Monday, July 26, 2010

Leftists In Wonderland

For those of you who weren't aware of it, there were two dueling political conventions going on in Las Vegas last week. The conservatives held one of them, but the biggie was the leftist Netroots Nation, organized by Markos Moulitsas who founded the Daily Kos. Though Kos had many friends at the convention, it was his website that caused it to gain the popular appellation "nutroots."

The attendance at the get-together was estimated at over 2,000 of the best, brightest, cleverest and techiest leftists from the internet. The group played a major part in electing Barack Obama. The conferences have been held for the past five years, and each year the strains of left-wing politics get stronger. This year, they were downright hostile to the moderates and faint-hearted liberals of the Democratic Party. Many of the participants make "progressives" look like reactionaries.

So it's not unsafe to say that the conventioneers are a trifle angry at the Blue Dog Democrats. The socialist agenda that the netroots thought was theirs for the taking has been grossly reduced by Blue Dogs and the fellow-traveling but weak-kneed President. Even the horrendous health care reform bill doesn't include a public option, let alone a complete elimination of all private health care. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid may try to slip that one past the people by stealth, but they have little support from the Blue Dogs or the Empty Suit.

The boys and girls of the radical left are not good Party people. They have made it clear that they are not going to try to save the Democratic Party from disaster this fall by lending their support to candidates who aren't Marxist enough to satisfy them. As Moulitsas said to the New York Times: "If 20 Blue Dogs lost their seats, nobody's going to care (except the Blue Dogs themselves, I'm guessing). That's their problem and I'm not going to cry about them. To me, a more cohesive caucus might be a better deal moving forward than one in which the Blue Dogs need to be appeased." Well--so much for the old saying that politics is the art of compromise.

There were plenty of fun speakers at the events--leftists, loonies and Euro-weenie socialists galore. But my favorite speaker was the one who tells us all we need to know about the nutroots. They're crazy, they're dangerous, and they think self-proclaimed communist ex-administration superstar Van Jones is just dandy for their cause.

The beauty of this is that Republicans and conservatives don't have to marginalize these loons. They're doing it to themselves, and better yet, weakening the Democratic majority needed to pass their Marxist agenda. So-called progressives are loud and visible, but they comprise a small portion of the Democratic Party. They helped liberals win election in the last round, and grudgingly assisted Blue Dogs that they weren't entirely sure of yet. But they've made it clear that they won't do it this time. Their activism was a plus for the Democrats in the past three election cycles, and their silence this time might not have had much effect. But their vocal opposition will do some serious damage in contested states where a moderate Democrat might ordinarily have a good chance of winning.

Moulitsas's largest benefactor is the Nazi-collaborator turned currency manipulator George Soros. Soros gave us a preview of what the open opposition of the far left can do to a Democratic hopeful's chances. Soros's MoveOn crowd spent $2.5 million touting their far left candidate for governor of Arkansas, Lt Gov.Bill Halter. The moderate/liberal Democrat in the race was Senator Blanche Lincoln. Lincoln won, but in the interim, she went from a draw with the future Republican candidate to being nineteen points behind. How much of that damage is due to the leftists is debatable, but there's no doubt it hurt Lincoln badly.

For Republicans and conservatives this is a consummation devoutly to be wished. Whether the nutroots stay silent or actively oppose moderate Democratic candidates, they are helping to rid Congress of some of its deadwood. The nutroots are either ignoring, denying or misunderstanding a basic political calculus. It is important to elect as many candidates who support your views as possible, but at the same time elect those who are not entirely in-sync with your views but don't outright oppose them and can put the numbers on the tally sheet necessary to pass legislation.

For the left, those candidates need to have (D) after their names. At the same time, this is a powerful piece of instruction to purist conservatives who don't understand that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Do what you can to get like-minded candidates elected, but don't hang yourself and your agenda by refusing to support those who are willing to listen and cooperate in the name of party unity. Are you listening, Republican Party?

18 comments:

HamiltonsGhost said...

Lawhawk--It is fun watching them form a circular firing squad. But I'm also with you on the idea that we don't need our purists to try to form a better circular firing squad.

Unknown said...

HamiltonsGhost: That is so important that we've covered the concept more than once on this site. The Kosites can't get a single piece of legislation through without enough (D)s in the caucus totals. Likewise, we cannot promote conservative causes and undo the damage of the Obama administration without the right number of (R)s in the caucus totals. We didn't learn the lesson of being careful about the number of RINOs in Congress. They were many, and they usually had the advantage of incumbency. But that doesn't mean a solid effort in a liberal district might not have produced a successful moderate who would vote with the more conservative wing of the party--something a RINO would rarely do. Now we have to learn the other lesson--if we're in a district that will never elect a movement conservative, do the next best thing and find the closest thing to a moderate/conservative available. Then support that candidate fully in order to get another (R) in the caucus totals.

AndrewPrice said...

I hear that all kinds of Democratic candidates are appearing at this little shindig. I guess that tells you where the power shift has gone -- from newspapers and "journals" to bloggers. Woo hoo!

Joel Farnham said...

LawHawk,

I agree, but I am concerned that there aren't enough conservatives. What has happened is the Republican party usually backed faux conservatives, people who are satisfied with the statists in control. Conservatives voters all too often get the McCain types to vote for. Not the Reagan types.

