Joe Conason: Rushing Toward Irrelevance

[babylonsister]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090304_rushing_toward_irrelevance/

Rushing Toward Irrelevance
Posted on Mar 5, 2009
By Joe Conason


Once upon a time, conservatives liked to say that “ideas matter.” They attributed this pithy slogan to Ayn Rand, venerated author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Virtue of Selfishness,” and tried to live by it, generating books, papers and legislative proposals by the dozen. Although many of their theories later proved flimsy, they at least attempted to address real problems with fresh thinking.

But ideas no longer matter—and in fact they’re dangerous, according to the maximum leader of the right.

snip//

The image of a radio demagogue, dressed entirely in black, roaring against dissenters from the official line, provoked comparison with Fidel Castro or Mao Zedong. Here was the harbinger of an ideology in decline, exhibiting pathological aversion to intellectual activity and unfettered debate, an aversion that is always the surest evidence of political decay.

The irony, of course, is that Reaganism was, at its zenith, a vehicle for policy ideas as well as a personality cult. What began with the founding of National Review and the Barry Goldwater campaign as a rump protest against stale Republican moderation became the dominant current—with a vision of its own and a series of policy schemes, from supply-side economics to workfare, faith-based social spending, school vouchers and Social Security privatization. But although the world has changed radically since those ideas entered the political mainstream a quarter-century ago, Limbaugh and his millions of followers evidently feel that any attempt to cope with change is heretical.

Some Republicans clearly understand that their party and their ideology are exhausted, even if they still can’t come up with anything more creative than capital gains tax cuts. (That means you, Newt Gingrich.) They also know that as a public spokesman and symbol, Limbaugh, whose utterances over the years have been larded with obnoxious racism and sexism, leaves much to be desired. Broadening the appeal of the GOP and renewing the party platform is plainly essential after two elections that have shrunk its base and shriveled its message. Perhaps that is one reason why party leaders chose Michael Steele, an African-American from Maryland, as the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. Even the clueless Limbaugh seems to realize that his movement has a problem, as he demonstrated when he vowed to convene a “female summit” to figure out why the great majority of women cannot stand him.

But Limbaugh and his dittoheads—whose prejudices also find expression in the wisdom of “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher—maintain a stranglehold on the right. When Steele dared to assert his leadership and sniped at Limbaugh’s show as “incendiary” and “ugly,” he swiftly followed up with the same kind of humiliating apology heard from other Republican critics of the radio host. Having claimed to be the “de facto” head of the Republican Party, Steele had to back down and heel to the strongman.

For Democrats, these clown shows are amusing and encouraging. As long as the Republicans kowtow to Limbaugh, they won’t be able to muster substantive opposition to President Obama and the congressional majority. That may be just as well for now. But every nation needs a competitive marketplace of ideas—and conservatism today offers only retreads.

[Andy823]

1. I read someplace

That republicans tend to NOT want change. They like things to stay the same because they are comfortable when things to progress. Liberals on the other hand like change and know that change is good for not only people, but for governments as well. My mother in law is a republican, and she fits that mold to a T. She had the same furniture, same arrangement of furniture for over 20 years! The furniture was good quality, but it was put in her home when it was built, and things never changed till after my father in law passed away and my wife finally talked her into new carpets, and new furniture. My wife also arranged things different for her while she was on a trip. I took her months to get used to it, and it has been about 10 years now and she won't change anything. She did get a new TV because the other one died, but she is just happy not having to decide on anything. Oh, and she thinks that Rush is the "ONL" person in the media that tells the truth, and she will defend the idiot no matter what kind of facts she is shown!

It's people like her, and the millions of other Rush zombies that will divide the republican party. They can not survive without change, and they can no win elections as long as they have on direction, and their "leader" is Rush! Of course that's great for the democratic party, so I guess them sticking to the "old" ways is good for us! :evilgrin:

[starroute]

7. Except that movement conservatives really want to be revolutionaries

They got a serious case of revolution envy back in the 60's and have never stopped trying to think of ways to destroy everything in our society that's currently working reasonably well -- social security, medicare, the public schools, the graduated income tax. They sincerely believe in "creative destruction" and the more havoc they can wreak, the happier they are.

Neocons are similar, but in foreign policy. They want to force the rest of the world's societies to be US-style democracies, even if they have to destroy them in the process.

Same thing with the Federalist Society types who want to completely redefine our legal system under the guise of "original intent."

The old-style conservatives who simply didn't want change you could deal with by bringing them along slowly. But most of the conservatives we've got running around now are likely to actively cause mayhem if you don't keep them under tight control.

[FSogol]

2. Kick. "Limbaugh, whose utterances over the years have been *larded* with obnoxious racism & sexism

:rofl:

[Joanne98]

3. The Virtue of Selfishness. What a name for a book!

[pansypoo53219]

4. the village

needs to shun the greedy.

[Uncle Joe]

5. I believe this was because "once upon a time" there was no Internet.

"Once upon a time, conservatives liked to say that “ideas matter.” They attributed this pithy slogan to Ayn Rand, venerated author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Virtue of Selfishness,” and tried to live by it, generating books, papers and legislative proposals by the dozen. Although many of their theories later proved flimsy, they at least attempted to address real problems with fresh thinking."

Thus their "ideas" such as they were, could be sanctified by their primary clients; corporations and oligarchs which controlled the vast majority of the message aka;propaganda machine, without any real opposing point of view from the American People.

[laststeamtrain]

6. K & R.

It isn't Mao or Fidel that Rush reminds me of, it's Wimpy from Popeye or a fulminating fat man villain from the era of two-reel comedy shorts.

Just imagine him with an undersized derby hat on.

It's bizarre that anyone takes him seriously. His 'ideas' are stupid, his appearance is comedic.