Sanity On The Right-Wing ? Finally !

I am a leftist -- an unabashed liberal, pinko, progressive, tree-hugging, union-loving, peace and love socialist. I am not ashamed of that and I make no apology for it. I just believe the left offers the most common-sense solutions to the problems that America and the world face.

But it may surprise some of my readers to know that I also believe there is a place in politics for old-fashioned conservative thought and philosophy. Now I'm not talking about the hatred, racism and theism that so often passes for conservatism nowdays. I'm talking about the type of intelligent conservatism offered by men like Barry Goldwater (pictured), William F. Buckley and to some extent even Ronald Reagan.

These men were as conservative as I am liberal, but they were not stupid about it. They new how to discuss and debate, and when the time came, they knew how to compromise. Liberal bills were made better by their participation, and some bills they supported were made better because they allowed liberal participation. They didn't hate their opponents, but worked with them for the good of the country (a country loved by both the right and left).

As much as I might hate to admit it sometimes, neither the right nor the left has a corner on the truth. I may believe the left is more often correct, but the country benefits from robust intelligent debate by both conservatives and liberals.

But the modern "conservative" movement has been hijacked by the teabaggers, racists and religious fundies. The old conservative ideas have been tossed out the window and compromise is viewed as surrender. They must have their way, and to get it they will lie, cheat, pander to racism and make hatred a value. They put the Bible ahead of the Constitution and would like nothing more than to establish a theistic dictatorship. And they see nothing wrong with using military power to spread their beliefs.

Instead of conservative thinkers, they have new leaders and idols like Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter and Michael Savage. They hate compromise and demonize their opponents. Tolerance is eschewed and has been replaced by racism and an insane vitriolic hatred. I was about to believe that true and useful conservative thought was dead.

But out of the midst of the hatred, there has emerged a conservative voice of sanity. Charles Johnson writes the conservative blog Little Green Footballs. A few days ago, he announced that he could no longer go along with the haters and lunatics who've taken over the American conservative movement. He said they were driving conservatism off a cliff, and he would not follow them off that cliff. He gives 10 reasons for his parting ways with the right-wingers:

1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: Pat Buchanan, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.) and in Europe (see: Vlaams Belang, BNP, SIOE, Pat Buchanan, etc.)

2. Support for bigotry, hatred, and white supremacism (see: Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Robert Stacy McCain, Lew Rockwell, etc.)

3. Support for throwing women back into the Dark Ages, and general religious fanaticism (see: Operation Rescue, anti-abortion groups, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, the entire religious right, etc.)

4. Support for anti-science bad craziness (see: creationism, climate change denialism, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, James Inhofe, etc.)

5. Support for homophobic bigotry (see: Sarah Palin, Dobson, the entire religious right, etc.)

6. Support for anti-government lunacy (see: tea parties, militias, Fox News, Glenn Beck, etc.)

7. Support for conspiracy theories and hate speech (see: Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Birthers, creationists, climate deniers, etc.)

8. A right-wing blogosphere that is almost universally dominated by raging hate speech (see: Hot Air, Free Republic, Ace of Spades, etc.)

9. Anti-Islamic bigotry that goes far beyond simply criticizing radical Islam, into support for fascism, violence, and genocide (see: Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, etc.)

10. Hatred for President Obama that goes far beyond simply criticizing his policies, into racism, hate speech, and bizarre conspiracy theories (see: witch doctor pictures, tea parties, Birthers, Michelle Malkin, Fox News, World Net Daily, Newsmax, and every other right wing source)

I welcome him back to the world of sanity. In fact, I am so impressed by his honesty that I have added LGF to my blogroll. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'll disagree with LGF on many, if not most things. But where there is a willingness to abandon hate and engage in a truthful debate, there is hope.

I hope more on the right come to their senses, and once again embrace the old conservative values and beliefs. The country could use some honest debate devoid of racism, lying, intolerance and hatred.