Anti-Gay Rant Video from CPAC

Catch this anti-gay rant from yesterday's CPAC events. The hatred, intolerance and fear are shocking.

From the conservative (and misguided) PA Watercooler.

UPDATE: from TalkingPointsMemo, apparently Ryan Sorba is into beating women too. What a stud!

Top 10 Conservatives of the Decade.

Well, this will be little belly-laugh for your hangover, a top 10 list I can get behind. The Examiner.com (a confirmed conservative shill rag) has a list of the top ten conservatives of the decade.

Read on for a hefty dose of persecution paranoia and gag-reflex-inducing bit of self-righteous discrimination. And remember, they know what is good for you, not you. That's why God put them in positions of power and influence:

Clarence Thomas, courtesy of the Supreme Court
(obtained from civilliberty.about.com)

Conservapedia.com, "The Trustworthy Encyclopedia," today published its list of the Ten Conservatives of the Decade. These are the ten men and women who, in the past ten years, had the greatest impact on American politics and attitudes, according to Andrew Schlafly, founder and chief administrator of Conservapedia.

The number-one Conservative of the Decade isClarence Thomas, Justice of the Supreme Court since 1992. Conservapedia contributors cite him for his opinions clarifying the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution, and holding that capital punishment is not "cruel or unusual" within the actual meaning of the Eighth Amendment. In addition, another senior administrator at Conservapedia described Thomas thus:

Thomas is a distinguished black jurist who understands that the Constitution is not a Ouija board, plus he can relate to Americans (RVing, raising a twelve year old). His silence at oral arguments indicates that he is more interested in what the people are saying, and he is a quiet force behind the scenes.

Schlafly went further:

For ten years he has withstood intense pressure to become more liberal in order to win the media accolades given to less accomplished men. With sincerity, insight, and good spirit, Justice Thomas has become an inspiration for a generation of Americans at a time when there seem to be few role models in public life. His autobiography, published in 2007, traces his path from the most humble roots to the pinnacle of power, and yet he never flinched from his principles as so many others in Washington do.

The immediate runners-up to Thomas were those who propounded, supported, voted for, and defended California's Proposition 8, the proposition declaring that California's constitution would recognize marriage as between one man and one woman, and not dignify any other combinations (man and man, woman and woman, man and animal, etc.) with the term "marriage." Proposition 8 set the so-called "homosexual agenda" back considerably, especially since at last Californians managed to so amend their Constitution and not have California's courts invalidate that amendment.

The full list of Conservatives of the Decade is as follows:

1. Clarence Thomas
2. Proposition 8 supporters
3. Antonin Scalia (for his opinions supporting Rule of Law, the Second Amendment, and textualism)
4. Sarah Palin (for advocating less government, standing up to inhuman liberal abuse, and opposing "death panels", er, "end of life counseling")
5. Ron Paul (for advancing the vision of Barry Goldwater, mobilizing activism, and scrutinizing the Federal Reserve)
6. Michele Bachmann (taking on liberals in the House, exposing the global currency, and winning in Al Franken's State)
7. Dick Cheney (protecting America in a dangerous world, and standing up for others who do likewise)
8. Samuel J. Alito (standing up to liberals during his confirmation hearings, and writing superb opinions soon afterward)
9. Ann Coulter (taking it right to the liberals with courage and wit)
10. Michelle Malkin (blogging across-the-board conservatism and speaking on college campuses)

In addition, Conservapedia remembers these famous conservatives who died in the decade just passed:

1. Charlton Heston, who famously said, "Cold dead hands."
2. Jerry Falwell, founder of Liberty University.
3. Ronald Reagan, the fortieth President of the United States.
4. Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, better known to history as Pope John Paul II.

Health Care Astroturf.

From Mediaite, more on the astroturf, or corporate-backed, organizations working to bring down health care reform. Who says the right is falling apart? They've been doing circles around the Dem party for decades now. They've got the true lock-down on organizing! Really sad after a while watching the public be so easily manipulated against their own interests.

