Years ago Phil Ochs, the great folk singer, defined a liberal as somebody who is "ten degrees to the left of center during good times; and ten degrees to the right of center when it effects them personally." If Phil Ochs were alive today he might look at the far right in America and describe them as 40 degrees to the right of center when things are going well and 40 degrees to the left of center when it effects them personally.
Even by those standards, it is quite a time for the conservative movement. For example, the decision by Minister George Rekers, a fundamentalist minister and co-founder of the Family Research Council, to hire a young man who he found on the website rentboy.com to accompany him on a ten day jaunt to Europe does not even qualify as the most hypocritical thing done by a far right leader in recent weeks. Rekers is particularly outspoken in his anti-gay views and has previously dressed up his bigotry in the jargon of pseudo science claiming that through therapy and other interventions gay people can become straight. Nonetheless, there is nothing altogether new about far right homophobes being linked to gay liaisons of one kind or another. Rekers has impressive credentials as a hypocrite and bigot, but also loses some points for lack of originality.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's reaction to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, however, demonstrated a level of hypocrisy, and for that matter chutzpah that exceeds anything Rekers has done. Jindal, of course, rose to national prominence with his spirited attack on President Obama's policies following Obama's 2009 State of the Union speech. During that address, Jindal reminded Americans of the need for small government and urged us to remember that government, particularly the federal government, cannot solve our problems.
Since the oil spill, however, Jindal seems to have forgotten about his disdain for Washington and has asked the federal government for more assistance to clean up and mitigate the impact of the oil spill. Jindal has also asked for the federal government to fund the Louisiana National Guard to help with the oil spill related problems. Defenders of Jindal and his small government way of thinking undoubtedly think that this oil spill is sufficiently big and unexpected that there is a legitimate reason for Jindal to ask for help from Washington.
This view, however, captures exactly why the anti-government advocates are wrong. An important role of the federal government, of course, is to help out when problems are too big for state or local governments, but we also know that these events occur with some frequency. Oil spill, natural disasters, economic downturns and terrorist attacks are just some of the major events which require the intervention of the federal government. Building a political philosophy around the belief that they will not occur is absurd. While we may not know exactly when these events will occur, it somewhat disingenuous to act completely shocked when they happen. A major part of the responsibility of government is to be prepared for these bad scenarios. If disasters, foreign attacks and market collapses did not occur, then Jindal would be right about their being no need for government, but this is not the case.
Jindal's hypocrisy is founded on an implicit belief that nothing could have been done to prevent the oil spill or other major events of this kind. While it may be true that we cannot prevent earthquakes and hurricanes, through investing in infrastructure, other precautions and the ability to respond to disasters of this kind, we can reduce their impacts. The oil spill is, of course, a little different. It demonstrates the need for stronger environmental, safety and other regulations which may prevent future spills or similar disasters. This is similar to the financial crises which, like the oil spill, required some kind of immediate intervention by the federal government, but also reinforced the need for better regulation and, with apologies to Jindal, a more engaged federal government. By asking for assistance now, Jindal has become the elite equivalent of the thousands of tea partiers who want more government support for the things they think are important.
The problem with Jindal's critique of government is that under the guise of lecturing about personal responsibility it abandons any real notion of what responsibility is. It is easy to talk about the evils of taxes and the danger posed by a big government if you know that you can ask that government for help when things are really bad and your state is desperate for help. That is precisely what Jindal has done. Jindal and Rekers are not alone, but exemplify an almost willful blindness to the real world consequences of ideological extremism that has become something of the sine qua non of the far right.
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The George Alan Rekers story is over, but it still haunts me. I think this is because I can't help taking seriously the seemingly absurd statement Rekers made on his website after the stories of erotic massages from a male prostitute came to light.
Let's have some fun. How about the late Ted Kennedy? Or Nancy Pelosi? Or Michael Moore? Bill Clinton we know about, but what about his wife? Soros? List goes on, but does the media target them for saying one thing and doing the absolute opposite?
Heck no, the media loves them....and their money.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum who is running for Florida Governor.
Tell Bill to find another job:
Bill’s Contact Info
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mccollumforgovernor
Bill McCollum for Governor ; PO Box 10829 ; Tallahassee, FL 32302-2829
Phone: (850) 241-1885
Web site: http://www.billmccollum.com/contact/
On second thought, maybe Louisiana is victim of a hex???
I don't like taxes, but I do like Government services. We should be willing to pay for the ones we really want,... and to make those who benefit most from the relatively stable infrastructure, monetary system, legal system, and military protection chip in their share.
I resent Corporations that cleared billions in profits paying NO corporate income taxes. I resent individuals who make more money from investment than I do on wages paying lower taxes than I do.
A real Patriot pays their taxes.
Also, thanks for dusting off Phil Ochs! Those words were the intro to his song "Love Me, I'm a Liberal" (which, if you happen to be a liberal as I am, was none to flattering despite Mr. Ochs' own credentials).
I am nonplused how so many sexually exploitive people are at the same time members of the exploited class. Rekers accepts all the civil protections for people of his orientation while at the same time tries to undermine them. Both show a willingness to ignore basic acceptance of reality for personal aggrandizement. Both show a lack of character they will demonstrate clearly when they bite the hand that feeds them.....but only after they have eaten fully.
I've often said that even if the Republicans were correct, I could not support them because they are so mean-spirited - they believe all people are lying, cheating, thieving, lazy leeches. (More than a little projection involved here.)
Well, some people ARE lying, cheating, etc. But how awful to live in a world where you believe you are surrounded by such people and must crush them. I could not bear to live with their horrifying vision of humanity.