Posts with the tag conservatives

Adam Smith: Down With The Cause?

Jake Blumgart — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:52:13 EST

You know him, you love him.

Well, you probably don't love him if you've ever bickered with a conservative friend about, well, anything. Those guys love to liberally sprinkle their conversations with Smith quotes and references. It doesn't matter if they are arguing for free trade, financial deregulation, or clubbing baby seals: they always manage to work him in somewhere.

Until now! I'm officially co-opting Adam Smith for my pro-soda tax argument. You may remember last year when the The idea of a soda tax was floated to help pay for healthcare—and then squashed by huge piles of industry money. But the idea itself is sound, and several states (California, New York) and cities (Philly) are considering soda taxes to help plug the ragged holes in their budgets. The argument is that soda isn't a food, but a luxury, and a ridiculously unhealthy luxury at that (akin to tobacco and booze). Therefore, when policy makers have to choose between cutting education or health programs for poor people and raising the tax on high-fructose corn syrup in a can, they can chose the latter.

Expect conservatives to raise their usual whinging chorus whenever any new tax is considered. But this time we can use the words of their hero against them.

Quoth the great capitalist sage of yore: "Sugar, rum, and tobacco are commodities which are nowhere necessities of life, which are become objects of universal consumption, which are therefore extremely proper subjects of taxation."

Boo-yah!

The Ungovernable Movements

Pema Levy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:31:50 EST

It's been a few days now since I attended the last day of CPAC, and I have been turning it over in my mind ever since. As Erin mentioned on the blog yesterday, for CPAC's attendees, "Logic is irrelevant." I generally have faith in popular movements that confront injustice (e.g. Civil Rights movement). But CPAC was, if anything, dispiriting; it is hard to have faith in people when confronted with crowds who are completely uncritical of what they were being told.

Leonard Pitts, Jr. at the Miami Herald recently used his column to mourn "a time when facts settled arguments." Reading Pitt's column, I was hoping for the uplifting ending, the moment where he told me how we would overcome this scourge of irrationality and fear. Instead, Pitts had written a eulogy:

"...increasingly, we are a people estranged from critical thinking, divorced from logic, alienated from even objective truth. We admit no ideas that do not confirm us, hear no voices that do not echo us, sift out all information that does not validate what we wish to believe."

Obviously, the failure of facts is problematic for Democrats. For example, it is difficult to debate health care reform with people screaming about death panels, or claiming that the president were born in Africa. For its political efficacy, the Republican establishment has largely played along. 2012 presidential contenders were at CPAC; Rep. Alex King commiserated with domestic terrorist/suicide bomber Joseph Andrew Stack (who is being hailed as an anti-government hero by some on the far right). But the Republican establishment is also notoriously short-sighted, and these political games can have serious ramifications.

An exception to the Republican myopia is Michael Gerson's Friday op-ed at the Washington Post. Gerson, Bush's former speech writer, is no moderate, but he is scared of what the far right is quickly becoming. He seems to believe, and I agree, that to reign in the extremist fervor on the right, Party leadership must take the firs step; that this state of anger and fear calls for top-down discipline, not populist outrage.

Leader of NOM 'Didn't Come Prepared' To Talk About Same-Sex Marraige at Gay Conservative Event

Kay — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:56:36 EST

The Cato Institute had an event today asking the question, "Is there a place for gay people in conservativsm and conservative politics?"

Maggie Gallagher, who founded the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy and is president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), got up and said she didn't come prepared to talk about same-sex marriage.

It's a bit baffling that Gallagher, who sits as president of the organization that chiefly opposed Proposition 8 in California, didn't seem to think that same-sex marriage would come up in a discussion about gays and conservatives. Atlantic blogger Andrew Sullivan, an openly gay conservative, and Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom Nick Herbert, who is openly gay, both made emotional cases for same-sex marriage in America.

