The Enemy of My Enemy
A problem that we conservatives have is that we often measure the worth and merit of a position we hold based on the reaction it elicits from our political opponents. It seems that in many cases we have allowed our worst antagonists to become the ultimate arbiters of our beliefs and actions.
This reflexive posture is the most perilous habit of our political movement.
George W. Bush: Even prior to the Iraq war one basic fact was well known in American politics: liberals disliked Bush at a fanatical level. Before they had any chance to disagree with the policies they loathed the man. What if President Bush was increasing the size of government in all areas at a rate that was faster than any of his predecessors since LBJ? They hated him. And because they hated him we had to love him. If not love, at least acquiescence, in all policies no matter how liberal, in all flaws no matter how persistent, in all blunders no matter how damaging.
Sarah Palin: The media don’t like Palin all right. Perhaps they go further, they don’t like her family as well. But can anyone seriously argue that the media’s revulsion against someone is a qualification for higher office? Anyone except Sarah Palin, of course. Can anyone contend that the media bias against Nixon was proof of the man’s virtues and his steadfast determination to implement conservative policies? How many conservatives nowadays are prepared to endorse Nixon’s price controls, school busing and wiretapping of political opponents? If some sort of victimhood status becomes an automatic green light for political advancement it will be the closest that the conservative movement has ever come to endorsing affirmative action.
Barack Obama: It’s quite troubling, to say the least, to see the cult of personality developing in some liberal quarters. And yes, the sympathetic coverage of the administration by the media is frequently obvious. But should any of that determine the conservative response to the Obama presidency? Is it not enough to oppose and criticize the President’s policies, should we go further and demean the man and the institution behind him? Have we any reason to believe that someone’s excess in praise justifies an excess in condemnation on our part? Do comments of the sort that those who voted for Obama voted for totalitarianism, dungeons and torture advance anything else other than the idea that conservatives are divorced from reality?
We might as well close the shop down and go our merry way if we are willing to follow our political opponents in an infantile tit for tat of caricatures. The liberals in the Bush years followed the path that we seem eager to pursue now, and despite all of their advantages, they might loose the greatest political opportunity in a generation that our failures generously bestowed them just because they are not ready to govern.
When the time comes, do we want to lose our chance?