Thursday, February 03, 2005
You Don't Have to Look Far
Yesterday I made a comment on a DKos diary regarding a challenge I have made to conservatives on this blog over and over and over again, a challenge that has not been answered. Briefly, I said that I'd asked numerous times for conservatives to "provide me with evidence, any historical precedent, where tax cuts have resulted in long-term economic benefit in the aggregate (i.e. the nation as a whole, not just a few rich people). No one has provided me with an answer. My cursory research (and I confess I'm neither an economist nor an historian) has not yielded a single instance of tax cuts creating long-term economic prosperity."
Conservatives have, along with an inability to cogitate with any amount of complexity, severe memory problems. It would be interesting to see a neuropsychological study that associates rigid, black-and-white thinking with memory deficits. In the issue mentioned above one only has to go back twenty years to see that the result of Reagan and Bush I tax cuts entailed raising taxes in order to bring the country out of the economic shit hole that the original tax cuts created.
Timing is not of the essence, here; just wait five minutes and the Atomic clock of Conservative stupidity will spew forth something else idiotic or indicative of shit-for-memory. As soon as Democrats booed Bush's nonsense during the SOTU, the Conservative punditry were bleeting with a whine worthy of a pre-school class deprived of snacks. "Rude!" they cried with high dudgeon, self-righteously sniffing that Conservatives are, above all else, not prone to boorish behavior.
The Conservative method: shoot first and let the liberals do the thinking. No sooner had the Cundits been caught in their own caterwauling when the liberals pointed out, "My, my Mr. Pot, Mr. Kettle seems to remember this":
Tip o' the top to Mr. Kettle Oliver Willis for superb memory and research skills.
Given such sever cognitive deficits, Conservatives are prone to perseveration on a pathological level. Sadly, it's all too easy to reduce the substance of Conservative arguments to these simple terms:
...and that's about the extent of it. Which should be a clue as to how simple-minded and infantile Conservative "thought" really is. If I've left anything out, leave your addition in the comments and I'll post a revised list next week. I promise I'll remember.
Conservatives have, along with an inability to cogitate with any amount of complexity, severe memory problems. It would be interesting to see a neuropsychological study that associates rigid, black-and-white thinking with memory deficits. In the issue mentioned above one only has to go back twenty years to see that the result of Reagan and Bush I tax cuts entailed raising taxes in order to bring the country out of the economic shit hole that the original tax cuts created.
Timing is not of the essence, here; just wait five minutes and the Atomic clock of Conservative stupidity will spew forth something else idiotic or indicative of shit-for-memory. As soon as Democrats booed Bush's nonsense during the SOTU, the Conservative punditry were bleeting with a whine worthy of a pre-school class deprived of snacks. "Rude!" they cried with high dudgeon, self-righteously sniffing that Conservatives are, above all else, not prone to boorish behavior.
The Conservative method: shoot first and let the liberals do the thinking. No sooner had the Cundits been caught in their own caterwauling when the liberals pointed out, "My, my Mr. Pot, Mr. Kettle seems to remember this":
1999: Republicans Booed Clinton's Entrance Many Republican lawmakers gave him a cool, though not impolite, reception. There were a smattering of boos when Clinton first entered the House chamber, but they were quickly drowned out by applause. Some Republicans barely applauded, or refused at all to clap. House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) and U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) were conspicuously silent. (Boston Herald, 1/20/99)
1998: Republicans Booed Clinton's Medicare Proposal Clinton's health-care initiatives, chiefly in the form of a medical bill of rights, found support on both sides, especially his attack on managed-care health-care plans. ... Clinton's proposal to expand Medicare to allow Americans as young as 55 to buy into the system drew shouts of "no" and some boos from Republicans during his speech. (Chicago Tribune, 1/28/98)
1997: Republican's Booed Clinton's Opposition to the Balanced Budget Amendment The Republican response was far warmer than perhaps any of Clinton's previous four State of the Union speeches. Time after time, Republicans jumped to their feet to join Democrats in applauding the president. Only once did they unmistakably and collectively show their disapproval--when Clinton spoke disparagingly of a GOP-sponsored constitutional amendment to balance the budget. Many Republicans hissed and some booed. (LA Times, 2/5/97)
1995: Republicans Booed Clinton and Walked Out During Speech The upheaval wrought by the Republican election landslide was visible throughout the president's State of the Union address - from the moment Speaker Newt Gingrich took the gavel to the striking silence that often greeted Clinton from the GOP. At one point, Republicans even booed. About 20 of them left as Clinton went on and on for an hour and 20 minutes. (AP, 1/24/95)
Tip o' the top to Mr. Kettle Oliver Willis for superb memory and research skills.
Given such sever cognitive deficits, Conservatives are prone to perseveration on a pathological level. Sadly, it's all too easy to reduce the substance of Conservative arguments to these simple terms:
- Hillary
- Tax-and-spend Liberals
- You hate America
- Liberal Media
- Bill Clinton lied about a blow job
- Big Government
- Personal Responsibility
- Socialistic program
- From my cold, dead hands
- Gays are destroying the country
...and that's about the extent of it. Which should be a clue as to how simple-minded and infantile Conservative "thought" really is. If I've left anything out, leave your addition in the comments and I'll post a revised list next week. I promise I'll remember.
