American Standard: Sweet Condescension

by Benn Ray

After years of subjecting the country to their unique brand of rude, offensive, obnoxious condescension, conservatives are now "working the refs" by whining that liberals are being too condescending to their ideas. 

Oh, conservatives, you don't have any ideas. At least valid ones. Y'know, the sorts of ones grown-ups like to discuss.

From digby:

There is more evidence that they [conservatives] are also beginning to work the refs in earnest on a grander scale with this simpering whine in today's Washington Post, asking why liberals are so condescending to conservative ideas. This seems clearly designed to make reporters and editorialists write that Obama is being presumptuous again, if he challenges Republican ideology instead of simply saying "well, we just have to disagree on that point" and moves on. It's also clearly a pre-emptive move to make the Democrats think twice about their "tone" for far [sic] of failing to appear to be properly bipartisan.

Hm. Maybe liberals are so condescending, Gerald Alexander of the Washington Post, because with everything that's going on today, you actually think the topic of "Why are liberals so condescending?" is worth discussing?

Hey, can we stop this health care thing for a second? Let's pause economic recovery. Global warming - wait a minute. Let's just back burner our 2 wars for a minute so we can discuss how you conservatives feel? Are you shitting me?

Alexander's Post editorial immediately called to mind Al Pacino's Ricky Roma character from Glengary Glen Ross as a response to his conservo-cry babying:

"You stupid fucking cunt. You..., I'm talking to you, shithead. ... You're fucking shit. Where did you learn your trade, you stupid fucking cunt, you idiot? Who ever told you that you could work with men?"

Anyhow, this conservative strategy worked well in the '90s, turning liberals into self-apologizing pussies and helped aid the "Republican Revolution" (by dampening progressive anger and pushback and convoluting what could have been an emotional appeal by the left with nuance - which never plays well with the mainstream) which peaked with 8 years of the Bush Disaster.

There can be no apologies this time. Conservatives dug the ditch they are in, and they dragged the country in with them.

And the proper response to conservatives trying to frame the debate with the line, "I thought liberals/progressives were supposed to believe..." is to interrupt that statement and to say, "That's because you are fucking retarded."

And then take a moment to point out that just because Sarah Palin made Rahm Emmanuel apologize for using that phrase, she also said it was okay for Rush Limbaugh to use that phrase since he was a satirist and that while you understand that conservatives have a hard time actually grasping concepts like satire, you were merely satirizing their attempt at defining you.

You want condescension, conservatives? You children. You babies.

This time around, liberals and progressives and plenty of it to heap at you. And you, every last one of you, deserve it.

You want to be taken seriously? To be treated like grownups? Then prove you deserve it.

Otherwise, look at that Ricky Roma clip above. You are Kevin Spacey in that scenario. Progressives are Ricky Roma, no matter how much you'd like us to be Jonathan Pryce. I guess to follow the analogy out to the end, libertarians would be the Jack Lemon character.

Comments

[fordprefectajt]

I condescend because they believe in fairies. I wasn't aware I was supposed to show respect to those who believe in make-believe.

[jfruh]

Using "retard" as a slur to somehow make a point about Sarah Palin being awful and hypocritical (which she is) is a douchebag move. What did retarded people ever do to you to deserve Palin levels of scorn?

[Frank]

Progressives don't usually speak in terms of trades and men. In fact, the message of GGR is either balls-to-wall dog-eat-dog conservative or it is bleakly nihilistic.