Submitted by Brandon Smith of Alt-Market blog [14],
Power, or perceived power, is a viciously addictive narcotic. It doesn't matter what political or philosophical background a person hails from, very few have the self discipline or the self awareness necessary to relinquish the trappings of power once they have tasted it. This truth applies to conservatives as much as it applies to liberals.
I began my early political life as a Democrat, and until I came to understand the nature of the false left right paradigm in 2004, my view of the negative within government was slanted entirely against the GOP. When a finally grasped the fantasy of the two party process, I did not let go of my criticisms of the Republican hierarchy as much as accept the fact that the same criticisms applied to the Democrats as well. They are, ultimately, the same entity with the same exact ideological goals hidden by cosmetic differences in shallow rhetoric. I have no interest whatsoever in perpetuating the false left/right paradigm, or giving undue credit to the GOP.
However, as stated earlier, power is a drug, one which the so-called “left” has been hooked on since the Obama Administration took its seat in the White House. While the Republicans have much to answer for (the Bush years are a nightmarish example), it is the Democratic Party, and those who blindly identify with it, that must be addressed today. It is they who are now directly feeding the elitist machine, giving it momentum, and aiding in the destruction of the American economy and culture. It is their madness and thirst for control that is being exploited by the establishment to demonize legitimate activists who seek Constitutional transparency (the only people in this country today who understand the bigger picture and who the real enemies are) thus undermining any chance our society has for a free and prosperous future.
A new propaganda theater has exploded in mainstream media outlets and the liberal side of the blogosphere spectrum. This initiative centers on a not so subtle attempt to connect “Tea Party Conservatives” (basically lumping all people who espouse limited government ideals and constitutional principles under one easy to marginalize label) to any and all of our nation's fiscal and political problems. The debt ceiling debate has added a new dimension to this defamation program, sending leftist talking heads into a bloodthirsty frenzy akin to a Bolshevik street mob. Constitutional conservatives have been compared to “extremists”, “separatists”, “new southern confederates”, “traitors”, “saboteurs”, and “domestic enemies of the United States”. Here is just a sample of the MSM hate parade:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/republican-extremism-and-the-lessons-of-history-20131010 [16]
http://www.salon.com/2013/10/07/tea_party_extremism_has_me_worried_tammy_baldwin_talks_to_salon/ [17]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb6LMB2FX3w [18]
There is a particular brand of rabid shameless zealotry to this rhetoric that I have not seen since the days of the Neo-Con drive to invade Iraq. It's worse in many ways, in fact, because it attempts to link political dissent with “treason” in a very dangerous manner, and sets the stage for an “acceptable level” of totalitarianism. These are the same people who fought tooth and nail against identical tactics only a decade ago, and now, they have happily (and hypocritically) adopted the nefarious methods as their own.
We have gone beyond mere talk into a realm where political witch-hunts may become an Orwellian reality, and it is the “Tea Party” that the establishment wants to burn at the stake. Even now, federal agents are training active duty military personnel to view Constitutional conservatives as “terrorists” bent on annihilating America:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/10/23/does-army-consider-christians-tea-party-terror-threat/ [19]
Because of this danger, I am forced to dismantle the ludicrous arguments of my former party, and expose the vile and dishonest nature of their motivations. Here is why the loyal left has become a far greater threat to the safety of our country than they could ever hope to paint conservative activists. Here are the reasons why they hate us...
Why Neo-Liberals Distrust Limited Government Champions
In my time as a Democrat I did not always agree with the party line. I believed that if a massive government system was an inevitability, then it SHOULD at the very least exist to help, not harm or control, the American public. I never attached myself to the notion that government was the answer to every crisis. Many liberals, however, do assume that government can be tamed, and if they gain total control of the system through political maneuvering it will somehow naturally gravitate towards humanitarian concerns. Government, in their minds, is a tool they can exploit, when in reality government is a self contained entity that exploits them as tools.
