George Lakoff writes: "Deficits can be addressed by raising revenue, plugging tax loopholes, putting people to work, and developing the economy long-term in all the ways the President has discussed. But deficits are not what really matters to conservatives. Conservatives really want to change the basis of American life, to make America run according to the conservative moral worldview in all areas of life."
Jim Griffin, dressed as Captain America, joins conservatives participating in a Tea Party protest in Washington, DC, 4/15/10. (photo: Getty Images)
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dave, that's the whole ball of wax. the sooner the population understands that the sooner things will move forward and the progress of the entire world will begin again. i say "the entire world" because this conservative mindset and behavior has been happening and repeating itself all over the planet in countries everywhere. people are waking up everywhere else, but here we seem a bit slow.
all of your points are exactly right dave.
and, of course, all of us being prosperous in a "capitalist economy" is monstrously proposterous.
way to go dave.
radical retionaries by "framing" them
as "conservatives". He should know better.
It's all the "expediency" that we have allowed ourselves in the service of such things--all this garbage that we have churned out--that our political leaders, Democratic no less than Republican, are "conserving."
But I see your point, too. If one thinks about actually protecting anything, our political leaders do not qualify. Recognizing this, we have had to turn to another term; today when we look to someone actually preserving something of value, we have to call them a "conservationist ." Needless to say, "conservationist s" have been thrown out of conservative politics every bit as much as Jesus has been thrown out of Christianity.
the topic of religion is a conversation in and of itself.
nice comment regina!
http://www.sojo.net
The problem is that conservatives learned years ago that they can get votes by pandering to naive Christians simply by throwing a few "Gods" and "Jesuses" into their rhetoric without genuine Christian values to back it up.
know that the number of US military bases
worldwide is vastly more than the 174
mentioned in this column. May be as many
as 1,000.
And the one thing they will never earn, respect.
So they try to bully. Gang. And impose.
I love comedian Chris Rock's analysis of why conservative whites howl so loudly--they are like small children knowing they will soon be off to bed. They know the time is coming then they will no longer be the majority and will be set aside.
Let us hope this is their last, hateful, gasp and a better set of minds and morals and values surfaces that cares about our planet and the health, safety and happiness of all who inhabit it.
Since when in history has simply being a mathematical MINORITY meant that a group is also guaranteed to be set aside?
CONservatives of all shades collectively are a mathematical minority right now in America and their grip on power and control of this country is tighter and greater than ever...
I think conserving is NOT bad. We SHOULD conserve energy, resources and more, so to call the right wing conservatives is --to me-- misleading. I see them more as REACTIONARIES. Am I wrong??
I think it would also be important to mention to those being missled by the rightwing, how totally immoral the RW is. I don't know if it started BEFORE Reagan, that the insurance companies sold stocks to the public; but that really made the cost spiral, for now the stockholders wanted BIGGER profits.
We need to make our citizens understand how utterly immoral that is. If Dave owns stocks in a company insuring Regina, it is to his advantage to deny her an expensive life-saving operation, for that will cut into his profit. That to me is monstrous.
I will continue
I feel a LITTLE BETTER, seeing what is happening in Wisconsin, and now also Indiana, Ohio and I think also Idaho.
Many who blew my mind, because they obviously voted against their own best interests are beginning to see the light. (I think? Sure hope)
And it is great that it started in middle America, the strong, no nonsense people,
Had it begun in the coastal more liberal areas, it could have been dismissed as these crazy liberals.
I am not sure exactly how to get the ball rolling even more, connecting the people, ---who feel like we do-- all over the country.
We have as many smart people as they have in Egypt, so let's see what WE can do.
I am looking forward to hear from you.
In the 2008 campaign, candidate Obama accurately described the basis of American democracy: Empathy — citizens caring for each other, both social and personal responsibility— acting on that care, and an ethic of excellence. From these, our freedoms and our way of life follow, as does the role of government: to protect and empower everyone equally. Protection includes safety, health, the environment, pensions and empowerment starts with education and infrastructure. No one can be free without these, and without a commitment to care and act on that care by one’s fellow citizens.
