Richard Belzer: The Death of Conservatism

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-belzer/the-death-of-conservatism_b_63480.html

The Death of Conservatism
Posted September 7, 2007 | 01:14 PM (EST)

The heartless, spiritually bankrupt intellectual frauds who openly court -- and are disturbingly non-judgmental of -- the most intolerant loathsome elements of the political landscape (who for some unconscionable reason have been consulted about virtually everything our government has been doing or undoing for the past six plus agonizing years) -- these are the fruits of a particular strain of conservative idealogues with a shared affinity for the Hobbesian view of humanity, which postulates that people are essentially evil and the role of the ruling class, the government, was to have a standing army and police presence and little else. Essentially that the "people" were totally on their own, frontier-style with no public services, healthcare, college grants, headstart, maintenance of roads and bridges, public defenders, job training programs, Medicare, Medicaid; you get the picture.

Also violently opposed to the Jeffersonian assertion that people were basically good and part of a government's function is to engender the conditions where life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are possible through education, hard work and a sense of community, whereas conservatives have only contempt for the notion of a fair playing field.

Conservatism is in its last throes if you will, twisting in the wind, dying like communism did because neither philosophy works by definition -- they both operate from the fraudulent premise built around contempt for and control of the people.

In the coming months and years history will not absolve them. These multimillionaire radio and television personalities who stoke and taunt "Joe Sixpack" with cleverly and sometimes not-so hate speech, railing about the danger of gays taking over and turning everything and everyone gay; Hollywood liberals seem to be among the most evil people since Sodom and Gomorrah, African-Americans are attacked in veiled terms that are usually not as veiled as they think, playing on people's fear of losing their job, demonizing foreigners seemingly from everywhere, scoffing at the notion that there is no class system in this country. All the while looking down on rubes and suckers who vote against things that are in their self interest and very survival to help further a cynical, mean-spirited political movement that has become a dangerous parody of the most astoundingly inept, impotent bully wannabes who can count among them physical and intellectual cowards who knowingly and smugly perpetrate lies that have literally cost untold lives.
How did this legendarily generous and open nation become fearful, distrustful, anxious and worried about our families, our country, our future?

We must resist being manipulated into thinking that a so-called "war on terror" is "winnable"; this is as patently impossible as trying to empty a river with your hat. Terrorism is a tactic, not a country -- there always were terrorists and will always be. This is not a war that can be "won" in the conventional sense -- that is clearly an impossibility. Recent events have shown that good police work can do more than an ill-conceived war that has become a recruiting tool. The sooner it ends, the recruits diminish and the police, with the federal government's support, can do what they are trained to do.

The Department of Homeland Security was a totally unnecessary boondoggle that is redundant and sadly ludicrous because it is now known that prior to 9/11, all the information we needed to anticipate and probably prevent the attack was in existence but not shared by different agencies because of turf battles and rivalries for funding and boys with secrets out of control and not sharing because it's their secrets.

As we continue to watch conservatism devour itself we can all hope that in the end, Jefferson's dream of fair governance can be realized before it is too late.

To be continued...

wonder if he has any stories about him....

One of the best parts of a new progressive atmosphere would be Dennis Miller becoming fodder for
Dancing with the Whores and Richard Belzer getting all his stand-up gigs.

Very smart TV program.

Unfortunately, they have all the money and control the telescreens.

They proffered an inferior leader in Bush, who currently occupies the White House.

I am simply disheartened by the huge number of gullible people in this country.

They vote republican even as the republicans pick their pockets.

I am afraid that history shows that Nazis and Bushies are NEVER going away. The best we can do is make sure these monsters never seize power again.

I discovered this today, an interview by John Dean with the author of a book called, "Building Red America".

I found these paragraphs to be remarkable for what they reveal about just how Bushco promoted the contentiousness currently ruling American politics and, among other things, helped destroyed traditional Conservatism


http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20070309.html


Q: Your title in Chapter 2 "Anger Points: Polarization as a Republican Strategy." Did your research show that when wedge issues provoke anger they are particularly effective? What are some examples?

A: The Republican Party used many sophisticated data-mining and micro-targeting techniques - culling consumer lists, magazine subscriptions, polling and other information - to develop portraits of individual voters. The goal was to identify likely Republican voters and their "anger points." Issues lending themselves to political manipulation - i.e., issues touching upon anger points -- included gay marriage, welfare, spending for social services, taxes, abortion, and culturally permissive government policies, and government interventions viewed as favoring the interests of ethnic and racial minorities. The GOP found that anger is one of the best motivators for mobilizing political participation.

Q: In Chapter 2, and elsewhere, you reveal a rather significant memorandum that Matt Dowd, who was Bush's top pollster in the 2000 presidential race, sent to Karl Rove - while they were waiting for the ruling in Bush v. Gore. Dowd's memo, it seems, changed history, because it changed the way George Bush decided to govern. Would you explain?

A: Dowd analyzed poll data and found that the percentage of voters who could be classified as genuinely "swing" or persuadable voters had shrunk from roughly 24 percent of the electorate, to 6 percent or less. This meant that developing governing and election strategies geared at building up turnout among base votes became much more important than developing governing and election strategies designed to appeal to swing, or middle-of-the-road, voters. Persuading a non-voting conservative, a regular listener to Rush Limbaugh, or a hunter determined to protect gun rights to register and get to the polls became much more important and more cost effective than going after the voter who is having trouble making up his mind as to which candidate to vote for. The result was the adoption of policies designed to please the base (tax cuts for the wealthy, restricting abortion, appointing very conservative judges, opposition to stem cell research) that ran counter to Bush's 2000 claim to be a "uniter, not a divider."

call it "conservativism" or call it what you will.

the history of republican party rhetoric is nothing but an endless series of fig leaves for otherwise naked greed.

state's rights, small government, privatization, wars of choice, tax cuts, whatever. strip it of the sound bites and it's all, "more for us at the expense of others".

I just report what I see.
http://www.nndb.com/people/141/000023072/

eom

QUOTE: Conservatism is in its last throes if you will, twisting in the wind, dying like communism did because neither philosophy works by definition -- they both operate from the fraudulent premise built around contempt for and control of the people. UNQUOTE

They have destroyed so much, so rapidly, that it is doubtful that we can put Humpty Dumpty together again -- especially as the BEST our candidates seem to be able to suggest are changes to improve Global Warming by 2025 or 2050 -- !!!

Are they lying or delusional -- ????

:loveya: Belz!

I saw him first doing standup, I think on Dave Letterman's old show and then again on Homicide in the 90s.