I haven’t been writing lately. I know. It’s not that I have been busy. I’m just really full of existential malaise. The current state of American politics is depressing. I have had general discussions with like minded individuals (mostly other academics that study politics). I have been wondering why things are in the state they are in and why it is so frustrating.
I have concluded that it is the culmination of several problems. One is the general shift to the Right that has been going on in America for the past 30 years. On top of this, the general tactic of the American Right is downright frustrating, seemingly on purpose.
First of all, I don’t know how many times I have to point out that Barack Obama is not “far Left” or a “Socialist” or anything extreme in any context. If one were to go to Political Compass, it’s pretty clear where Obama stands… pretty centered. He’s more conservative than the Labour Party and as authoritarian as the Conservatives in the UK. (Less authoritarian than any GOP candidate, aside from Ron Paul.) Obama has even moved farther right since 2008. Yet, the Conservatives continue to claim he is a “radical.” Yes, if Reagan was also a radical.
There is a constant distortion of the issues. This makes any semblance of a coherent ideology almost impossible. They claim to want a small government, but turn around and want the government to dictate which people can be married. They want freedom of religion, as long as everyone is a Christian. They want lower taxes but they want to decrease debt. They want to “take America back” to a period of unprecedented wealth, but they want to ignore all the tax rates and policies of that time period. They talk about fairness in tax code, but they don’t want to close loopholes that allow the wealthy to pay lower taxes.
Half of the claims made by the new Right are baseless. This whole Libertarian, Alex Jones conspiracy nonsense is dangerous… I see what the Libertarian newsletters say… it’s all hyperbole. The economy is going to collapse and we are going to be living in Mad Max world… so stockpile guns and food. If that is what you are anticipating, why should you be allowed to make any policy decisions?
My constant defense of President Obama is often taken to be support of President Obama. This is not the reality. I criticise this president all the time, but with valid criticisms. I want to talk about policy, not about if Barack Obama was born in Kenya or is a radical socialist… because that is just hyperbolic distortion. The only reason I tend to side with Democrats or President Obama is because they are the only legitimate counter to the current Right Wing extremists in America.
What resource has this president nationalised? The only thing close to socialism this president has done is the Affordable Care Act… which is the most business friendly health care act in the Western world.
A woman testifies that birth control can effectively be used to control uterine cysts… and she is called a “slut” for wanting her health insurance carrier to pay for treatment that some churches disagree with… really?
And then, when people question the president’s nationality, and we ask why… we are told that we are making distortions. I’m trying my best to find coherent ideology on the Right, and none of it is plain. None of it is open. Hidden under all these layers of hyperbolic subterfuge is this ideology of supply-side economics… a failed economic ideology… and moral legislation. Maybe they don’t want us to be able to see it plainly because it resembles fascism so much.
All I know is that when you put all these distortions together, you just get static. The American Conservative today runs on a platform of white noise. How do you debate that?
I take issue with some of the conclusions and connections in your post. Obama is seen as extreme because of his choice to do health care when the nation was in so much debt and all signs show its going to get even bigger because of his continued level of entitlement spending. The only thing that makes him look centered is his use of drones and killing terrorists. I’ll give him credit on that because not many in his party will.
I also don’t hear the republican party talking about Kenya and I’m pretty sure only Rush Limbaugh called Fluke a “slut.” And it was the President and Dems that used Rush’s comments to distract from the real debate of freedom of religion. Fluke was wrong and the Dems got a gift from Rush.
I’ll agree with you that tax loopholes should be closed, but from what I understand both parties prevent that from getting done. I do know Republican Paul Ryan has called for that in his budget. However, asking anyone to pay more taxes when the government hasn’t been spending our money wisely is only compounding the problem. Entitlement spending is way out of control. If that’s not cut then I don’t see a tax increase ever coming.
I also agree the Repubs are on the wrong side of gay marriage, but the Dems are on that side as well. I think your post says that the national debate is about Obama’s nationality, but I don’t hear that in any news reports. I think Donald Trump shut up about that last year. Today’s conservative is about cutting entitlements, reasonable illegal immigration laws (AZ law), health care reform through the free-market, and a proactive war on terror.
Joey,
I get quite a few Conservative newsletters in addition to Truthout, MoveOn and other such sources. I peruse the Tea Party Facebook groups and websites. I read the blogs. The concerns I addressed were from more than one source.
Like after Limbaugh made that comment, I didn’t imagine all those that supported him. The actress from Everybody Loves Raymond that Tweeted about sending her condoms.
I also don’t think Trump made all those racist signs and Internet images about Obama’s nationality.
The Affordable Health Care Act is the most ‘free market’ health care system in the West. He campaigned on health care. And that is the sum total of the “Far Left” policies this president has put forward. The truth is that he is considerably moderate.
Spending money in times of crisis is what responsible governments do. Nixon did it. Reagan did it. Bush did it. Were they far Left? Hoarding capital is the worst action to take or support in an economic crisis — Even Conservative economists accept that.
But this follows my point. The Conservative line is that “the government cannot create jobs” and then chastise Obama for not creating jobs.Distortion. Which is it? Static.