I started reading the National Review and The Federalist. These are the supposed intellectual leading lights of the conservative movement? I figured I owed it to myself to give them a chance.

I gave them 4 months and that time was not well spent.

If these are the smart conservatives, no wonder the movement is a disgrace. The body of work I observed may have occasionally had a counterintuitive take, but Lord, it was like long form versions of the Facebook comments in an AP article. Jesus. Just no.

Is it impossible for an article to be written without red meat being tossed to the already angry? You’d be inclined to think so after reading this drivel. The constant whingeing about how unfairly they feel themselves treated (often as white Christian men) is just icing on the cake.

An aspect that really stood out was the level of vitriol felt towards women. The denigrating terms employed are right out of the spousal abusers handbook. No woman progressive or centrist is ever wrong. Instead, they are unhinged, crazy, hysterical or batty. The misogyny exhibited, in this age, is almost unbelievable.  

The dog whistles surrounding immigration weren’t as common as one might think. When present it seemed more like a bit of self-conscious covering for the POTUS’s worst impulses and messages, rather than sincerely held fear of a browning America.

On the subject of kneeling black athletes, it would be difficult to overstate the anger. You’d think these players were joining ISIS rather than trying to start a conversation.

The biggest surprises were the inversions exhibited.

·         The abandonment of honor and probity by conservatives has been made into so much sport already but it bears summarizing; the leader of the conservative wing of US politics is an intellectually deficient man of very poor character.  And they like that.

·         I’m old enough to remember when conservatives were in support of balanced budgets. No more. Now it’s just camouflaged endorsements of tax cuts. The giant hole in the budget is a non-issue.

·         The total disregard for the threat of Russia is probably the most shocking change. It used to be wooly headed leftists on college campuses in their fatigue jackets talking about modelling the USSR. The conservatives were all about drawing lines in the sand with hostile powers. Now, just try finding a conservative to say a cautionary word about the threat of Russia.

·         Respect for law and order have been jettisoned. Conservatives seem to think it positively patriotic to threaten officers of the law.  The FBI/CIA/NSA are held to be hotbeds of sedition.

·         The dangers of federal preemption were once the boogeymen of the right. “States rights” was on the tongues of all the thought leaders. “Let a thousand flowers bloom” they’d say. I suspect the war on drugs put paid to that. Now it’s all top down.

The people writing in these magazines are either not very smart or they’re making that assumption about their audience.  I tried to appreciate it, but this commentary is moribund.

T And T Garage wrote on 08/16/18 at 14:07:27:

"...  However, in the last 12 years or so, the true republican mindset has gone off the rails.  IMHO

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals,  who believe that just, ‘plugging in’, a elect car solves all Pollution ?

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals, that believe, just because they can’t see the battery on their hybrid car, that means it just magically appeared and is totally pollution free, in it’s making, and recycling ?

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals, who love their plastic bags and plastic water bottles, and plastic diapers, because they just, ‘disappear’, when they toss them in the trash can ?

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals, when they make a Law, that Males can go into little girls bathrooms, by just saying a couple of words ?

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals, who are to LAZY to read, and have, (and continue to), throw C.F.L. light bulbs in the landfill, raising the Mercury levels in all things that use this earth ?

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals, that believe just because they are riding a bicycle, (and of course Not polluting) their are no, ‘Rules of the Road’, that apply to them ?

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals, that Protest in the street, by leaving a huge mess, that someone else has to clean up ?

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals, who believe a, white skinned person, saying, ‘fit to only serve coffee’, about a black skinned person, is NOT  racist ?
(Wait, that's, ONLY, if it is a, 'certain', person saying that)

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals, who believe, Banning a firearm from a Good person, will prevent a bad person from having one ?
Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals, who believe putting up a, sign, will stop all violence ?

Would that be just like the ultra-Liberals,  (You get the idea)

(Sonny & Cher here)
The list goes on, the list goes on
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

MnSpring wrote on 08/16/18 at 15:18:52:


Well, technically it's "The Beat Goes On" , but whatever.