(Joe Conason) Reality: America Isn’t Conservative

[laststeamtrain]

Reality: America Isn’t Conservative
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070823_reality_america_isnt_conservative/
Posted on Aug 23, 2007

By Joe Conason

As Karl Rove exits stage right with his ruined dreams of rightist hegemony, all the political signs and portents tell us that America is turning the other way. No doubt the departing “boy genius” would dispute that assertion as liberal wishful thinking, as would many on the right. But they cannot so easily dismiss The Economist, an avowedly conservative voice that is among the oldest and most respected periodicals in the world.

Framing the shift on the cover of its Aug. 11 issue with a question—“Is America turning left?”—the magazine’s editors conclude in their lead essay that the answer is yes, probably.

"Having recaptured Congress last year, the Democrats are on course to retake the presidency in 2008,” says the venerable British weekly, which blames the destruction of the vaunted Republican machine on the ideological excess and breathtaking incompetence of the Bush administration, as well as the sleaziness of the GOP leadership in Congress.

The editorial warns fellow conservatives against claiming that George W. Bush failed to fulfill their agenda. The president is a lame duck but not a good scapegoat, because “rather than betraying the right, he has given it virtually everything it craved, from humongous tax cuts to conservative judges.” The worst political errors of the Bush regime, from its ruinous war in Iraq to the awful Terri Schiavo intervention, sprang directly from the brilliant minds of the religious right and the neoconservatives.

"Now the American people seem to be reacting to conservative over-reach by turning left. More want universal health insurance; more distrust force as a way to bring about peace; more like greenery; ever more dislike intolerance on social issues.” The magazine also presents a thorough briefing and even more gloomy analysis of the current condition of the American right, noting that conservative activists are openly angry and depressed while Republican officials privately anticipate a “catastrophe” next November.

The Economist’s doomsaying is still more persuasive because its top staffers predicted only a few years ago that the Republican right would fulfill the dreams of Rove. Back in 2004, Economist editor John Micklethwait and Washington bureau chief Adrian Wooldridge published “The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America,” a best-selling book that insisted the United States is an inherently conservative country that was only growing more so under the tutelage of a powerful coalition allied with the Republican Party—and that the remnant of American liberals should simply acknowledge their status as a permanent minority relegated to irrelevance. Right-wingers themselves, the authors predicted that the Republicans could expect a bright and boundless future thanks to favorable demographic trends, bolstered by young people who supposedly leaned right regardless of ethnicity, geography, education or profession.

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http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070823_reality_america_isnt_conservative/

[Joanne98]

1. "The Right Nation" I rememember when that book came out!

Thugs crowing on the tee vee about how they were going to rule forever. Young people were conservative, blah blah blah.. Young people aren't conservative and that means we take the next fifty years. If we could only get rid of the Supreme Court. I say we impeach them.

[fasttense]

2. The right took control and then made a mess of everything.

They were good at cheating their way to power, but they were not good at using that power because their ideology is fundamentally flawed.

"Rather than betraying the right, he (bush*) has given it virtually everything it craved, from humongous tax cuts to conservative judges.” The worst political errors of the Bush regime, from its ruinous war in Iraq to the awful Terri Schiavo intervention, sprang directly from the brilliant minds of the religious right and the neoconservatives."

[fightindonkey]

3. The Right wing is an irrelevant party.

[Skittles]

10. I wouldn't say irrelevant at this point

as long as they can continue to lie, cheat, steal, kill and use propaganda to con people into voting against their own self-interest they will unfortunately be relevant

[irislake]

4. Americans are not divided

according to Chomsky (FAILED STATES). The corporate elites that control and manipulate the information divide and conquer. Polls that are not published in MSM but are available to researchers show that Americans are pretty unanimous in what they want. 80% to 90% of Americans want peace. They don't want their taxes to pay for wars and weapons. They want universal health care. They support the UN and Keyoto. And so on.

Neither political party is the least bit responsive to the will of the people -- which is one reason why Chomsky calls America a "failed state".

The Bush base is so vocal and gets such prominence that most Americans have no idea how the vast majority feels. Also contributes to anti-Americanism because Americans look so bad to the world. Yet basically the American people have the same goals and aspirations as people all over the world.

High on the American "wish list" is universal health care. Watch and see if any Democratic politician will make that a platform in the 2008 election. Dream on if you are that idealistic. After SICKO they may have to come up with some feeble reforms to the existing outrageous system. However they will do absolutely nothing that will really upset the insurance companies or Big Pharma in spite of the fact that Americans desperately want reforms.

It is too bad the real America has no voice.

[Uncle Joe]

5. I agree with your post, irislake and thanks to laststeamtrain for the thread.

Kicked and recommended.

[DeeDeeNY]

6. Too bad the Democratic "consultants" can't understand this

They continue to believe everything the mainstream media feeds to them that in order to be elected you need to be conservative or, at best, middle of the road.

[unhappycamper]

7. Here's #6

~snip~

On salient issues, despite the plurality of respondents who always identify themselves as “conservative,” the American people have favored progressive policies for many years. With all due respect to The Economist, favorable attitudes toward universal health care, environmental stewardship, economic fairness and social tolerance did not suddenly arrive from nowhere this year or even last year. Support for increasing the minimum wage, keeping abortion legal, strong environmental and consumer protections and higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations are among the most durable results in polls from one decade to the next.

[ThoughtCriminal]

8. Scorched Earth

The political right is reteating, but they are leaving "Scorched Earth". The economy is on the brink, the debt is crushing, the enviroment poisoned and the country's diplomatic credibility is shot.

Recovering from this mess is going to hard and may take generations.

[Bread and Circus]

9. But the left needs to be careful too, of its own hubris...

Nothing attracts a crowd like success, put success first and steer left.