Highlights:

Sullivan called constitutional bans on same-sex marriage the most serious attack on rights "since Jim Crow."
Gallagher and Sullivan do not like each other, often raising their voices and talking over one another. At one point, Gallagher admitted she was "scared" and didn't want to "say what she thinks."
A question about whether transgender people fit into conservatism was met with awkward silence, and then Sullivan says what Gallagher's allies practice is "bigotry," and that he looks forward to the day that conservatives welcome transgender individuals.
Herbert notes that once the Conservative Party in the UK adopted a pro-gay platform, many gays "came out as conservatives."

Side note: Cato seemed to have had trouble finding conservative lesbians or people of color to speak on the panel, since all panelists were white and the only pro-gay conservatives were men. Gallagher has disclosed that she's married to a man in the past.

Reagan: Most Overrated President of All Time?

Kay — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:43:15 EST

(Flickr/spacedustdesign)

Today California state Sen. Tony Strickland proposed a memorial statue of Ronald Reagan to be erected at California's state Capitol to commemorate Reagan's 100th birthday. In this case, it sort of makes sense -- after all, Reagan was the governor of California before he was president.

But now is as good of a time as any to remember that Reagan has an absurd number of things in America commemorating him. Wikipedia even has a list of honors named for Reagan, organized by state. As a resident of the District of Columbia, which in 1998 went from having a "Washington National Airport" to having a "Ronald Reagan National Airport," this naming things after Reagan thing is starting to get absurd.

Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform has been stepping up its efforts to have even more things named after Reagan in recent years. Their efforts are to start conversations about how awesome Reagan was by having a landmark in every state named after him. So it's no accident more and more things are named after Reagan.

Thoughts on the Employee Free Choice Act, Featuring David Madland

Jake Blumgart — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:44:12 EST

I’m going to have an article up soon on our main page about the probable demise of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a bill that I have frequently supported throughout my tenure at Campus Progress. (The bill would make it easier to organize unions, an almost impossible task these days.)

In preparation for my article I interviewed David Madland, the Director of The Center For American Progress’ American Worker Project, and a strong EFCA advocate. He has a quote in the forthcoming article, and his ideas certainly bear out my own.

Me: "What is the principal obstacle to labor law reform today?"

Madland: "The Senate."

But there were some things we talked about that I didn’t get to include in the article and I think they deserve some screen time to. Below you’ll find some excerpts about the reasons behind the near-universal conservative opposition to the bill, and my post interview comments are in italics.

Planning a Vacation? Liberty Ship Lollipop

Kay — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:07:44 EST

In case you just can't get enough of the Tea Party movement, you can buy a ticket to the Liberty Ship for only $799!

Sarah Palin Is Too Cool for Conservatives

Kay — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:15:41 EST

(Flickr/geerlingguy)

Sarah Palin, who has been making the circuit to promote our new book, has apparently turned down CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Committee held in Washington, D.C., every summer.

Palin received a large sum of money -- reports range anywhere from $35,000 to $75,000 -- for speaking fees at the Tea Party National convention. CPAC confirms that it does not pay its speakers to appear at the event.

Speakers at CPAC last year include Rush Limbaugh, Ward Connelly, Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former presidential contender Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich.

Palin has declined to make the lineup for the second year in a row.

Steven Crowder: Terrible Bigots Make Great Points

C_Jefferson — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:06:34 EST

Steven Crowder, the conservative boy clown Campus Progress warned you about last week, just released a new YouTube video in which he explores the failures of Detroit, his birthplace, through a far-right lens

Naturally, Crowders fans immediately started in with the vehement racism. Crowder's response? Laughter and goading, of course. Because that's what dangerous populists do.

Gender-Neutral Dorms Will Sully 'Gender Roles,' End World

Erin Rosa — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:20:15 EST

George Washington University is considering a policy that would defile the moral underpinnings of higher education.

Or at least that’s according to the Young America’s Foundation, a conservative group claiming that the possibility of gender-neutral housing on campus will prevent students from being “model citizens,” by turning them into lazy, hedonistic, sexual deviants…or something like that.

