I am, of course, referring to this video and article…
First the Video: (Via Mediaite)
Scarborough has a point, the Conservative movement has become a bit of a racket and yes, there are people getting rich off promoting the extremist crap that is on the right. I could name names, but I really do not want to be sued. Furthermore, there are a great deal of bloggers, who are getting, what I like to call “Backdoor Payments” to write the extremist tripe that they publish on their blogs. I never was approached about writing any of it; because I knew it was crazy and I did not want to be a part of that sort of stuff. I believe in Independent Media and not corporatist media.
Some people, like this idiot here; might believe that I was part of that extreme fringe. They would be wrong. I never felt comfortable being a part of the far right. One reason is because of their misguided hatred of the unions, which came to pass here in Michigan the other day. Do not get me wrong, I do defend what I believe to be morally right, like capitalism, as opposed to Government socialism and the like. But some of the stuff, like the Anti-Jihadi tripe that comes from a few bloggers, I decided that I wanted to put as many miles between me and them as possible. Because it basically has become less about terrorism, and more about a religious war, between Jews and Muslims. Which in this gentile Christian’s view, is a bit silly. Seeing both sides are guilty of the same things.
However, as for Bill Kristol and his article, there are a few points of which I have quibbles with; here are a few of them:
The good news is that these new leaders do not have to create something de novo. They have an American tradition to appeal to. That tradition would suggest a “light footprint” isn’t the best America can do. It would suggest that it’s not really America’s destiny to tiptoe through the world, hoping not to do too much to disturb dictators and jihadists.
[…]
Contemporary liberalism is committed to leading from behind, with a light footprint. Isn’t it the historic task of American conservatism to shape an America that will lead again from the front, with a stride worthy of a great nation? Isn’t it the task of conservatism to restore American leadership so that friends of freedom around the world, Seeing, shall take heart again, in an America that seeks to leave behind us / Footprints on the sand of time?
What just read above is nothing more than the core of what Wilsonian foreign policy or, as it is commonly called — Neo-conservatism is truly about; and that is that somehow or another it is America’s destiny to somehow or another be the world’s policeman. The problem with Kristol’s idea is this here: We did his idea of American greatness for eight solid years — in Iraq and in Afghanistan and what did it get us? Nothing. Well, nothing but four thousand plus dead soldiers and a ton of debt, that President Obama happily added to. Yeah, sure, we killed Osama Bin Laden — big deal. By that time, he had transferred operations over to other people within the Al-Qaeda organization and was hiding in Pakistan. That is, if you are actually foolish enough to believe what the Government (Bush or Obama controlled) and the corporate-controlled Government actually tells you.
So, in closing: Yes, there are issues with the Conservative movement. Anti-intellectualism is one. Wilsonian idiots who want us to be in perpetual war is another and then do not want to actually pay for them is another. Also too, wobbly moderates who will not stand for anything, is another. Another is the cronies who want to control the GOP’s nomination process and direction of message — so that they can continue to get their handouts from the Government and the tax breaks. The list goes on and on. It is not to say that Conservatism, whether fiscal or social is a horrible idea. It is just the people who are supposed to be promoting those ideas, have done a pretty rotten job of doing it.
This is not to say that this is anything really new. It is has been this way, since the days, when Reagan boarded the plane back to California, hoping that he had turned the reigns of the Presidency over to someone as much of a Conservative as he was. Sadly, he was wrong and we as a Nation are poorer for it too.
