On the Record

I'm a known Liberal.

I've tried to avoid the label by calling myself a Progressive but I fit the dictionary definition of a Liberal, and so be it. I try to draw conclusions from facts, think critically, be kind, and care. My problem with the labels is that the words actually don't mean what the labels mean.

Broadly speaking, contemporary liberalism emphasizes individual rights. It seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on power, especially of government and religion, the rule of law, free public education, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports relatively free private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of all citizens are protected. [2] In modern society, liberals favor a liberal democracy with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law and an equal opportunity to succeed[3]...Wikipedia

It may be that conservatives and liberals are like Mars and Venus, stupid labels in their own right, but the people are just in different orbits. Traditionally, Liberals revere truth, Conservatives...not so much.

Benjamin Disraeli, himself a member of the Conservative Party in England, wrote in 1845, "A conservative government is an organized hypocrisy."...Wikipedia

Disraeli was refering to the self serving nature of selective truth but current conservative nature is to say whatever makes your case and when you get called on it, shout the same lie louder.

This comes up because I was riding with a man who has been very successful and owns several radio stations in East Tennessee. He doesn't run any of them, he just rents them out and tries tofigure out what to do with the money, of which he has lots. More than he or his children could spend, actually, but that doesn't stop him from wanting more. I don't get it but who am I to question success? Anyway, after our business was done he paused and said, "Steve?"

And I said, "John?"

And he said, "Steve...Why do you think ABC, the most Liberal network, would broadcast a show attacking the Clintons that way?"

And I said, "Well, Johnny, I don't know that there are any liberal networks any more, but I just put it down to the fact that ABC is owned by Disney...You know, the right wing fantasy people."

"Yeah," he said, "I tell people it's Disney."

Then we went through the obligatory banter of, "I guess you don't think Hillary is a liberal either, huh?", and so on...

Nothing points out the failure of Conservatism as an ideology so much as the stale material... but I missed a chance to needle Johnny. I let it go, actually, because I was trying to sell him something, at the time, and thought it would be better if I let him have a stalemate. What I wanted to say was that he and most everybody else was missing the real point of the ABC's 9-11 Fake-u-drama that falsely made everything out to be Clinton's fault.

The real point is that George Bush and the Republican party have been so incompetent and such failures at conducting our Nation's business that their supporters have to spend $40,000,000.00 on a negative ad with no basis in fact. They're trying to save their collective asses, and this is all they've got! They lose...a ton of them are going to jail.

Why is it that Republican operatives plan to spend 90% of their campaign money on negative ads this election season? When Republicans have been in complete charge of the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, and the (Vice) Presidency, you would think that all they have to do is run on their record.

Let's see...Botched a war, attacked wrong country, got 25,000 American troops killed or injured, nothing to show for it, had to borrow more money from China and Saudi Arabia than all the other 42 Presidents in history, torture, summer vacation compound in Texas (how stupid is that?), botched Katrina, paying rent on 20,000 trailers sitting in Arkansas for nothing, screwed medicare, still wants to destroy social Security, Veep shot a guy in the face, illegal phone tapping of everyone in America (quite a feat, actually), record gas prices(conveniently dropping for election), record oil company profits, environment, what environment, humans on endangered species list, everybody in the whole damned world now hates us, except we owe them all money so screw 'em!

Ok, forget running on the Republican record, cue the negative ads, and Lie all you want to...

It's the Conservative way.

Me? I'm a Liberal.

Peace,

Steve