From a YAF blog post today:

Morally, such housing situations will devoid students of the opportunity to learn how to be model citizens and will adversely affect academic performance, by destroying the safe learning climate that is the University. Such housing situations blur the lines of acceptable gender roles and encourage a culture of promiscuity and instant gratification.

The YAF chapter at the university has pledged to fight the proposal, refusing to drink what it calls “liberal kool-aid.”

Meanwhile, since CampusProgress broke the story about Princeton approving co-ed housing in October, there have so far been no reports of the school and its dormitories rapidly deteriorating.

YAF Calls for Liberals to Enlist, Stays Home to Fight 'the Battle of Ideas'

Kay — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:41:37 EDT

I'm really trying to back off of making fun of Young America's Foundation. Honestly. But sometimes they make it just too easy. Take, for instance, the poll they put up on their site this week:

Yes, you're reading that correctly. The poll question is, "Why haven't Obama's youth brigades signed up for military service?" The options to answer are, "They prefer telling others how to live their lives," "They are chicken hawks," "They are just chickens," and "All of the above." (The current winning answer, by the way? It's D, winning at 63 percent.)

The question is first of all weird because Obama didn't actually campaign on going to war. In fact, he campaigned on the idea of getting out of Iraq. Furthermore, some on the left are growing impatient with Afghanistan and continuing to protest the U.S. presence there.

But the implication here is obvious. YAF seems to believe that Real Americans ™ enlist in the military when their president is in power. But if that's true, then why did Jason Mattera, YAF spokesman, insist that he didn't need to enlist in the military because he was busy "fighting the battle of ideas"? Watch it:

Obama Tells the Kid Throwing a Tantrum in the Corner of the Birthday Party to Get Over It, or Go Home

kreeves — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:44:22 EDT

Obama was his usual, coolheaded self in front of Congress tonight, but he still managed to say to Republicans: You know you’re being assholes, and I know you're being assholes, and I'm about to get really angry. It felt like a reckoning:

If you come to me with a serious set of proposals, I will be there to listen. My door is always open.

But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out.

The imperative gives me chills.

Also powerful was his quoting of Ted Kennedy:

"What we face," he wrote, "is above all a moral issue; at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country."

Republicans ears may have perked up at the “M” word, but they
undoubtedly resumed plugging their ears and going "na na na" at “social justice.”

Today is the National Day of Silence

Tanya Paperny — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:40:24 EDT

4 out of 5 LGBT students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school, according to a GLSEN survey.

Today, April 25th, 2008, marks the 12th Annual Day of Silence, a day where students vow to take a pledge of silence to commemorate anti-LGBT violence and bullying and work to make campuses safe for people of all gender and sexual identities.

"Help conservative students break the left-wing monopoly on college campuses."

Kayla — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:11:13 EDT

"The pay is generous. The experience is priceless."

The Leadership Institute is hiring 70(!) representatives to "help conservative students break the left-wing monopoly on college campuses."

"Benefits" include:

Field reps receive $2,500 per month salary, plus $600 per week housing allowance, as well as additional allowances for cell phone use, recruitment expenses, gas, and more.
A free laptop is yours to use throughout the semester. It becomes yours to keep upon successful completion of the program.
Your employment with LI as a field rep is resumé gold. Field reps use the experience and connections they gain from LI’s National Field Representative Program to launch rewarding careers...

Warning: May require sale of soul to Satan.

Victims of Conservative Ideology?

Tanya Paperny — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:31:13 EST

With the weird and slightly apocalyptic weather and flooding recently (DC is like 70 right now), I have some disjointed thoughts about conversations that look place after that bridge in Minneapolis collapsed. Here's why:

The Liberal Arts

Justin Elliott — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:09:42 EST

Liberals are pointy-headed, creative individualists. Conservatives are money-grubbing family men who don’t care for the “life of the mind.” So goes the conventional wisdom, newly reinforced by an American Enterprise Institute study, “Left Pipeline: Why Conservatives Don’t Get Doctorates.” The study, Scott Jaschik at Inside Higher Ed reports,

argues that the much debated minority status for conservatives in higher education may be the result of differing priorities of graduating college seniors of different political persuasions. The study presents evidence that conservatives are significantly more likely than liberals — at the point when college students decide whether to apply to graduate school — to value raising a family and having money. In contrast, liberals at that point in their lives are significantly more likely to value writing original works. ...

