Appeasers and Cutters & Runners
I keep needing to come up with explanations for why libs are Cutters & Runners when it comes to Iraq but bold stay-the-course warriors when it comes to battling conservatives and neocons. I’ve finally done it, and it was so simple. It’s simple but the explanation is complicated so follow along closely. I’m removing most of the pronouns so there will be less confusion. Ready?
The reason liberals are so prone to Cut & Run on the war is they’ve seen how Republicans react to the liberals belligerence on every issue they care about. The Republicans reaction is almost always appeasement toward the liberals. So the libs then think that the libs can then continue to be Cutters & Runners on Iraq and the War on Terror, because that is the way you’re supposed to respond to strength. It turns out the only thing the Pubbies are staunch on is the WOT. And according to press reports, and Rush Limbaugh, the staunch ranks seem to be dwindling, with a growing number of conservatives who are Cutting & Running in two areas – from voting (at all) in the upcoming election and the WOT itself. Might this be a clever strategy designed to throw the libs for a loop? I mean, if enough cons start advocating Cutting & Running, the libs won’t have anything to disagree with the cons on and be forced into disagreeing with the cons’ agreement on C&Ring by changing the lib position and staunchifying their position vis a vis staying the course in Iraq and the WOT.
But let’s look at this from the other perspective, why are the Cons being such appeasers to libs? I think it's because they have such a misguided sense of fairness that they figure, "Well, I want my way on homeland security (and abortion and gay marriage), so the fair thing to do would be concede on spending, affirmative action and maintaining, indeed inflating, an obscene number of federal bureaucracies."
What these idiot Pubbies don’t realize is that if the libs had their way, they would have their way – on EVERYTHING they’re debating. That’s why it would be so dangerous to let them have control of the whole operation. Republicans are, on the whole, reasonable people. Libs, who tend to believe in fairness in all things, which has no basis in reality, are in fact, very unfair. They want it all, and will not hear that trade-offs are necessary in life. This makes them totally untrustworthy.
Got that class? Thank you!
posted by Phloda @ 7:09 PM
1 Comments:
I've been thinking about your post for awhile and I agree that Republicans are probably acting as appeasers and that affects how Democrats respond. I'm not sure, however, that I agree it's in their natures to do this unless you mean that it's human nature. I think people naturally sense weaknesses and try to exploit them. I don't intend that in a bad or mean way becaise I think it's normal to press an advantage when you sense your opponent is indecisive. Perhaps the best example occurs with kids when they want their parents to let them do something. When kids sense their parents are waffling on a decision, they become more insistent as a result.
So while I generally agree with you, I think Democrats in recent times have become more resistent and prone to "cut and run" for at least 3 reasons:
1. They are frustrated from effectively being out of power. Even Clinton was hamstrung by a Republican Congress. Frustration makes people want to wash their hands of something and start over, e.g., "cut and run."
2. Since Vietnam and Watergate, and probably because of these events, Democrats' primary unifying theme has been anti-Establishment which manifests as anti-war and pro-individual civil rights rhetoric. It became acceptable and even desirable to define themselves as against things rather than for things.
3. Most important, President Bush has not been a strong leader on domestic conservative issues. In fact, on many issues like immigration he's actually embraced the liberal platform. Further, Bush's reluctance to forcefully propogandize the war (or perhaps his inclination to keep wartime matters secret) leaves him vulnerable to Democratic complaints about the prosecution of the war that become magnified when left unanswered.
I believe American liberals and conservatives are pretty much the same deep down - at least I hope they are. But I also think our educational system has failed us because it emphasizes feelings/creativity over logic/reason and teaches multiculturalism instead of facts. As a result, we have a lot of Democrats and even some Republicans with strong feelings who focus more on what they want to have happen than on what should happen. On the other hand, we need some people who dream and idealize. We just need more people who think logically and rely on facts to make hard choices.
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