In August, the month the health care debate gave way to disrupted town hall meetings and “death panels,” the AARP dug its heels into the ground and refused to withdraw its support for the public option. At about that time, trend stories began to emerge from Fox, CBS, and others about how “thousands” were leaving the AARP and an anti-public option competitor, the American Seniors Association (ASA) was gaining ground. Now, a liberal blog accuses the ASA of being a “conservative front:”

In a detailed investigation, liberal blog and news aggregator Raw Story dug through news reports and incorporation papers to find connections between the ASA and conservative causes. The group’s founder, Jerry Barton, was previously an executive at an auto parts company that sponsored Glenn Beck, and one of the ASA’s major supporting organizations, the conservative think tank Institute for Liberty, has further ties to the Tea Party and 9/12 movements.

For this, The Raw Story accuses the ASA of being an “Astroturf” organization: (emphases added)

ASA isn’t the first organization that has presented itself as a conservative alternative to the AARP, while actually being invested in promoting right-wing corporate causes with little connection to seniors’ interests. A very similar group, the United Seniors Association, gained notoriety in 2002 by serving as a front for the pharmaceutical industry and also lending its support to Bush administration energy policies and a telecommunications issue important to AT&T.

Throughout this year’s health reform debate, various members of the media have exposed similar “Astroturf” groups like FreedomWorks and Conservatives for Patients’ Rights, which, like ASA,say they’re standing up for regular people but in reality are organized by a narrow and influential group of elites.

Here’s the thing: the ASA is upfront about its political leanings, and so the bait-and-switch charge rings false. Its website announces that it’s a “conservative alternative to the AARP” — in fact, its 160-character Google result announces the same thing.

Partisanship aside, Raw Story’s real beef here should be with Fox News and especially with CBS, which presented the group as a “serious competitor to the AARP” (and not just ideologically) despite its miniscule membership of 40,000-odd people versus the AARP’s membership of 35 million. False balance, anyone?

Crowley, Bork and the Question of Conservative Libertarianism. Oh My!

Be alarmed when Crowley is quoted quoting Rabelais and Bork is asked to weigh in on "rights," all in the same discussion about the compatibility of Conservatives and Libertarians. You can, should you wish, find the entire post here.

And if you don't wish, as I would fully understand, I clip the part pertinent to "euthanasia" and the "inevitable" but ridiculously unsubstantiated "slippery slope" argument that if you give those killing liberals an inch they'll take your granny.

There is no logical reason for the Libertarian belief in the absolute autonomy of the individual to supplement the desire for this freedom with a caution “avoid harming others”. A conservative belief in an authority beyond the self, a spiritual authority, has for centuries been instrumental in forming the laws by which our society functions. In this context, man is not considered “the measure of all things”, nor is he thought of as the final arbiter. Without this underpinning, there is no possible reason why everyone should not do exactly what pleases him regardless of the convenience of others, or, as Alistair Crowley puts it, quoting Rabelais: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law”. What is presented as a call for liberty is actually an excuse for license, blurring the distinction of what is and what is not morally acceptable. Anyone acknowledging a morality, external to himself, will find that the requirements of that morality are not always in accord with his natural inclinations.

Robert Bork identifies the impossibility of a Libertarian being a conservative in this extract from his book being a short essay on both pornography and drugs where he wrote:

“Modern liberals employ the rhetoric of ‘rights’ incessantly, not only to delegitimate the idea of restraints on individuals by communities but to prevent discussion of the topic. Once something is announced, usually flatly or stridently, to be a right –whether pornography or abortion or what have you– discussion becomes difficult to impossible. Rights inhere in the person, are claimed to be absolute, and cannot be diminished or taken away by reason; in fact, reason that suggests the non-existence of an asserted right is viewed as a moral evil by the claimant. If there is to be anything that can be called a community, rather than an agglomeration of hedonists, the case for previously unrecognized individual freedoms (as well as some that have been previously recognized) must be thought through and argued, and “rights” cannot win every time. Why there is a right for adults to enjoy pornography remains unexplained and unexplainable.” (6)

The Heritage Foundation Fundraising Email.

I guess it's money time for the right. On the heels of an email from the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation (see prior post) comes this from The Heritage Foundation. Both sound so fearful. Makes me wonder what exactly they are so afraid of. Obama's Radical Agenda?! Don't they realize how centrist he really is?

