Beware Same People!
Stunts are on the Rise

Conservatives have discovered evolution!
    After decades of stagnation, they, themselves, are evolving from being the party of "no" into the party of "stunts."
    In protest against President Obama's emergency spending to save the economy, they are holding demonstration called tea parties in various locations across the nation, reminiscent, of course, of the famous Boston Tea Party, when civil insurrection over taxation led to a war of revolution.
    There are differences between the first tea party and this latest version. The original protested taxation without representation by what seemed to the time to be a foreign power. This one appears to be protesting federal spending that is designed to rescue the nation from a massive economic crisis, brought upon us by conservative practices of the last decade. That, at least is what they claim. One need hardly scratch the surface to find the real source of their anger. Conservatives have lost power in recent elections, and need a new way to gum up the works and express their anger. They offer no coherent ideas for legitimate debate. It is a temper tantrum, where all the old, obsolete clichés are being resurrected again, centered on taxes, as if that were the only issue we faced in these difficult times. Name calling, charges of socialism, distrust of intelligence, and all the tough guy belligerence of your average Neanderthal.
    They are upset that today's leadership is trying to fix the problems that conservatives created through deregulation, which led to our economic crisis, and reducing taxes on the wealthy, which led to our present deficit. They are trying to shift all the blame on liberals, of course, forgetting that most of us remember who was really guilty, since the crimes happened not so long ago.
    True to form, they are angry that the majority no longer trusts them. That they proved their judgment untrustworthy is not the point. That would be simple logis, and logic is something they abhor. Resurrecting a failed ideology is their central and really only theme. This is the same warped reasoning that claims it loves the Constitution, while at the same time hating the government that the Constitution creates.
    There is a sad desperation in their efforts. They cannot accept that their ideology has failed, and once again those damn liberals with their education minds have come to the rescue, which is embarrassing. You know, those damn liberals who dare to think that all Americans deserve to be treated equally.
    Their strategy for regaining power hasn't changed. It would seem they are digging their own political graves.
    But no so! Lest we all let our guard down in the hope of future sanity, it pays to remember that conservative strategy often seems inscrutable, but managed to get George W. Bush into office, two times in a row, without even bothering to hide his obvious faults and limitations. In conservative strategy, fact and reason do not apply. Reality is something they use rhetoric and innuendo to fashion, which is why they have so many radio and television propagandists. If they sense a bias, no matter how obnoxious, they adopt it to gain favor. Civil rights, and we have seen in the past, are expendable. Global warming can be denied despite all evidence. Evolution is is regarded as make-believe. Our deists founders have been born-again as evangelicals. Democracy is somehow a biblical idea. Liberals are all communists. Cuba is a mighty threat. Education amounts to brainwashing. Barack Obama is really a Muslim who was born in another country, and is committed to destroying capitalism and freedom, no matter how hard he tries to save them. In fact, they have created huge problems that he is trying to solve, and the most they can do is use those problems against him.
    The insanity never ends.
    But its very tenacity in the face of contradictory evidence speaks volumes. As reasonable people, we fail to understand what we are dealing with. The normal rules do not apply. Their values are skewed in ways that we cannot fully comprehend, because they run against truth itself. Many of them still see Sarah Palin as presidential, the same way they saw George W. No matter what the cause, even the destruction of the world, they intend to bring sanity down. They want to win, even if we all lose in the trying.
    Right now they are bating liberals into over-confidence. If they feel the slightest derision, which their media stunts are hoping to provoke, this consolidates their irrational base. Paranoia and baseless pride are powerful weapons.
    We are dealing with masters of irrationality and maliciousness. We are dealing with well-funded think tanks whose long term goals fly under the mainstream radar. Effective? Look how their incessant propaganda has transformed Christianity into something synonymous with guns, greed and political wedge issues! If they could do that, and they did for millions of people, they can twist all our American ideals into their destructive opposites.
    While liberalism and moderation are yet in ascendency, the people need to be constantly engaged and educated. The incessant drone of conservatism is stirring their apostles to find converts, testing this lie and that bias.
    The biggest problem we face is this. What liberals sanely see as an honest tug-of-war between competing ideologies, conservatives see as a war of total annihilation. Ho can we tell this? Just listen to their propaganda mouthpieces, like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck (who recently modeled his approach on Tammy Baker, fake tears and all), and all the rest. They are not afraid to show who they really are.
    The rest of us need to realize that they are no faking.

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