The New Right Wing
November 8, 2009 
3 Comments
Conservatism used to be known as just another political philosophy. But as you can see from the video of Glenn Beck ranting about healthcare above, it’s become a disorder. And it’s really a shame.
No longer is conservatism an economic philosophy or a political ideology. Conservatism is FOX News, people still clamoring about Obama’s place of birth, and cries of “Socialism” when healthcare reform is proposed. Along with the Republican party, it has become a group of irrational reactionaries who will stop at nothing to force their ideals upon America.
Rather than focus on logical solutions to public policy, conservatives have resorted to deceit and name-calling. This was especially visible during President Obama’s campaign, in which FOX News ran on its website an article entitled “Should Obama Release Birth Certificate? Or Is This Old News?” despite the fact that White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had already repeatedly informed the press of the document’s availability online. It seems that Conservatives only care about headlines, like “Is Obama a Communist?” and “We’ll Cut Taxes”. There is little if any substance to their arguments. They just set the bait, and watch many Americans take it.
But holding FOX News responsible for people’s foolishness is unfair. There are plenty of other news stations people could watch, and while FOX might be fueling some of the arguments over things like Obama’s birthplace, it certainly did not create them. By far the most disturbing part of the healthcare debate is the lack of factual evidence provided by those who oppose it. “Death panels”, elimination of private insurers, and insurance for illegal immigrants are among the many fabrications invented by conservatives to turn the public against healthcare reform. People across America call Obama’s plan “Socialist” and echo Ronald Reagan in pointing to healthcare as the gateway to socialism.
One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project. Most people are a little reluctant to oppose anything that suggests medical care for people who possibly can’t afford it. -Ronald Reagan, 1961
What is socialism? Many of the people who decry Obama’s desire to “force” it on the U.S. likely have no idea. Socialism is the path to becoming the USSR or Vietnam in the minds of the right wing. Even though we’ve decided in so many sectors, like health (the FDA, the CDC, etc.) and finance (the SEC) that we’ll allow the federal government to exercise a heavy hand in regulation, some still fear government intervention into private industry. It seems that in the absence of a concrete party platform, Republicans and the right have opted to spread false information and manipulate the masses by channeling hysteria to strike down reform. While all of the political spectrum is guilty of manipulation through emotion rather than reason, no group is as sensationalist as the American conservatives.
I’m not claiming that there are no rational conservatives anymore. You’d just be hard pressed to find them in the media or anywhere else for that matter. No longer is the conservative movement represented by eloquent writers and respected intellects like George Will or William F. Buckley. Will’s repeated criticism of prominent modern day conservatives like Bush, McCain, and Palin has sparked major controversies. If one of the most prolific conservative journalist can denounce the most powerful right-wing politicians of today as unrealistic and careless, we know something has changed. In fact, the remaining sensible conservatives should be even more worried than I am. How can you expect to be taken seriously when the most prominent public faces of your political party are Glenn Beck, George W. Bush, and Rush Limbaugh?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/j-no/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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The fact that conservatism has been infused with religious undertones is even worse in my mind. Religion has no place in political matters, and the extreme ethos which religion holds can only make for stickier political decisions.
Well, I don’t know if it is fair to say all conservatives are like this. The problem seems to be that the moderate conservatives, the ones who aren’t representatives of Mr. Murdoch or the boatloads of birthers or people who think Obama is both a communist and a fascist at the same time, have basically let the radical right take over the GOP image. The essential Republican platform since Reagan – lower taxes, less government – is certainly appealing and will likely continue to pose a threat to progressive control of the government (hence the success of Christie and McDonnell), regardless of how shortsighted such views may be or how bad those individuals may be at actually leading. Luckily for Democrats, Palin, Beck, O’Reilly, Van Susteren, Rush and the rest of the loonie gang will continue to alienate everyone who isn’t hardcore Republican.
I think it would be good to include some of the crazy things liberal extremists have done (ahem GREENPEACE). Of course, the difference exists in that conservatives have let radicals become the center of the movement.
That’s really my point. Republicans have let their party be taken over by idiots. There are certainly radical liberals, like Greenpeace, but they don’t have nearly the influence that the radical conservative side has.