I have read Lakoff's material before which he essentially recaps here in this article. The problem I have with it is he paints the "strict father" ideology in relatively benign terms when in fact it is not benign, it is a state of arrested development, and ultimately is pathological.
This malarky about "smaller government" is a ruse (from the top 2%)to do away with social programs without changing the laws to make the wealthiest pay their fair share of taxes.
Notice how they generally tend to hide and smokescreen instead of say right out that they think of themselves as the ruling class?
I give you the Koch brothers as a prime example. They have been silently pulling strings ever since one of them ran for office and failed. They got the illustrious governor of Wisconsin elected by funding $millions in attack ads against his Democratic opponent.
Make no mistake; the spawn of Fred Koch, fou
Their tentacles are in everywhere.
Do you remember back when they were hounding Clinton, and Hillary said: there is a "VAST RIGHTWING CONSPIRACY"?? People ridiculed her mercilessly. BUT SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
founder of the John Birch Society, truly aim to turn our country into an unabashed oligarchy unless we step in and, as the Constitution reminds us, "promote the general Welfare".
The obsessive-compulsive Corporate-Republican talking points known as 'SMALLER GOVERNMENT' and 'LESS GOVERNMENT' are umbrella-maskings of the biggest hoodwinking-flim-flam-con-job in history and titled as such only for the purpose of masking the political-social agenda and effort to transfer the power and wealth of 97-98% of Americans unto the 2-3% Global Corporate Wealthy Class through relentless Deregualtion and Detaxation schemes benefitting the Global Corporate Class at the expense of EVERYONE else...
They love to help the victims as long as it doesn't interfere with orderly workings of corporate capitalism. Of course, they willfully fail to recognize this contradiction. To prove the point, just ask Chuck Schumer, or, for that matter, the SEC and the Justice Department, why none of his Wall Street pals should go to jail.
But liberals always feel better after self rightously attacking the callousness of our greedy corporate masters. They can then, in good conscience, collect the campaign contributions put up by the same people, who well understand the difference between rhetoric and reality.
in my view, being that i am poor and know that conservatives don't represent my interests, until we're able to topple these folks from their lofty perch, i feel i'm caught between choosing the lesser of two evils. i continue to participate in the political process as it's presently constructed because that's all i have for now. so, though i know that both sides are essentially funded by the same entiity, i have to vote democrat while simultaneously working to create a better political system.
don emilio, i think your points cannot be ignore and must always be part of the ongoing narraitve.
excellent stuff don.
BTW, they are merely making use of the budget crisis (caused by two unnecessary wars and their banker-buddies) to expedite their agenda [i.e., 'never let a good crisis go to waste']. It's a shame that they don't focus their energies on ending the wars, bringing the banker-barons to justice, and enacting safeguards to ensure that such fiscal moral tragedies never occur again.
Let's avoid euphamisms and use the right words here. The money for pensions and benefits has been LOOTED by conservatives and given to the wealthy and corporations.
problem is, so many in the liberal camp are apathetic and don't vote regularly.
that is the advantage the conservative minority have going for itself. and they do all they can to influence that liberal apathy.
certainly what i've to say is only a small part of a bigger picture, but the message that CONSERVATIVES ARE ACTUALLY A MINORITY IN THIS COUNTRY needs to shouted and repeated endlessly so that it sinks into brains.
Also like children, they tend to believe that because I am nice I am weak, and that sets them up for the hell I can unleash if pushed too far. Chivalry must be mutual; if they want to fight then let's fight--no rules, no restraint, no quarter.
