When liberals rant

By Greg Halvorson

Following liberals and conservatives in the comments sections of political websites can be enlightening as to the vast gap in logical discourse between left and right in this country. Pam Stout, a Tea Party Patriot, appeared on David Letterman's show April 1,2010, and the fray began anew.

Conservatives:

--Miss Stout, in the video, talks of individual responsibility, letting failures fail, and the creativity of the human mind. No doubt, this will cause a tizzy on the left. Pointing out that business creates jobs will rally the race-bait Alinskyite crowd. Too bad for them, America is awakening. We shall see who laughs in the end.

--This patriotic woman believes that government doesn't work, that PEOPLE solve problems, and she is right. The Democratic Caucus and Marxist blogosphere are terrified of this woman, because she-and millions like her-are on to their game.

Liberals:

--Key word that shows what's wrong with these people-the word "believe." There is an anti-intellectual counterculture in America that would rather go with what they believe than what they know. Facts, people, incontrovertible FACTS, are what you base policy and decisions on. Not meaningless beliefs.... I could believe that spider monkeys were aliens that are trying to take over the planet. Is that "belief" relevant to the world? If I have a society of people who agree with me about the spider monkeys, should we be listened to just because we believe? Now, if we come with proof, that's one thing, but many of these tea baggers are closet racists or just the type that like to screech against anything they perceive as "socialist." People don't understand that policy and culture have to be fluid or else we stagnate. That instead of complaining about how inept our politicians are, we need to encourage and spur them on to make changes-right or wrong. At least we can learn from mistakes and rectify them as we go, as opposed to bickering amongst ourselves and letting the world surpass us without realizing it.

--She was the best tea party representative I've seen-a perfect face for the angry Bircher club to which she belongs. I was blown away by this interview and frankly, a bit chilled. She's mild-mannered, reasonable, utterly sincere.... Yet, she watches Beck because he "makes her think" and she reveres Jim DeMint, the most radical of all the rightwing Senators. This lovely woman believes in the raw, violent politics of the Hobbesian jungle in which it's every man for himself. I'm sure she doesn't see it that way.

Her politics aren't grounded in real life but in abstract concepts. She certainly doesn't seem defensive or even aware that her political heroes are radical extremists. But then if you only watch Fox News, listen to talk radio and live in the town known for its proximity to Ruby Ridge and the Aryan Nations compound, you probably don't realize that your views are not held by the majority of Americans.

People like Pam show us how powerful the right-wing Noise Machine is. She's clearly living in a Fox News Universe; people like this have been converted to believing in essentially an alternative reality. Grover Norquist would be glad, because he believes that the more anti-government people there are (and believe me, he helps create them), the more votes the conservative movement gets, all of which helps to eradicate the left, which is their goal.

The liberal comments are difficult to encompass. Miss Stout, concerned about the demonization of enterprise, profligate spending, and anti-Constitutionalism is portrayed as "radical." Conservatives are violent worshippers of "extremists" like DeMint (R-SC) who everyone knows is a "out-of-step" with the majority. The assertion that we're supposed to enact change, right or wrong, and "fix" it later, however, is nuts.

Then again, I'm an anti-intellectual counter-culturist whose beliefs are irrelevant and who can't absorb "facts."

Greg Halvorson is the founder of Soldiers Without Boots, and hosts The Soldier One Radio Hour on Blog Talk Radio.