Reverend Manny and The Twilight Empire

You can tell the Conservative Genius Patrol has been burning the midnight oil recently. The CPAC conference was a hearty multi-day belly full of laughs for instance. And as always it was keenly instructive as to what fare they will offer in the coming political season. This year, even above the rabble of the grouphate, one word echoed louder than all… Socialism. The big bad boogidy man.

Lemme share a quick something with you. I cheat a little when it comes to understanding the right. I’m totally fessing up. I get tons of webzines and newsletters and even some listservs–all with a Conservative bend. It’s very helpful in understanding the strategy behind the tactics. Oh boy… the Washington Times, the Freepers, those methed-out fools at Human Events… they have their tactic for this political season. Obama’s a socialist. He’s turning America into the USSA.

“Get it? Cuz Obama’s Socialist? It’s like a combination of the USSR and USA. DERP!! I made a funny with my thought brain!”

Long term, I’m beginning to think this strategy will ultimately backfire on them.

Short term, the goal of this strategy is to taint not only Obama , but wider Progressive Principles as Socialist. Logically, this makes little sense. What “socialism” means has become very  nebulous. Countries like Sweden, Norway, France, Spain, Germany, Ecuador and Canada all offer examples of “Socialistic” trends–but none can be called socialist. Secondly, and more clearly, Obama’s barely a Progressive, how in the hell could he be a Socialist?

But this is logic, and much like the Bolsheviks (and the Bushevicks) taught us, logic has little to do with the intended gutteral impact of retrograde propaganda. Think about it. “Abortion is MURDER!!” that one’s pretty good… three words, very bolshevik, lots of imagery, and clearly related to a legal issue that is guaranteed to get some sanctimonious suit filler elected… “Support our TROOPS!” as a response to questioning bush… that one’s really good too… it implies that if i don’t agree with you, I’d like the people defending my country to die… that’s very bolshevik…very effective…

So “USSA” and “Comrade Obama” all fit very nicely into the Conservative product line. It’s short. It’s simple. It generates powerful gutteral emotion and is a helluva election day motivator.

“You wanna live in a Gulag-state like the communists?”
“–FUCK NO… jesus christ.. “
“Then we gotta get Comrade Hussein Obamer outta office”

See the efficiency?

So the soul-less part of me understands why the Conservatives would take this approach. The facts of the issue matter little to political manipulators. They don’t want to govern well… they simply want to govern. What matters more than good ideas is how much your ideas move people so that you can attain power. Socialism… boy that’s a scary one… that’s the big bad boogey man himself

But I don’t think they know what they’re getting themselves into.

Let’s think of someone like Beulahman, someone on my blogroll who recently talked about the healthcare burden. He pays damn near 25 thousand dollars a year for health insurance. He rus his own business, generates money into the economy, thus not only generating taxes but also increasing the general pool from which taxes can be taken from. From the general tax money, folks like me, you and B’man get water pipes, electric wires, broadband expansions, satelite feeds from tv stations and cel phone service, police and fire services, safety regulations, new technologies, highways, etc… why? Because myself, B’man, you and all your friends that work… we each decided to pool together  our money for things that we clearly need.

Here’s the big fat fucking funny part. So we have this pool of OUR money, right? And we made a list of all the things we really really really need… guess what we didn’t put on that list of things we really really need? OUR HEALTH!! Ha.

Wow. Pretty silly, huh. Downright foolish, you might even say. But in response to the argument I just made, a Conservative would reply with… “you’re a socialist!”

Here’s the dangerous gambit they’re running into, though.

I’m really fucking pissed off that Buelahman has to pay 25thousand dollars a year just to make sure he has medical attention in CASE something happens. It angers the shit out of me that we can give banks trillions, but over the course of ten years, B’man will shell out a quarter mill of his hard-earned money for healthcare. I think we could do healthcare for about half our current cost (which is world average) if we centralized and organized alot of redundant departments that clutter the medical industry. I think Bman should be paying no more than say 5 thousand a year for health insurance. And if you think that makes me a socialist… idk…

Let me go a bit more personal. My nana, my grandmother, turned 81 recently. Since she was born in northern Moldova, she has survived multiple famines, the soviet invasion, the German Invasion, the Iron Guard, american carpet bombings.. all before her twenties. She then survived Nicolae Causescu and numerous other famines, purges and earthquakes. In 1989, the country overthrew Ceausescu (with aid from the West)… and she survived that revolution as well as the economic crash that ensued. Since then she has lived with my family in the States.

One could see her on purely economic terms. For twenty years she helped raise and feed four children, freeing my mother up to work (usually more than one job). With years of sacrifice, and the additional income, my family managed to buy a small house. Economically, in the scope of “the american dream”, she had a huge hand in helping my  family accomplish this small economic feat–an economic feat that generated money into the economy at an increased rate due to her presence.

But there’s more to it than that. You’re telling me that if she breaks her leg, my mom has to spend her life savings on the medical bill? Dude, medical costs are the leading cause of bankrupcy in America–not shitty mortgages.

And if I don’t want my mom to sell her house to pay a medical bill–I’m a socialist? Idk, man…

And the same goes for Progressive Ideals on corporate responsibility, environmental awareness, personal liberties and meritocracy.

The more you tell me corporate responsibility is socialist… the more you tell me civil liberties are socialist… the more likely I am to eventually believe that I am a bit more socialist than I thought.

So to my “patriotic” friends on the right… beware. This is not the 50’s. The Red Scare has worn off much of its luster, as have your worn out trickle-down theories. The more you tell peopl basic human rights and human decency is socialist… the less evil and vile the word sounds. They hope to scare people away from the left, but in the long run I think they may just be creating a deeper pool of leftist strength.

Oh Conservatives. You dumb bastards. People have real problems right now–and you offer rhetoric? How shallow, how callous, how utterly inhumane.

Conservatism is an ideology. My grandmother is a human being. Your ideology will not pay her medical bills. Perhaps mine will.

One Love, One Struggle,
–Reverend Manny and the Twilight Empire