April 04, 2006

Feeling The Hate

I've often marvelled at the deep intensity of the anger and hate that the Left so often directs towards President Bush, Republicans in general and anything with a hint of Conservatism.

Back in the '90's, when I was a registered Democrat, I encountered my share of "Clinton Haters" such as they were. But "hater" doesn't accurately describe what I saw and heard. I think "disdain" would be more on the money. Maybe the worst I experienced could be called "personal disgust". The "Clinton Lied" meme was based on the theory that he was guilty of "waging the dog" by lobbing cruise missiles into Afghanistan and Sudan to deflect attention from his personal scandals. But then, one of his former handlers, Dick Morris, has confirmed this was actually the case. And lest we forget he did admit to lying to a grand jury. Which of course the anti-Bush crowd turned into their mantra "Clinton Lied, Nobody Died" - it was all just about sex, don't you know? What's the big deal?

But (aside from some regulars on the "Freeper" boards) the antipathy of the so-called "Clinton Haters" never rose to anywhere near the level of intensity demonstrated by today's Left on a daily basis. It's ironic that the 527 entity that was created to defend Clinton during his impeachment - "MoveOn.org" - has now morphed into an attack machine against Bush and his party. And for some people, "Bush-bashing" has become a career. I've often wondered why this is so. Why is the Left so damn angry and bitter and filled with gob-smacking bile toward the Right?

Dennis Prager looks at this phenomenon is his column today at TownHall.com. The answer, states Prager, comes from the moral superiority that Liberals (particularly the extreme Left) feel towards anyone who disagrees with them.

As Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic Party, said on national TV, "Our moral values, in contradiction to the Republicans', is we don't think kids ought to go to bed hungry at night." Republicans don't care about starving children. Liberals deem conservatives to be racist, homophobic, war mongering, money worshipping and sexist. It makes perfect sense to hate such people. I would, too.

The converse is not true. Conservatives tend to view liberals as immature and foolish. But childish adults and fools don't merit the hatred that racists do. And the liberal charge that conservatives generally label war critics "traitors" is pure fabrication.

Liberals may counter that conservatives hated President Bill Clinton. But that hatred has been more than matched by liberals' hatred for George W. Bush. And more to the point, Bill Clinton is one individual. Liberals hate virtually all conservatives with the same intensity that many conservatives hated one man named Bill Clinton.

There are conservative examples of such hatred. But they are much more rare. I am comparing the typical passionate liberal with the equally passionate conservative.

So what happens when Bush leaves office in January 2009? Does the anti-Bush feeling go away? I don't think so. The Left will continue to attack the President long after he's retired to his ranch in Crawford, TX. And the next target will be whomever is considered the top ranking Republican - whether he (or she) is in the White House or not.

But if Democrats and Liberals are serious about getting back in power they first need to recognize that people who take the time to exercise their right to vote do so more often than not to vote FOR something rather than AGAINST something. If they don't give the electorate something to vote for, their chances of success aren't good. More likely the average swing voter will wonder what I'm wondering: What exactly is wrong with these people?

Posted by: Gary at 09:22 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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