Kepler
Cornell Big Red
Re: Obama XXII: Occupy the White House
You're absolutely right about all of this (especially the "eloquency" part. Please say that again.
) Hyperbole tends to be an unavoidable byproduct of wading through the sea of OP's marmalade posturing to return to the shores of honesty and sense.
The left's constant drumbeat that people who want to put restrictions on the rise of social security and medicare "want to kill grandpa" has the same flavor. Both sides use thought-terminating cliches. And, for that matter, the demagogues for the warfare state don't always come exclusively from the right -- principled conservatism is after all opposed to imperialism. That lately it's been their peculiar infection is just one of the reasons the guys who currently style themselves "conservative" are just another cult of authoritarians trying, in William F. Buckley's (and Robert Anton Wilson's) words, to "immanentize the Eschaton."
I think there is a lot of accuracy to what you have said above, maybe a bit of hyperbole here or there but I don't think that changes your point.
I would ask you to consider that groups like the one you mention exist in many facets of the political parties and government. The next group is just as committed to their ambitions and believe their view of the 'world' is correct.
Righties are less likely to notice the group you mention as being out of touch or misguided or will more closely align with it such that they will defend it against "liberal hand-wringers". There are groups that approach other issues, be it taxes, unions, education, govt programs, justice, etc. that demonstrate many of the same traits you describe...but maybe, just maybe, some of them are 'ok' in your book because their core mision doesn't differ that much from your core beliefs.
My point is that you, albeit elequently, often imply that only the right has narrow-minded, misguided people pursuing things that may not be in the best interest of the country in the long-term (if at all) and doing it in a manner that is neither accurate nor responsible.
I won't do the FYP version of this but I dare say that you have described a behavior that is consistent across both parties and the AARP is as zealous about SS as hawks are about military spending.
You're absolutely right about all of this (especially the "eloquency" part. Please say that again.

The left's constant drumbeat that people who want to put restrictions on the rise of social security and medicare "want to kill grandpa" has the same flavor. Both sides use thought-terminating cliches. And, for that matter, the demagogues for the warfare state don't always come exclusively from the right -- principled conservatism is after all opposed to imperialism. That lately it's been their peculiar infection is just one of the reasons the guys who currently style themselves "conservative" are just another cult of authoritarians trying, in William F. Buckley's (and Robert Anton Wilson's) words, to "immanentize the Eschaton."
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