In the wake of Thursday's health care summit in Washington, orange Republican Senator John Boehner took to YouTube to answer a series of questions on health care reform that had been pre-submitted by YouTube users. For the most part, Boehner rattled off the standard litany of GOP talking points -- move along, nothing to see here -- but Breitbart's Big Government site allowed him to do a quick write up on the exchange, which means that Breitbart's audience was given the opportunity to comment on Boehner's points and the health care debate in general.
And that's where things get interesting.
Look, as I've been saying lately ad nauseam, read through the comment section of any partisan online outlet -- either side, left or right -- and it's impossible to ignore how nearly interchangeable the two sides of the political divide are when it comes to their rhetoric. There's the childish derogatory wordplay -- "DemocRATS" and "Rethugs" -- the specious accusations, the kind of blather that makes you wonder if the commenter is arguing simply to hear him or herself argue. But where there are differences, they're vast and impossible to ignore -- one of the major ones being the incendiary, irresponsible and absolutely fucking dangerous calls to arms you hear on the right, proving the point that it's not so much that side's loutish carnival barkers that anyone should worry about -- since their shtick is largely about making money or getting votes -- but the True Believers who hang on every word from these clowns like it's gospel and use it to fuel their already raging paranoid psychopathy. There have always been violent activists on the far left, but they've never been given the kind of encouragement and legitimacy that the batshit crazy anti-government crowd is currently enjoying on the right. In other words, what used to be the fringe right isn't really relegated to the fringes these days -- the "far" right ain't so far anymore.
Case in point: One commenter to the Breitbart-Boehner post writes this, and receives a series of replies like "Here, here fellow patriot!" (which is as frightening as it is grammatically incorrect):
"Mr. Boehner,
Just curious when you and the rest of the Rep party will get a spine? You guys are no different than the other side you run your mouths about how bad things are BUT what have YOU done? Did you scream out in session and bring proceedings to a halt? Did you organize a walkout at the health summit yesterday? We the people all know it was nothing but a patronizing show orchestrated by his majesty BHO better yet the three stooges after complaints about transparency and opening debate up to the public...
Do us all a favor Mr. Boehner, you and the rest of the DC Rep. inept either grow a spine or a set of b___s and physically do something (walkout, bring govt to a halt) vs the daily rants, should I say whining, we are oh so tired of...
Go read the Constitution, words of our founding fathers and really do something or stand down and let someone who is ready to truly take them on in! Maybe you haven't realized but the old piece of paper called the Declaration of Independence was pretty much those men signing their own death warrant if what they planned failed? Can you do that? Are your ready to do that? If not get out of our way WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK! "
The commenter then posts a link to this YouTube video. I'm pretty good at shrugging off inconsequential crap, but its message is 100% clear -- and it's scary as hell.
This is what's fulminating on the right these days: The belief that the country white Christian men have always been entitled to was illegitimately stolen away from them -- despite the overwhelming disagreement of the electorate, which more than ever represents the changing face of America -- and must now be retaken by any means necessary. This is the kind of shit being spewed by conspiracist whack-jobs like the Oath Keepers -- who are bestowing upon themselves the blessing of the invoked-to-death forefathers, arming themselves and making ludicrous promises to stand against the creeping socialist threat, the one that's nothing more than a fucking paranoid delusion. This is what's being fomented by irresponsible little turds like Glenn Beck. They're creating a dark fantasy land of hidden terrors and outlandish boogeymen that has zero basis in reality.
And this is what's wrong with the right these days.
Related:
DXM: Revolutionary Goad/4.7.09
No comments:
Post a Comment