Fringe Party
May 23rd, 2008 | by Jet Netwal |
John Hawkins of Right Wing News weighed in today, pulling his support from John McCain. He has his reasons, chiefly lying, that made the decision inevitable, but I think that the whole nature of the implosion of the Conservative movement is the real culprit.
Most folks I know on the left jumped into blogging during or immediately after the 2004 election, and holy crap, did we get trial by fire treatment. What passed for conversation on the net was unbelievable. Every winger insult you can name, at every opportunity, rude, smug, pious, nasty… there was a glee in the dumping. As a so-called “Godless Liberal” I was appalled that this outpouring of hate was by the supposedly “Christian” crowd and I wasn’t alone. I remember one post I put up about my cat dying that was trolled by a winger who called me a crazy moonbat, and much worse. This was at the same time funeral misbehavior was in the news with wingers in full hue and cry. Was there a few degrees of disconnect there? Um, yeah. I think you could say that.
These people swagger with an intense desire to be specifically united under a few “my way of the highway” causes, culminating with a need to humiliate anybody in their path. This was crucial to their existence, and is instrumental in their inability to thrive. Oh, I’m not saying there isn’t still a winger presence on the web, but the very nature of its exclusiveness directs its inevitable impotency. When you refuse to open your door to anybody except a finite group of people, growth is stagnant and your talked to death points, boring. Wingers tied their pony to a failed administration against an increasingly pissed off populace; marginalization is in their future.
This is what makes the Hawkins “up yours” to McCain poignant. He’s not conservative enough, and he lies. Um, Bush lies, kids. He especially lied about delivering the conservative agenda. Are y’all happily living in a world with no brown people? A happy place where mocking gays is high humor and hurting them pretty OK? Are the wimmen having chillins and serving their man? Are the men schtupping other men, or boys or… oh, wait, that’s not a goal, that’s just representing. My point is, you banked on marginal causes, rallied the troops and basically got bupkas. You want freedom fries with that?
Logic would dictate that bringing in more people would give you greater voice. Too bad logic is on the list of suspects right next to scientific theory and history. Hawkins’ path is to further isolate the acceptable agendas, tighten the parameters for what qualifies as a genuine conservative, and exhort the party away from the Republican choice.
Mindsets like this assure me that the fringe is back where it belongs, far away from the rational core. The window of opportunity closes on the Hagees, Robertsons and Dobsons of the world. Tough times will do that for you. Pie in the sky doesn’t put stew on the table, and for far too many Americans. Conservatism is a dish they can no longer afford.
7 Responses to “Fringe Party”
By Dusty on May 23, 2008 | Reply
Whoa!
By Tom Harper on May 24, 2008 | Reply
Ah, the memories. I remember your post about your cat, and the #!%^&*#! who came storming into the comment section. And a bunch of us Bring It On-ers went over to his site and gave it all right back to him. I had my comments section at my blog closed off for about 4 months because of his constant spamming of my site. My guess is, that %$#!& is probably flailing away in a rubber room somewhere these days.
It’s poetic that these people are back in the margins where they belong. I don’t know what the opposite of the “Big Tent” would be called, but that’s what these assholes are doing. They have zero tolerance for any disagreement, so their movement is coming apart at the seams.
There’s one rightwing blog that I sometimes look at. I don’t know why, probably for the same perverted reason people stare at a grisly car accident. This person used to have hundreds of commenters falling all over her and agreeing with everything she said and all patting each other on the back. Now there are way fewer commenters, and they’re all attacking each other. The commenters who are to the right of Hitler are being savaged by other commenters who are even further to the right. It’s really entertaining.
By Steve O on May 24, 2008 | Reply
Tom, the opposite of the big tent is called the outhouse.
Great post Jet. I remember the cat post too
By Windspike on May 24, 2008 | Reply
Says it all Jet.
Humble soup is not something the reichwingers take without several spoon fulls of sugar. Hell, with Rush Limberger as their spokes model, there is proof that there is no shortage of people buying up hate as it is dished up as the flavor of the moth.
But when the riech disavows the right, who are they left to vote for? Obama? Doubtful, but hey, the polling stations don’t discriminate - unless of course they are made by Diebold.
Blog on friends, blog on all.
By Jet Netwal on May 25, 2008 | Reply
I didn’t know that about your site, Tom. Thanks so much for putting up with that and sticking up for me against that troll.
I think the fact that no wingers showed up here makes a point too. They are completely self sufficient now, they don’t need anybody!
By Dusty on May 25, 2008 | Reply
I was hoping a few would stop by..damn it