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The excellence in buffoonery network
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One clear way to understand the mentality of the extreme right is to remember Lyndon Johnson's quote upon passing long overdue civil rights bill in 1964: "we may win this legislation but we'll lose the south for a generation". A politically astute man, Johnson knew the mindset of the south, not that they were then or now, all racists, but as a whole, that's what regional groupthink was all about. I am, as I write this, listening to C-SPAN and hearing a caller describe himself as a rightwing Christian, Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck listener. He went on to say that the current statewide elections taking place in Virginia, New York and elsewhere, are a battle between socialism and America remaining a free country. In this dimwits world where whatever he hears from his thought police, is gospel; Obama is a socialist and is turning the United States in that direction. As I've always said, the extreme rights greatest skill is getting the common person to vote against their own self interest.
I watched some of Limbaugh's interview last Sunday with Chris Wallace of Fox News and it was, as usual, bewildering. The world he describes can only be inhabited if you buy into living in a parallel universe where Bush policies were successful and Iraq was the right move. As we try and clean up the mess in Afghanistan that Bush left behind, it now becomes Obama's problem as though leaving that area for Iraq was the correct strategic move. There was nothing wrong with removing a tyrant like Saddam Hussein and bringing freedom to a nation but we were involved in going after those who attacked us on 9/11 and that scenario had nothing to do with Iraq. Expanding our military to a two front war, weakened our combat force and allowed our enemies to regroup in Afghanistan. Iraq should have been left to another day. Now Obama has to clean up what Bush and Cheney left behind but that's not what is true in the mythical land of the right. The errors in judgment in Iraq and Afghanistan are completely obliterated from their version of history just like old Soviet era photos were retouched under Stalin to erase those who (supposedly) crossed the dictator).
Trickle down economics, a policy that in no way helps the middle class or blue collar family is the hallmark of the extreme right. Give huge tax breaks and endless tax cuts to the wealthiest among us and that will equate to jobs for the masses. George W. Bush had one of the worst records of job growth over the past 100 years during his eight years in office but somehow that fact goes right over the dittoheads. Why? Because when your source of information is made up of listening to rightwing radio and Fox News, you are through the looking glass in a world where reality is bent through an alterd prism. Up is down, black is white and wrong is right.....very right.
I have seen first hand what ever increasing healthcare costs can mean. My own has risen substantially over the past two years and I've had no medical issues. Multiply that by millions and you'll understand why this long term problem needs correction. People shouldn't have to go bankrupt or lose sleep over a needed medical issue. Many who don't 'get it', may in time understand because there are millions more who are one pink slip away from abhorent healthcare costs. This issue is tied to near future economics and is one reason to reform now and fix what is obviously wrong. You can scare the uneducated with fear mongering, which is what the right has done for generations. McCarthyism was the blueprint for current rightwing hate and fear and it's easy when much of the population are simply too stupid to know any better. I know of a rightwing guy who has made good money in the past, is now not working and is paying $1600 monthly for healthcare and he still believes that any reform will lead to socialism.
I could go on with examples of how the extreme right misinforms, lies and just makes stuff up. They either revise history or neglect to refer to it honestly. If anyone listens to and believes what they hear from the extreme right will ultimately get what they deserve. In some ways, another brutal lesson in extremely bad policy might just teach a few more people as to why such extreme rightwing ideas don't work. I should revise that they don't work for the masses. There were and are people who did quite well under George W. Bush: Defense contractors, wall street types who created obscure schemes with no oversight and those who received huge tax cuts while the middle class got a few crumbs. One in a series of pronouncements from Limbaugh in that Fox News interview was his statement that Sarah Palin was ready to be president. I was thinking, "of what"? Unfortunately, for the legion of lemmings who obey his commands, he meant the presidency of the United states. That equates to his audience believing she is ready to lead the country. See how it all works? The rightwingnuts speak, their zombie cult listens and obeys. It's all scary but get used to it, America is permenently polarized and about as dumbed down as it can get (I think).
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