Reagan-Colored Glasses

Kay Steiger — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:27:23 EST

In today's sceney the-state-of-young-conservatism-today piece in the WaPo, there was no shortage of glowing praise for that eternal conservative flame: Ronald Reagan. Campus Progress recently examined the fixation groups like Young America's Foundation have with the old Gipper. What's aways incomprehensible to me is that when you compare the two conservative two-term presidents we've had, Bush and Reagan, Bush seems to be far to the right of Reagan. Bush exploded the deficit more, fought a real war in the name of democracy, actually legislated a chip on Roe v. Wade, and has done a better job of putting toe-the-line conservatives in high positions. So why is Bush so absent among the rosy speeches that young conservatives make?

Is it just that Bush is that unpopular, even among the youth? Possibly, but I think the real thing here is that we're witnessing is the fundamental problem with conservatism in practice. At the core of their ideology, conservatives believe that the best of life and politics was in the past. First, they tried to hark back to the 1950s and early '60s. Now, it's the '80s. I've no doubt Bush will be elevated to such a position, but his time has not yet come. He's too fresh. Soon enough, though, conservatives will begin to gloss over Bush's errors and hail him as the last man that truly fought for conservatism. Too bad he's not there yet; he could really use the ratings.

Rudy Giuliani joined the group "SNL's 10 Most Awkward Moments."

Ramya — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:00:34 EDT

People for the American Way's spoof Facebook site, "Right-Wing Facebook" is pretty hilarious and is worth a visit. There's the obvious, like Mike Huckabee's group membership in "I Heart Huckabees" and Mitt Romney's listing of "Big Love" as one of his favorite TV shows, but there are also some hidden gems within the site.

A few highlights include:

Fred Thompson is a member of the group, "My Wife is Hotter Than Your Wife (Unless You're Dennis Kucinich"

Romney comparing a "Poison-style 80s haircut" to his stances on abortion and gay rights

John McCain's status is set to: John McCain is looking for spare change between couch cushions.

Enjoy!

Who Needs a Psych Eval--student or Pat Robertson?

Ramya — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 10:34:38 EDT

Adam Key, a law student at Regent University in Houston Texas, has been suspended "pending a psychiatric evaluation" for posting a picture on his Facebook profile of Regent founder Pat Robertson flipping the bird.

The Regent administration claims that Key was suspended for wielding a gun on campus (which Key denies). Key's response to the request for a psychiatric evaluation:

"I will undergo this psychiatric exam after Regent forces Pat Robertson to undergo one. Truly, what’s crazier… disagreeing with the administration, or hearing voices that tell you about hurricanes that don’t happen, and the impending apocalypse?"

Fun facts about Regent University: Regent is rated the #1 most conservative school in the nation. Approximately 150 of its graduates are serving in the Bush administration.

Get the full skinny at Think Progress...

Racist Chairman of University Board

Ben Adler — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 18:02:17 EDT

What is it with Roger Williams University? In 2003 the Roger Williams College Republicans, led by our friend Jason Mattera, got on FOX News for a typical silly rightwing stunt: creating a "whites only" scholarship. Now, the chairman of their board has resigned because he used a racist slur to refer to African-Americans in a discussion (ironically) about how under-represented minorities and women are on the board. I wonder what Mattera thinks of this.

Brooks: Better off sticking to Bobos

Ben Adler — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:26:19 EDT

Dana does a pretty good job eviscerating David Brooks' silly new column on female pop stars both on his argument and the niggling little matters of, you know, fact that Brooks is wont to ignore. I have to say, Brooks' columns on anything relevant to people under 35 are just so awkward and wrong-headed it makes me feel embarassed and uncomfortable just reading them.