"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means...." - Edit 1
Before modification by Joel at 10/01/2011 11:53:50 PM
"Ad hominem", that is.
At no time, to my knowledge, has the word "conservative" been the Scarlet Letter "liberal" became for Republicans in the '80s. Sure, there are plenty of Dem attack ads that go after candidates for being "far right" or "too conservative" but I'm not aware of a single case, even in 1940 or 1964, where a Democrat suggested conservatism automatically disqualified their opponent. Even when Goldwater famously declared that extremism in defence of liberty is no vice, it was the extremism with which LBJ took issue, not the conservatism. Liberals so categoricaly and passionately hate conservatism that the driving force in the Democratic Party for a generation has been people trying to move the party to the RIGHT. Whatever their electoral fortunes, the last Republican who even paid lip service to moving that party to the left was Nelson Rockefeller, and the party responded so well to that life long effort that his nephew's a Democratic Senator.
So, yeah, Dannymac and I don't always agree, but this time I think he hit the nail on the head.
As far as the horror in AZ, which we have no business discussing in political terms, extremists on both sides have tried to blame those on the other and it's past time it stopped. To quote another classic film, "An interesting game... the only way to win is not to play". Since this page is informing that IT lost the Game in 0.22 seconds, I think I'll leave it there.
At no time, to my knowledge, has the word "conservative" been the Scarlet Letter "liberal" became for Republicans in the '80s. Sure, there are plenty of Dem attack ads that go after candidates for being "far right" or "too conservative" but I'm not aware of a single case, even in 1940 or 1964, where a Democrat suggested conservatism automatically disqualified their opponent. Even when Goldwater famously declared that extremism in defence of liberty is no vice, it was the extremism with which LBJ took issue, not the conservatism. Liberals so categoricaly and passionately hate conservatism that the driving force in the Democratic Party for a generation has been people trying to move the party to the RIGHT. Whatever their electoral fortunes, the last Republican who even paid lip service to moving that party to the left was Nelson Rockefeller, and the party responded so well to that life long effort that his nephew's a Democratic Senator.
So, yeah, Dannymac and I don't always agree, but this time I think he hit the nail on the head.
As far as the horror in AZ, which we have no business discussing in political terms, extremists on both sides have tried to blame those on the other and it's past time it stopped. To quote another classic film, "An interesting game... the only way to win is not to play". Since this page is informing that IT lost the Game in 0.22 seconds, I think I'll leave it there.