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- That conservatives, and the conservative Republicans they helped elect, would read aloud a sanitized Constitution that Huck Finns or edits out the embarrassing stuff about human beings owning other human beings speaks volumes about the cowardice at the heart of "American Greatness/Exceptionalism" that animates American conservatism. How fragile do you have to be to be unable to countenance the idea that the country you live in is not, was not, perfect?
- I'm skeptical of the efficacy of the "messaging machine" being concocted by the Democratic congressional leadership -- Robert Menendez actually calls it "proactive," for chrissake -- which would "identify hot-button issues early, frame them in a favorable light for the party and allow Democratic senators to relentlessly drive home the point through press briefings, conference calls, newspaper op-eds and local interviews." It won't have the influence of the right-wing noise machine and will have even less electoral impact.
- Naturally, there isn't anything incompatible with being a conservative and believing in climate change. But that's because this issue is being defined on the right not by conservatives but by Republicans, who oppose action because they believe regulating business will destroy the economy. It's a good example of the limitations of basing your political beliefs on first principles. You might well be a principled conservative, but the conservatives you need to have influence in government are not. They are partisan hacks, hypocrites, and only interested in power.
- Remainders: Tea Party and therefore American hero George Washington loved strong, central government; presumably, the fantastical "Islamism" Frank Gaffney imagines infiltrating CPAC is doing so because the annual conference is the last bastion of Western civilization; this must have been why Richard Nixon hated The New York Times; important qualifications for being a Fox News personality apparently include breathtaking scientific illiteracy; and meet billionaire David Koch, A.K.A. Joe Sixpack.
--Mori Dinauer