The great downfall of orthodox Republican culture is the blind faith it commonly places in the corporate world and the vestiges of big-business. They believe free markets actually exist in America today (they don't), and that the captains of industry are what drive our country forward. Liberals, on the other hand, also believe that free markets exist in America today (they don't), and that these “uncontrolled” financial organizations are the cause of all our social grief. Liberals are correct to be suspicious of the corporate oligarchy; the professed goal of many banking elites of dominant globalization is certainly a threat to us all.
The problem is, liberals don't really take issue with the concept of globalization, per se. In fact, many of them love the philosophy. They just don't like the idea of “conservatives” being at the helm of such vast change. Liberals attach themselves to government and rabidly defend it because they falsely imagine that government can be used to stifle or destroy what they assume to be a conservative dominated corporate machine. They want the destruction of American sovereignty. They want a system that dictates and micro-manages the citizenry. But, they want that system to operate on their terms and enforce their particular world views, which they believe not only politically correct, but sacrosanct.
In the minds of many average liberals, government is the only recourse to affect their battle against corporate dominance. When faced with a person or group of people espousing the principles of limited government, reduced spending, reduced taxes, and cuts to bureaucracy, liberals immediately presume that those people are seeking to support the corporate oligarchy by de-fanging government and removing their greatest weapon. Tea Party and Liberty Movement conservatives do indeed seek to de-fang government, but we have also broken from the Republican orthodoxy and recognized that government actually colludes with corporate elites on the most vital issues. We understand that they are part of the same monstrosity, and so, we are just as uncompromising in our fight against big government as we are against unaccountable business. This confuses liberals who are so acclimated to the traditional boundaries of debate between Left and Right.
They don't know how to classify or pigeonhole us, and they certainly don't have the capacity to argue with us on a rational level because half the story has gone over their heads. And so, they follow the natural human inclination, which is to hate and despise what one does not understand and what one cannot quantify. In the eyes of bewildered Democrats (and some elitist Republicans) we are extremists, because they have never been confronted before with people who are so fully committed and immovable in their principles. Uncompromising opponents, unshakeable opponents, are the most terrifying opponents.
The Left's Inclination Towards Collectivism
The liberal subculture is permeated with frightened people. They are frightened of authority yet infatuated by authority. They are frightened of independence yet feign independence. They are frightened of the blunt truth in serious matters, yet fascinated by the blunt truth as a form of comedic anesthesia. They like to imagine themselves as socially heroic but they have never had the concrete courage required to achieve a truly heroic deed, which is why they constantly argue that state designated officials are the only people qualified to manage or defend the public interest. It is much easier to hand responsibility over to a man in a uniform who may or may not do anything proactive than it is to take responsibility by one's self.
One of the most off-putting character traits inherent among the many Democrats I've met along the way is a complete incapacity to stand alone against a dilemma. The average liberal is, I'm sorry to say, invariably weak and always searching for someone else to handle their messes for them. Their love of government stems in large part from their desperate need to find a parental figure to cradle them, or a group structure that will reinforce their beliefs without question.
I have rarely if ever seen any substantial measure of individual action or resolve amongst liberals. The activism of the left almost always gravitates towards asking government for permission with as many pleading hands as possible, or asking government to repair a malfunction it created, or begging the system to PLEASE respect their rights. To suggest to them that perhaps they should compete with the system, build their own more honest social paradigms as individuals, defy criminal authority even at the risk of their own lives, or actually physically fight back, is a waste of time.
The liberal activist's dream scenario? A safe majority of the population suddenly and magically standing up together with one mind to achieve a singular goal while facing no meaningful pain, struggle, or risk. They sit around waiting for that day, when we all dawn our V For Vendetta masks and march on Washington D.C. together while the Plutocrats stand down in silent defeat. It is a pointless fantasy with little to no historical precedent.
This is why they treat Constitutional conservatives with disdain. They are incredulous when we state that we will fight even if we are the so-called “fringe”. They are shocked and unsettled when we state that the mainstream view is irrelevant. They laugh at the concept of independent action against the system regardless of the risks simply because they know personally, deep down, that they don't have the balls to make the same stand, and so snide ridicule is their only safety mechanism.