I applaud the Wisconsin Democratic legislator who ripped their ideas and insulting manner on national TV. We all need to rip. Counter every cut, every program, and every word and action these selfish bastards attempt. Quit rolling over. Scrap logic--we are not teaching (and they damned sure are not willing to learn). We are fighting for our nation, its people, and our planet.
Why are we not taking a clue from Ross Perot (the father of simple graphs) to demonstrate the huge inequities in pay and the huge amount of tax dollars that is spent invading other countries (often under false pretense)? The vast majority of middle America can see and understand these graphs whereas they may not understand academic verbiage.
Paul Harris
Author, "Diary From the Dome, Reflections on Fear and Privilege During Katrina"
The country should look to politicians like Bloomberg, mayor of NYC, to lead. Though I do not always agree with his decisions I always feel his decisions are reached using common sense and not idealogy.
That's right, North Caroloina Mike, your post is utter nonsense. Not even worth disputing point-per-point. If it were more inflammatory, I would have suspected it was an agitprop piece planted by the vast right-wing conspiracy which you deny exists, but which has been admitted and recognized by people who participated in it (going back 30+ years) until their conscience got the better of them. Would that such a transformation of the heart/mind could occur for you!
It is good to see that you didn't bother citing any evidence for your assertions, totally discounted facts offered to support my position, and then saw those pieces of support as inflammatory. This is typical of the blindly partisan responses that prevent our country from having reasoned and rational discussions about problems and how to solve them. If you want to talk about emotions and conspiracies that is your prerogative, but please don't assume that anything that is outside of your worldview is "utter nonsense," as this mindset does nothing to further the discussion and acutally poisons the well for those interested in a legitimate debate.
Democracy is first of all for “self-government.” It’s about the complete rejection of paternalism and goody two shoes. It’s first of all about power, and power sharing to preserve one's liberty. “Taking care of each other” is appropriate for the elderly, the ill, and the lame. But politics is a hard hitting contact sport. People who want to be taken care of are nothing but fresh meat for political predators. IMHO Lakoff doesn’t understand step one in politics – listening to him is useless, if not dangerous. In my view, he is a case of a gifted self-promoter who casts reason aside, so as to garner popular appeal.
I say more about Lafoff at, http://bit.ly/hfZlqo
Democracy is first of all for “self-government”, say you. The Greeks named the process of governing 'by the people' (as they defined people) in opposition to the dictatorship of a monarchy, theocracy, timocracy oligarchy or plutocracy. Governing was/is the method of setting societal priorities and addressing them through a consensus structure which allows for universal participation and majority decision making.
In the USA, we floundered through the processes of 'universal' participation, ultimately allowing 18 year olds, women and people with dark colored skin to take part in this process of "self" rather than "them" governance. Not without some resistance, it is VERY IMPORTANT to add. Murders, hangings, Jim Crow laws, burials in earthen dams, assassinations, a 'Civil' War, congressional filibusters, defiance in State capitols, "comminist" fear-mongering, gods' condemnations and many other techniques have been offered by outraged minorities against the "self" government priorities of the nation's "morally mushy-gushy, or goody two shoes" humanitarians.
Democracy is first of all for “self-government”, say you. The Greeks named the process of governing 'by the people' (as they defined people) in
opposition to the dictatorship of a monarchy, theocracy, timocracy oligarchy or plutocracy. Governing was/is the method of setting societal
priorities and addressing them through a consensus structure which allows for universal participation and majority decision making.
In the USA, we floundered through the processes of 'universal' participation, ultimately allowing 18 year olds, women and people with dark
colored skin to take part in this process of "self" rather than "them" governance. Not without some resistance, it is VERY IMPORTANT to add.
Murders, hangings, Jim Crow laws, burials in earthen dams, assassinations, a 'Civil' War, congressional filibusters, defiance in State capitols,
"comminist" fear-mongering, gods' condemnations and many other techniques have been offered by outraged minorities against the "self" government
priorities of the nation's "morally mushy-gushy, or goody two shoes" humanitarians.
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