agree healthcare needs reform – it should not be done the way it’s being done. Period. It’s a big issue that deserves consideration, debate and review. Why it has to be ramrodded thru in less than one year is beyond me.
She missed all that. At the end of our conversation it was quite clear that she still believed I’m the only conservative on the planet who believes healthcare should be reformed. Period.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:02
And that’s where the stupid comes in. I sometimes feel like I am the only conservative in a cesspool of liberalism. Most of my friends are liberals. We don’t talk politics. It’s just an unspoken rule. The saddest part is that when I lived in PA, I had friends that were liberal and we had passionate conversations about politics and we were still friends in the end. Altho, a couple of times they admitted that having the conversation made them think about an issue in a different light. Here, people segregate themselves. I know people here who will not associate with “known conservatives”. And all I can think of is, and there’s why their view of the world is so skewed. I’ve never lived anywhere where people wear their political AND religious affiliations on their sleeve. I try to keep mine to myself. Or is it just that the past 8 years have polarized the country and now this kenyan is polarizing the people even more?
August 21st, 2009 at 11:25
skiri’ki,
That’s what’s so disconcerting to me, more than anything else. Politics has never been as polarized as it is now, to the point that we’ve reached where people refuse to be friends with those of differing beliefs.
I’m not sure either how things degenerated this far, but I suspect that the path weaved its way through the unmitigated disaster of the Carter administration, Reagan’s discrediting of socialism, the Lewinsky affair and impeachment, Afghanistan and Iraq to the election of a doctrinaire, embittered socialist. Combine aspects of all those and you have the perfect recipe for timeless hostility between the two sides.
How many times have you heard people say that they can’t imagine being in a relationship with someone of opposing political views?
That’s such a depressing thing to hear. My wife is a liberal and the only thing we argue about is politics, but the thought that it would be enough to drive us apart is ludicrous.
There is nothing that liberals can say to make me mad enough to even consider this, with the sole exception being to call me racist every time that I open my mouth.
Which is to say, more and more frequently these days…
August 21st, 2009 at 11:44
I sometimes feel like I am the only conservative in a cesspool of liberalism.
skiri’ki – do you live in New England? Because I am well and truly trapped in a liberal wasteland.
August 21st, 2009 at 12:19
Kris, in NE – No, I’m in NC. But, it’s not a truly southern city in the traditional sense. The nearest city is very diverse in that people from all over the country and sometimes the world come here. From what I understand, the south was conservatively democratic, but most of the people I know lean extremely left, which is odd considering that we homeschool and I am used to the majority of homeschoolers being the opposite; not extremely right but very conservative nontheless.
TAC – I feel that to truly understand the issues and sort out the solutions, there needs to be debate from all sides. But, the communication has broken down and the liberals don’t want debate. All they want is submission from what they see as greedy, rich people. It is easy to be blinded and have tunnel vision when all you hear is agreement to your views. They don’t teach respect for opposing views in schools; all the kids hear is one side. I should know, my kids used to be in public school and I saw it happening way back in the early 90s. Truth be told, I miss debating with people who are respectful and can argue with reason and logic instead of just call those they don’t agree with names. It smacks of being juvenile and immature.
August 21st, 2009 at 15:17
liberals don’t want debate
No they don’t. Right now they are quite happy to sit back and say “we won”. I just hope they don’t win in 2010.
September 5th, 2009 at 15:40
“liberals don’t want debate”
As a liberal I welcome debate, but not when its some right wing nut job talking about death panels, birther issues, or jeebus christ, those things should be ignored and do not deserve to be debated.
September 8th, 2009 at 08:17
godless liberal,
Welcome! There aren’t too many “liberals” among the regulars here, but don’t let that put you off – I’m looking forward to more comments from you now.
Maybe – just maybe – we both might learn something…