The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Forget Analyzing The Left: Focus On Exceptionalism

Posted on | August 3, 2011 | 9 Comments

by Smitty

Da Tech Guy posts on the Lefty attempt to project its internal panic onto conservatives. Ace of Spades dons the hip waders to trudge through the intellectual dishonesty of the Left.

Leftists do not have any great regard for the process of voting, or for securing the consent of the governed. What they care about almost entirely is outcome — if democracy can produce the outcomes they wish, then bully for democracy; if it results in outcomes they oppose, then perhaps we need to look at another system.

Perhaps one in which some kind of educated, civilized Vanguard (to give it a name) makes all important decisions on behalf of “The People.”

This is not new. This is the standard leftist model, dating back all the way to 1793 and the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution.

It’s similar to (and not coincidentally so) the divergence between leftists and classic liberals on economic opportunities versus economic outcomes. Classic liberals desire a system in which economic opportunities are maximized, a system in which the most people possible will be prosperous; leftists fixate not on the process of wealth creation but only the machinery of wealth confiscation and redistribution — determined to intervene (and take away people’s liberty) in order to arrange outcomes the way they wish.

I think there are two flavors of Leftists:

There may be some hope for the former to wake up and smell the nonsense. For the latter category, Al Gore himself being a likely example, only the Almighty Himself knows. The brain damage from the kool-aid may be too severe.
That’s all fine. Knowing thy opposition is essential.
The good news for the conservative is that our case is the same one that the Founders did plead. Our drum is liberty. Pound that Mike Foxtrot. The litmus test in every discussion is whether a course of action enhances individual liberty, the lifeblood of American Exceptionalism. Even though, as Ace notes, the Left can make pro-Democracy noises, especially when pointing a finger at conservatives, they are really not intellectually capable of consistent arguments in favor of liberty.
They will never argue for less government. Bureaucracy is a womb into which all Leftiess would rather crawl, to swim in a sea of regulatory fluid. In the case of the debt ceiling legislation, as far as I can tell, the savings are mostly future, and the reforms are as substantial as a campaign promise. Feign compromise. Moan loudly about the evils of the GOP. Then subvert the intent of the legislation, so that the reality continues the relentless destruction of American liberty that is the Progressive project.
These Lefties are nothing if not patient. Forget them. They know their ideas are a dead letter. We must argue liberty, in a positive way, and focus on driving the 2012 election further toward a righteous course. And 2014. And 2016. And so on.

* This is my entry for the Most Offensive Statement Ever By A Public Official. I find it both theologically and politically offensive, and coming as it does from Al Gore in the midst of a Global Whatever bile stream, I just don’t think a worse statement has ever been made.

Category: Democrats, Progressivism

Comments

9 Responses to “Forget Analyzing The Left: Focus On Exceptionalism”

  1. jim
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 5:39 pm

    Reminds me of the time I had a long argument with a bunch of hard-core lefties and one of them said, “What’s wrong with communism if the people vote for it?” That was in 2002. Millions and millions of murders and slaughters can’t be a bad thing if people vote for it.

  2. smitty
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 5:43 pm

    Well, short of violence, I don’t feel it’s my task to argue against Communist theory. History and Economics speak far more eloquently.

  3. Anonymous
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 5:46 pm

    Death to “Ruling Class overlords”.
    Just can’t be said often enough. 

  4. Support for Life » Blog Archive » Forget Analyzing The Left: Focus On Exceptionalism
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 2:51 pm

    […] Please go read it all, truly an accurate depiction of the left in this country today. […]

  5. Charles
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 7:23 pm

    So are you not counting classical liberals as a flavor of leftist? And by the way, those two flavors of Leftists can also be ordered as Republicans.

  6. Anonymous
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 7:28 pm

    Classical Liberals are not Leftists in any form. Consult Jeff Goldstein at  Protein Wisdom for a fuller explanation.

  7. ThePaganTemple
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 7:33 pm

    Believe it or not, none other than Keith Olbermann said it best, albeit in a different context-thousands and thousands of flies can’t be wrong.

  8. Daily Pundit » Power Is It’s Own Reward
    August 3rd, 2011 @ 4:32 pm

    […] Forget Analyzing The Left: Focus On Exceptionalism : The Other McCain I think there are two flavors of Leftists: […]