The intertubes have been filled since last November with various long-winded bloviations and philosophical wankery about what conservatives, Republicans and conservative Republicans "still stand for/really are." A lot has been a race to go farther and farther right despite a "majority voter" being pretty middle of the road.
I ran across this little gem from one of Michigan's own Congresspersons, The Honorable Thaddeus McCotter (R - MI 11). It is an article in the oft-poked-fun-of Big Government e-zine from conservative columnist Andrew Breitbart. It is a discussion about how a new generation of Republicans - The Global Generation - must rise up to meet our new global and national challenges; nay, only The Global Generation Republicans will be able to meet what faces us.
Really, it's a cheer-leading rah-rah post full of $50 words disguised as deep thoughts. I'm all for leadership and finding your path, but this is full of hyperbole and villification of Teh Left as a straw-man enemy. The truth is teh left isn't the enemy at all; they're Americans just like THE GLOBAL GENERATION REPUBLICANS ™.
To set the tone, Rep. McCotter puts it right out there:
They were “Wide Awakes” – scores of torchbearers marching through sleepy hamlets to herald the emancipation of a people from the bonds of slavery into God-given liberty. These despised and decried champions of human freedom and defenders of American Union proudly called themselves “Republicans.”
See? Just like today's republicans who are despised and decried but champions of FREEDOM nonetheless! Torture?? We're champions of freedom, bitches.
One of my favorite gems is this:
Indeed, through history’s lens Global Generation Republicans glean the transformational challenges confronting our nation.
In their time, the Greatest Generation faced and transcended four transformational challenges:
1. The social, economic and political upheavals of industrialization;
2. A world war against evil enemies;
3. The Soviet Union’s strategic threat and rival model of governance; and
4. The moral struggle of the civil rights movement.
In our time, our Global Generation faces and must transcend four transformational challenges:
1. The social, economic and political upheavals of globalization;
2. A world war against evil enemies;
3. Communist China’s strategic threat and rival model of governance; and
4. Moral relativism’s erosion of our self-evident truths.
Despite the parallels, one significant difference exists: The Greatest Generation faced their challenges consecutively; our Global Generation faces our challenges simultaneously.
Ah yes! A history lesson with a comparative analysis of our current world! What a great intellectual exercise. Also, China! Beware!
There are a lot of holes in that particular comparative analysis that we can all hash-out in the comments, but I would argue that industrialization and globalization are two completely different paradigms, the latter of which requires unprecedented cooperation and a stream of communication that cannot be managed. In fact, I would argue that globalization is the best paradigm yet for the spread of true, honest democracy. And it requires a breakdown of industrialization.
The "world war against evil enemies" is lazy. The similarities between WWII and our current GWOT are akin to the similarities between Bud Light and Stone Russian Imperial Stout.
Now, the USSR/China comparison is clever enough, as their governments are indeed rival. But what I think Thadd misses is that China is becoming increasingly 1) global; and 2) capitalist. China's threat to the U.S. is in now war a Cold War nuclear threat of destruction. Their threat to us is forcing us to pay-off our debt, and crushing our ability to manufacture and export. Their threat to us is not war. It's global, and economic. And you treat those differently! At least, I hope one would...
Nice inclusion of the moral struggle behind civil rights. Someone remind me...a whole bunch of people in my parents' generation didn't have to struggle with the concept of civil rights. Seemed obvious to them. But I would like to know more about "Moral relativism’s erosion of our self-evident truths." Which self-evident truths? That we are created equal? I don't recall any single person or belief between the two major U.S. parties that argues a relativist position to that "truth." What I do see is a series of
actions that supports the opposite: moral absolutism eroding self-evident truths.
What really pisses me off is that this is on one hand a lazy "intellectual" call to arms, and on the other hand an attack on the Left:
In this noble, necessary service, Global Generation Republicans are guided by our party’s five enduring principles:
1. Our liberty is from God not the government;
2. Our sovereignty is in our souls not the soil;
3. Our security is from strength not surrender;
4. Our prosperity is from the private sector not the public sector; and
5. Our truths are self-evident not relative.
Understanding “politics is the art of the possible,” we embrace our members’ variety of opinions regarding the application of these principles to contemporary challenges; and we never forget that the Left disdains our five enduring principles.
What?? Look, the 5 Principles are fine, and to a degree, I agree with them (the degree being inversely proportional to the amount of hyperbole or buzz-word-addiction therein; Security being from strength not surrender gets less support because it is intellectually lazy and pretty fucking obvious, but is also an equally lazy
implied attack on the current administration's foreign policy tac). But that "never forget the Left disdains our five enduring principles" is unnecessary and total bullshit.
Oh wait, I think I just disdained them.
Look, I am all for speaking out against the majority party. That is indeed one of the things that makes us great. Bitch all you want. God knows, Teh Left did it plenty during the Bush Administration, and with as much vitriol. What I disagree with is the villification of a party for "disdaining" your principles, which shift. The opposite party does something, to which you hold up to an ever-changing kaleidoscope and say "they are our
enemy because they violated Principle 3(a)." And either party makes me nuts when they declare the other party an enemy of America. They aren't. They are doing what they think is best. But there are people who truly believe, either way, that the other party
actually wishes to destroy America. Not only does that chill debate, but it refuses to recognize opposing viewpoints as valid and can
incite people to violence. You are
threatening someone's beliefs.
Thadd's piece is no rousing call-to-arms. It's just another lazy philosophical meandering with appropriate rails against the opposing party sprinkled throughout. Still waiting for that honest piece to come out...
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My second experience with Tommyknockers came 21 years later. This one come in a brown bottle from Idaho Springs, CO. The back of the bottle tells me that Tommyknockers are "mischievous elves who slipped into mining camps with the Cornish miners in the 1800s." This website spells out the legend.