This cancerous attachment to the collective is what makes the “left” so easily manipulated by political elites, who play on that which they fear most to lose - their socialist safety net. The existence of an ideological movement like Constitutional conservatism which openly and defiantly pursues an end to government sponsored collectivism and the crutch of economic socialization is the ultimate boogeyman for the liberal front.
The Liberal Land Of Infinite Comfort
The recent debt ceiling debate was incredibly effective in driving home the insurmountable differences between hardcore Neo-Liberals and proponents of limited government. This conflict is only going to become more pronounced as the next debt debate approaches in the Spring of 2014. The roughly 25% to 30% of the U.S. population that still worships the Obama Administration despite all logic is more than enough cannon fodder for the establishment to throw at us.
They believe we are out to destroy the nation because we “aren't getting our way” on Obamacare. They believe we have placed our political desires ahead of the good of the collective. They believe we are self absorbed extremists; mad bombers strapped with TNT and ready to take everyone to hell with us. They believe our entire movement is a hologram created by the mysterious Koch Brothers – Libertarians with money now lampooned by liberals as secret corporate Decepticons responsible for grassroots activist initiatives that started long before the Koch Brothers ever put money into them. The fairytale is flourishing in their minds, and we are the villains.
More than anything, Liberals want a future of unlimited ease. Some are motivated by a desire to help others, but many are motivated by a desire to help themselves. In either case, they must understand that infinite government growth and infinite government spending will NEVER get them what they want. No matter how hard they wish for it, socialist utopianism will always fail. Why? All government is inherently flawed, because all government is administrated by inherently flawed people.
Constitutional conservatives don't hate Obamacare because we don't want people to have healthcare. We hate Obamacare because it is a horrible solution to a problem that needs a working solution. We hate Obamacare because it makes the existing problem worse, not better (as the past couple weeks of bureaucratic failure have shown).
We haven't abandoned the general good of this country, but we do demand that the founding principles of freedom, independence, and limited government that built this country be considered a priority. There is no “general good” without foundations of honor, reason, and transparency. If liberals are suggesting that the greater good requires us to ignore conscience, reality, and basic mathematics, then I will have to disagree, and I am willing to put everything on the line to defend that position. Are they willing to do the same?
As far as the Koch Bros. are concerned, I don't take orders from them, and I don't know anyone in the movement who does. I've also seen no indication that the Koch Bros have any desire to give orders to anyone in the movement. We do what we do because we BELIEVE in what we do, not because we get paid for what we do. If the Koch Bros didn't exist, the limited government movement would continue on without missing a beat. Let's direct our energies into the legitimate conspiracy of globalization and stop wasting our time with made-up conspiracies perpetuated by the mainstream media, shall we?
Constitutional conservatives have been the only people attempting to inform the American public of the facts surrounding our current fiscal crisis. Some have been doing it for decades. Many of us have been doing it since before the average liberal was even aware that a crisis existed. We are trying to help them, even though we disagree with them on numerous fundamentals.
The bottom line is, whether Obamacare is successfully implemented or not, whether the debt ceiling is raised again or not, whether the Left passes every agenda on its list or not, our system is broken and it is going to collapse. There is no way around it. More debt and more fiat printing means stagflationary collapse. Default and austerity means stagflationary collapse. If liberals want to place blame for this conundrum, then they should focus on the people who actually set the original fire – international and central bankers.
To my former political ideologues, I do not expect most of you to shift to a Liberty Movement perspective. I know all too well that you already think you have the whole of the world figured out and the rest of us are simply to ignorant to grasp your liberal insights. But I do ask that you remember what you read here today. File it away under “Tea Party Propaganda” if you want, but never forget. Your ambitions for a big government you can control will end in disaster. Your willingness to scapegoat Constitutionalists will backfire. The system you deify will turn on you. And, the fake power you think you have gained in the past five years will disappear just as quickly as it materialized.
If you want to avoid being caught in the tides of history with your proverbial pants down, or being used by elitists like pawns in a brutal game of global chess, consider quitting the system entirely and adopting a more independent position. That is what I did, and I can't imagine ever going back. Often it is the philosophies most despised by the mainstream that end up being the most right. The boogeymen of the present sometimes become the heroes of the future.