Dear Ann,

President Barack Obama has moved into the White House. And with his liberal allies running Congress, the Left will work quickly to enact their radical agenda.

We conservatives have to repel the liberal tide, and it will not be easy. The Heritage Foundation -- America’s leading conservative policy organization -- is prepared to fight back. But we need your help!

Join the more than 400,000 Americans supporting Heritage now! We fight for our ideals with common-sense policy proposals and a clear message based on reliable conservative principles.

If you join today with your tax-deductible gift of $25 or more, we will send you a free Pocket Constitution.

The Left makes no bones about imposing their radical plans on America -- from massive new spending programs to misguided ideas about the war on terror, health care, education and even the Supreme Court. Nothing is out of the question for them.

That is why The Heritage Foundation is working harder than ever to meet this challenge. We will not stray from our mission to fight for free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

Liberals think the magic solution to the problems facing our nation is a new New Deal, but Heritage knows that there is a better way. We are on the front lines -- our offices are a stone’s throw from the Capitol -- battling for a better America that gets back to its conservative roots.

Join us in this crucial fight right now.

We are building on our 35-year record of success -- from welfare reform to missile defense to tax cuts -- and with your support, we can put America back on track.

In Washington, there are no permanent victories and no permanent defeats. We must remain steadfast in our commitment whether the times are good or bad. That's why your support is so important. Without conservative allies like you, none of what we do would be possible.

Sincerely,

Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.
President
The Heritage Foundatio

The Heritage Foundation: Showing its Paranoid Racism.

Why does The Heritage Foundation's daily newsletter, The Morning Bell's, touting of this New York Times article about the learning challenges of Hispanic children give me the creeps?

Cause the only time they will cite the Grey Lady is to throw aspersions on liberals. Unless the news item can be used to support their racist ideas about elitism, immigration, and "may the best man win" world they choose to live in.

Unless, of course, their grand superiority is being persecuted by the New World Order being employed by the black socialist man in the White House.

My Demographic Other.

Since the election of President Obama, there has been much media and online talk about the verging demographics of the country. Tea baggers have been accounted as a particular demographic of society that is white, over 50, typically male, and anti-government.

Those who support government "entitlements" and moving in a more progressive direction tend to be younger (I'm 40), and female or minority. While this is a coarse parsing of the demos and vast exceptions hold true, I agree that the older, white population of the country tends to view our government's responsibilities vastly differently than I do.

To make it all more personal, today I found a blogger who seems to represent my demographic other.

Rick is a veteran, white, male, over 50. A Kansas resident and former veteran, he is a member of the American Legion, the Kansas Rifle Association and a pro-life voter with strong ideas about interpretation of the constitution.

He maintains two blogs, one is Ricks Blog: Pro-Life, Anti-Euthanasia, and Related, which covers social issues and sources such sites as LifeNews, a staunchly conservative, "pro-life" publication that updates subscribers on abortion, "euthanasia," conscience clause, and health care reform issues - often with such bias that facts slip away.

His other site is The Constitution of our Forefathers, dedicated to preservation of the Constitution as our founding fathers had intended, as interpreted through a "traditional" lens that includes Republican or Libertarian ideals. He often sources the conservative Heritage Foundation and chronicles gun rights throughout the country.

Most of us who are concerned about the political direction of the country, about social services, individual rights, and the US' just international participation tend to talk to, listen to and read only ourselves; it lets us affirm our belief set as we move through our own particular issues. We tend to call out social, financial and foreign policy conservatives as stupid, misinformed, or small minded. I'm as guilty as anyone of discrediting my voting adversaries.

I note Rick here because until I better understand what motivates him to speak out about issues, to cling to ideas that to me seem antiquated and backwards, and to passionately maintain two blogs, I won't be fully addressing or thinking about the issues we face together. That's engagement.

Rick is probably a great neighbor; he is likely fine company for a beer at the local. I don't suspect that he is much unlike the people I know and love from down home. He is my fellow countryman who had in the past dodged bullets so I could mouth off about women's rights and personal choice. Spending time with his blogs can't hurt - and probably helps me think about "the other voters" in this country in a more realistic way.