More Emotional Toll

Moonbat/columnist Jane Smiley wrote in Slate yesterday, well--to put it in its simplest terms--that everyone who voted for Bush is an asshole. For example:

The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry. I suppose the good news is that 55 million Americans have evaded the ignorance-inducing machine. But 58 million have not. (Well, almost 58 million—my relatives are not ignorant, they are just greedy and full of classic Republican feelings of superiority.)

I get it, Republicans are stupid or greedy. The bile is rising,

The worst civilian massacre in American history took place in Lawrence, Kan., in 1862—Quantrill's raid. The red forces, known then as the slave-power, pulled 265 unarmed men from their beds on a Sunday morning and slaughtered them in front of their wives and children. The error that progressives have consistently committed over the years is to underestimate the vitality of ignorance in America. Listen to what the red state citizens say about themselves, the songs they write, and the sermons they flock to. They know who they are—they are full of original sin and they have a taste for violence. The blue state citizens make the Rousseauvian mistake of thinking humans are essentially good, and so they never realize when they are about to be slugged from behind.

Jane, just a little reminder. History. Quantrill's Raiders were from the Confederacy. The Republicans were the ones to defeat them and end slavery. Just in case you forgot. Had enough yet? I didn't think so,

Here is how ignorance works: First, they put the fear of God into you—if you don't believe in the literal word of the Bible, you will burn in hell.... [Y]ou must abdicate all critical thinking, and accept a simple but logical system of belief that is dangerous to question. A corollary to this point is that they make sure you understand that Satan resides in the toils and snares of complex thought and so it is best not try it.
Next, they tell you that you are the best of a bad lot (humans, that is) and that as bad as you are, if you stick with them, you are among the chosen. This is flattering and reassuring, and also encourages you to imagine the terrible fates of those you envy and resent.... The history of the last four years shows that red state types, above all, do not want to be told what to do—they prefer to be ignorant. As a result, they are virtually unteachable.
Third, and most important, when life grows difficult or fearsome, they (politicians, preachers, pundits) encourage you to cling to your ignorance with even more fervor. But by this time you don't need much encouragement—you've put all your eggs into the ignorance basket, and really, some kind of miraculous fruition (preferably accompanied by the torment of your enemies, and the ignorant always have plenty of enemies) is your only hope. If you are sufficiently ignorant, you won't even know how dangerous your policies are until they have destroyed you, and then you can always blame others.

There, we've struck a nerve eh? Are median red state SAT scores lower than blue states. How did this incredible stupidity begin? Maybe eugenics. The blue staters won't breed there. One more,

The reason the Democrats have lost five of the last seven presidential elections is simple: A generation ago, the big capitalists, who have no morals, as we know, decided to make use of the religious right in their class war against the middle class and against the regulations that were protecting those whom they considered to be their rightful prey—workers and consumers. The architects of this strategy knew perfectly well that they were exploiting, among other unsavory qualities, a long American habit of virulent racism, but they did it anyway, and we see the outcome now—Cheney is the capitalist arm and Bush is the religious arm. They know no boundaries or rules. They are predatory and resentful, amoral, avaricious, and arrogant. Lots of Americans like and admire them because lots of Americans, even those who don't share those same qualities, don't know which end is up. Can the Democrats appeal to such voters? Do they want to? The Republicans have sold their souls for power. Must everyone?

Souless capitalists! There you go bringin' class into it again. Base10 is still in a residual good mood from the afterglow of the Bush re-election. Such vitriolic anti-democratic rhetoric can be forgiven--at least for the rest of the week. Anti-democracy it is. It's the same outlook that led to the existence of the Soviet slave-state. Forget about what the people actually want, they've been mislead by evil capitalists--encouraged by racial hatred to forget about their class status to prevent them from casting off the chains of capitalist tyranny and liberating the means of production. Workers of the red states, unite! (Boy, you know once you get started with socialist propaganda, it's hard to stop.)

To summarize, Republicans are:

• stupid
  
• ignorant
  
• violent
  
• religious fanatics
  
• hoodwinked by souless capitalists.

Jane, I hope you realized that you just lost any credibility with anyone other than those on the looney left. Speaking on behalf of all my ignorant racist brethren, I hope you make a living selling books only to extreme liberals like yourself.

Victor Davis Hanson has a slightly different take on it and gives some good advice to the Democrats,

Two multimillionaire lawyers from the East Coast were not populists ... and it was the epitome of arrogance to pretend that they were. Now is not the time for the Democrats to harp about "a divided county," but to ensure that next time Hollywood, MoveOn.org, rock stars, and billionaire currency speculators do not headline their campaign, though venom and money they may bring. Perhaps someone in the Democratic party will tally up a Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry and conclude that there is a pattern here that leads to political suicide. And perhaps the world will conclude that America, thank God, still stands firm against the utopian socialism of the U.N., Europe, and its own privileged sophisticates.

There it is. How about some more. I need to replace the bile with a little piss and vinegar.

In addition, most of us did not think that all the shrill and increasingly desperate efforts of Michael Moore, the New York Times, Dan Rather, ABC News, Ted Koppel, and Bruce Springsteen would turn the tide. In fact, most of us suspected that they might very well boomerang and ensure victory for President Bush — despite a supposedly "rocky" economy in key states, a war that was systematically reported, in biased fashion, as an American quagmire, and Kerry's smooth debating skills.
[M]ythical talk of the radical youth vote, the new Hispanic muscle, etc.; the on-air commentary of mainstream, teary-eyed talking heads sexing up a Kerry upset while the polls were still open in the West — could not pull it off. Despite all that and more, George Bush still outperformed Bill Clinton by being reelected with a majority vote and increasing his partisan margins in both the House and Senate.
Despite losing the majority of state legislatures and governorships, the U.S. Congress, the presidency, and soon the Supreme Court, our anointed elite still doesn't quite get it. Middle America can be amused by, but still despise, Michael Moore. It can be uneasy with the pessimistic reporting from Iraq, but still be very much willing to finish the war and win at all costs. It may enjoy a trip to Europe, but does not wish to emulate the French, Germans, or Greeks.

Got that Jane. The above limited quotes don't do Hanson justice. Read it all.

Media reports are that 10,000 US soldiers are in the process of surrounding Falluja. At least these brave men and women now know that a clear majority of the country is right behind them and is not going to abandon them or deny them victory, Democrat support-the-troops-but-not-the-war posturing not withstanding. Sending them into what may be the final decisive battle in Iraq, it is important that the entire country believes in what they are doing. Jane Smiley, I don't have to call you a jerk. Your own writing did.
- posted by Base10 @ 4:52 PM