Conservatives and progressives (as former liberals now like to be called) suffer from power envy. They will say or do anything, even subvert their own principles, to attain power.
Consider Arnold Schwarzenegger. He promised to halt California's big-spending. He did give it an honest try. Propositions 74 to 77 would have crippled California's big-government lobbies. Progressives panicked, spouting their usual hyperboles about the end of civilization. After Arnold's propositions lost, he switched sides, endorsing 2006's budget-buster bonds to fund a progressive wish list. But did progressives praise him for flip-flopping over to their side? No, that's no way to win elections. Instead, the folks at Air America radio attacked Arnold for the "hypocrisy" of his reckless spending. (Talk about pots calling a kettle black!) Of course, Air America broadcasters have long condemned Bush for his big-spending, without crediting him for an extravagant prescription drug plan - surely a bigger step toward socialized medicine than anything Clinton ever achieved.
Clearly, progressives aren't upset with Republicans' reckless spending. Rather, they're furious that they aren't the ones doing it. Power envy indeed.
Progressives are no better on privacy and civil liberties. They slam Bush for using 9/11 to push the Patriot Act, but few progressives attacked Clinton for using Oklahoma City to push the 1995 Omnibus Counterterrorism Act (easily as bad as the Patriot Act, see: http://www.skepticism.org/politics/terrorism/ter_AEDPA.shtml). Nor did progressives protest the FBI's profiling of NRA members (see: http://www.2ampd.net/Articles/Horn/Political%20Profiling.htm). Few progressives care about the rights of mostly white, middle-aged gun owners. And shame on the many conservative bloggers and talk radio hosts for not defending Arabs and Muslims' civil rights.
Yet even progressives demonize Arabs for political advantage. One Air America broadcaster appealed to racism when attacking Bush for his Dubai ports deal. She'd said the United Arab Emirates "injected" (her word) several 9/11 hijackers into America. That's like saying Africa "injected" OJ into America. The hijackers were individual criminals, not government agents. Their nationality is irrelevant. Similarly, University of Texas professor Robert Jensen criticized Michael Moore's "progressive" Fahrenheit 911 for using racist imagery for political gain (see: http://www.counterpunch.org/jensen07052004.html). I've also heard Air America broadcasters demonizing Saudi Arabians, a necessary corollary to condemning Bush's "Saudi ties."
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