Friday, April 4, 2014

The Ahistoricity and Hypocrisy of American Conservatives

Public-Private Poutrage
Modern conservatives really are a marvel to watch. They combine the wisdom of Ron Burgundy with the self-awareness of Michael Scott.
So it shouldn't be surprising that conservatives' perception of their ongoing defeat in the culture wars is exactly the opposite of reality on every level too. But that doesn't mean we can't laugh at the ahistorical ranting. Cue the Powertools, lamenting the resignation of erstwhile Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich: "So the liberals claim another scalp. This is something new in our history, as far as I know. Until now, private citizens could hold whatever political beliefs they wanted, and support political causes as they chose."  Ever heard of the McCarthy hearings? Where a wingnut senator persecuted private citizens and destroyed their livelihoods because of their political beliefs? See, when the party of free markets decides to regulate political beliefs, it does so via the government. What happened to Eich is a free market phenomenon. You can make the argument that the companies and developers who balked at the prospect of working with a CEO who thinks gays are icky should have given Eich a chance. But the companies and developers are independent agents who are free to vote with their feet because freedom."
Always with the projection.

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