This election is the repudiation of Statist control of the country. Right now statist control is defined by the Democrats. If all that happens is the Republicans become statist, we really haven't won.

Writer X said...

I wonder what the spreads are in Vegas for the winners/losers in November? It seems fitting that this convention was in Vegas. The more that Reid, Pelosi, et al. align with these fraternity rejects, the better. It was like watching a bad National Lampoon movie.

Unknown said...

Andrew: It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch. At least with the MSM, there might be some confusion as to exactly how liberal a Democrat is. When they make an appearance to court the nutroots, all doubt is removed.

Unknown said...

Joel: I think you miss the point. Of course it's true that if all Republicans are statists then we've accomplished nothing. But they're not, and we have an emerging young conservative group of private citizens and elected representatives. If they hold themselves too pure to deal with moderates, then the statists win anwyay. The whole concept is that if there are an equal number of conservatives and progressives in Congress, then it's better to have Republican moderates to convince than it is to have alleged Democrat moderates to court.

By having the (R) after their names, those moderates already have expressed a certain willingness to consider conservative action. A (D) means there's next-to-no-chance to convince them. Party cohesion matters, whether we like it or not. If we just throw up our hands in despair because of candidates like McCain, we've lost before we even get into the ring. Not all moderates are RINOs or "mavericks." Some just represent districts which are less conservative than we would like. But an (R) is better for our cause than a (D) any day in the week.

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, I heard they were even booing the Democrats who they thought weren't sufficiently far left! Ha! These people will tear their side apart and I'm going to enjoy every moment of it.

Unknown said...

WriterX: I expect my representatives to show up at the lefty conventions to try to get their help. After all, I was represented by Nancy Pelosi and am represented by Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein at the national level. It would be more interesting to know the names of those who have not openly endorsed the Obama/Reid/Pelosi agenda who showed up at the Nutroots Nation convention. I suspect there were a few Sestak-types who claim to be moderate Blue Dogs but were making secret deals with the left for their support.

Unknown said...

Andrew: That's true. These people are zealots, and their leftist-puritan hatred is going to do the Democrats in. Frankly, I see more of a likelihood of a new party made up of these creeps than I do that the Tea Party will try to replace the Republicans. The Tea Party just wants good small government representatives, not representatives of their own specific agenda. The left wants leftists, and only leftists, and there aren't enough of them around to form a real party, but plenty of them to damage the Democrats.

Tennessee Jed said...

bright light city gonna set their souls on fire . . . Interesting post, Hawk. I agree more chance of a spin off from the marxists than tea party types. Sure, there are people who have tried to coopt or formalize the tea party people, but to me, that is much more a state of mind regarding taxes and growing big government with the resultant loss of individual liberty.

There is really a great chance to take back the country over the next two election cycles as long as we don't make the same mistakes.

Unknown said...

Tennessee: I see the Tea Party exactly the same way. And I'm also convinced that's why it's so effective. A moderate Democrat who kept his word could find the Tea Party in his corner, even if they didn't actively campaign for him.

No moderate Democrat or Republican will ever be tolerated by the nutroots or their companion but internet-averse Marxists. They are today's version of the Peace and Freedom Party, which was formed by left-wing opposition to the Vietnam War. It still exists in many states, but has less political clout than my cat. The Nutroots Party could form for similar reasons, with a similar outcome.

StanH said...

“Nutroots, a convention of - - buffoons, bozo’s, and bed wetter’s, come too Vegas and seethe with like minded simpletons, who’s biggest concern is…what’s in it for me? Breakout session include, weeping for ones way, Marxist I most admire, and goose stepping is great for your cardiovascular, and special keynote speaker, Pres. Jimmy Carter and a riveting dissertation on malaise can be fun…see you in Vegas!”

They say you’re defined by your enemies…wow!

Unknown said...

LawHawk. And to prove the point that the netroots aren't funny, their keynote speaker was the extremely unfunny Al Franken.

Joel Farnham said...

LawHawk,

I did get the point. I just feel that the work to be done now is making sure the Republican elite don't destroy the good that has happened.

Unknown said...

Stan: Don't forget, these are Marxists. The individual doesn't exist, only the collective. Therefore, the appropriate question is "what's in it for us? Like the Soviet communists of old, the nutroots and their leftist friends will never comprise more than about 10% of the population, but unlike the commies, these are pinky-finger leftists who are scared to death of guns or even a loudly-spoken insult being hurled at them. They will always be a fringe-group, but at least it looks like they're going to damage their favorite party just when that party needs all the help they can get.

Unknown said...

Joel: The Republican elite is on the ropes, aging fast, and losing whatever energy they used to have. They'll continue to hang around for awhile, occasionally scoring a minor victory, but the tide has turned. For now, we should just use them for their institutional experience and dismiss that Old Guard crap forever.

The "work to be done" is to defeat the Democrats. And if it produces a genuine conservative revolution this time, so much the better.

Unknown said...

CalFed: Al Franken hasn't been funny since his second appearance on SNL two hundred years ago (or so it seems). He's been working from a script so long that he actually believes he was elected Senator legitimately and is qualified to do the job. Now that's funny.

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