After reading this whole thread. The first line of this quoted post is the most ridiculous and laughable excrement I have read today.

infidel on March 5, 2009 at 12:43 PM

They must have done a troll clinic over at Daily Kos, and stressed the need to claim you’re an “independant” when you’re trying to astroturf a conservative site. They don’t realize how silly they sound… but hey, let’s take getalife seriously for a minute, just for fun. If you come into a web site dedicated to freewheeling discussion of political and cultural issues, and announce your position – arrived at after considering all the “facts, the challenges, and proposals” is that only blind, unquestioning obedience to the President can save us from our current economic crisis, you’re not a very good “independant.” In fact, it would be more accurate to describe you as a “dependant.”

I’m happy to describe myself as a stalwart conservative, and I’d have tough questions for Obama if he strolled out of the White House tomorrow and announced the biggest income and capital gains tax cut in history.

The dishonesty, or intellectual arrogance, of people who proudly identify themselves as non-ideological independants never ceases to amaze me. Everyone who has given more than cursory thought to the great issues of American politics has some coherent set of beliefs to proceed from. You either think the government has first claim on the labor of its citizens, or you don’t. If you don’t, you can’t be in favor of gigantic tax increases and stifling regulations, let alone massive deficit spending, which is nothing more than a cowardly attempt to impose huge tax increases on people who haven’t been born yet.

You either believe that all essential services, including health care and mortgage lending, should be provided by the government, or you think free men and women are better able to handle these needs, and it is moral for them to do so. You either believe the government should address the “inequities of power” between its citizens, as defined by its political masters, or you believe it should be equally obedient to *all* of those citizens – regardless of color or net worth. You either believe the first, and primary, duty of government is the defense of its citizens and borders, or you regard this as merely one among many priorities. You either believe the economy is a positive good in and of itself, which should be regarded as the property of the citizens instead of their political masters, or you think the economy is just an engine that squirts out money the elites can seize to spend on what’s *really* important.

It’s especially stupid to see people claiming the mantle of perfectly balanced independent thinkers in the current situation. It’s not as if the American system is poised at the perfect center of the continuum between liberty and collectivism, and we’re debating making a fine adjustment from left of right of center to left of left of center. The President is explicitly proposing to completely remake the American system, and permanently alter the relationship between government and its citizens. If you don’t have anything better to say about that than “I will support our President,” then you’re either someone’s operative, or you’re a fool unworthy of the birthright of freedom left to you by the better men and women who came before you.

Come on, trolls, let your freak flag fly. We conservatives are supposedly powerless and out of the mainstream, right? In a few more years, it might even be illegal for us to identify ourselves in public. Drop the kabuki masks and let us bask in your wisdom. Take your best shot at convincing us we should fall in line… because if you think anyone here is going to just blindly follow your example and do so, you’re on the wrong web site – and if that isn’t what you’re expecting, then you came to a forum full of free thinkers to proudly announce that you aren’t one.

Doctor Zero on March 5, 2009 at 2:43 PM