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- Conservatives and libertarians get mighty upset when people mention the underlying militancy of the Tea Partiers, swiftly shifting to a studied criticism of the radicalism of the left. So my question is, when prominent Republicans like Texas Gov. Rick Perry refer to Tea Partiers as an "army" that could "take back their country," or the Republican Governor's Association expresses camaraderie with failed anti-government terrorists, how are we supposed to respond? What could this be besides an endorsement of sedition? As I've said before, the ironic thing about the right-wing militias crying government oppression the instant there's a Democrat in the White House is that their own behavior makes it more likely that the government will increase its law-enforcement presence in their lives.
- There's a lot going on in this John Quiggin post, another entry in the ongoing epistemic closure debate of 2010, but the most noteworthy element, I feel, is that the right's "embrace of ignorance" has made it impossible for those outside the bubble to seriously engage conservatism. But the reverse is true as well. Since conservatives are immediately skeptical of the "liberal media" and have come to trust instead an assortment of mendacious alternative news sources, there's a real danger of the right losing its ability to apply basic critical thinking to any information outside or inside the bubble.
- Speaking of epistemic closure, Henry Farrell addresses the problem of measuring epistemic closure by citing Larry Bartels' research looking at the beliefs of high-information partisan voters and points out that on at least one measured issue, income inequality, conservatives with access to greater information formed more incorrect opinions on the issue than high-information liberals. This strikes me not only as the starting point in this entire debate but also a reminder that anyone who writes about politics ought to at least familiarize themselves with the basic canon of American political-science research.
- Weekend Remainders: The Republican National Committee still has nothing but contempt for the Constitution, could care less about the law; voters in New Jersey are already fed up with the great Republican wave of 2010; according to America's No. 1 gossip site, blacks and Latinos aren't real voters; the epistemic closure in macroeconomics probably has more real-world impact than whatever is going on in conservative intellectual circles; and a study in negative conservative framing fails to produce its desired effect.
--Mori Dinauer
