Response to George F Will

Bill pointed to George F Will's post-election column in the Washington Post.

I read it and was disgusted, again, at the tone of what passes for political discourse in this country. I wished I had my own "column." Then I realized that I do. It's this blog. I've been staying away from politics on this blog recently, but I have to jump in.

So, my short response to the GFW column:


If I wanted to follow along in the tone of modern political discourse, this might be my response to George F Will's recent column, which appeared here in the Washington Post.

"One might think that a conservative voice like George F Will would use the results of the election to lay out the improvements he expects to see, the conservative reform which the newly elected conservatives will bring. But no. Instead, he shows the Conservative's true colors with derisive ridicule, repeats misinformation, and generally sets up for continued divisiveness. Will not only claims to know the exact mind of the voting public, but also thinks he knows how liberals think, and why they think that way. Conservatives spew these misunderstandings as fact, denigrating their opponents with an elitist attitude that is only rivaled by the elitist attitude Conservatives ascribe to the Liberal Scarecrow they use to frighten and rally voters."

Nope -- I can't be as clever as GFW. But the above tries to be as dismissive and arrogant.

The thing is, I don't really believe that stuff I said about "Conservatives" as a general group -- I think the common sense fiscal responsibility they preach does not HAVE to be accompanied by hate-filled derision. And it isn't, in the case of many thoughtful Conservatives. Or at least, dear God, I hope it isn't. Because responsibility and accountability, along with love of country and a desire for its improvement, are some of the values on which a consensus can be built, because I believe Liberals and Conservatives share those values.

But I'm afraid GFW does mean what he says about Liberals. As far as he's concerned, he's too smart for us; we're simpletons guided by a love of government. And if that is the voice of the new crop of Conservatives who will attempt to govern, we are in deep trouble. Because, as he accuses the Liberals of doing, he is dismissing the opinions of a huge percentage of the voting public. In effect, he is stating that the message from voters who turned out in 2008 was -- his words now -- "perhaps contemptible and certainly too trivial to be taken seriously by the serious."

If he believes, as he says "This election was a nationwide recoil against Barack Obama's idea of unlimited government" then let's also remember that the same electorate voted the Democrats into majority just two years ago. Does that not suggest that, in fact, the past two elections are a nationwide recoil against the politics-as-usual, inbred and entrenched political powers who do too little too slowly to improve life for the typical American? Is it not at least as likely that the message is "Whatever your party, you're not doing what we want, so we're trying someone new?"

GFW is as myopic as he claims liberals are. Shoe fits. Wear it.

We do need a new way of thinking in this country. But it's not represented by people who think the other side is stupid.