Thursday, November 3, 2011

Strident Conservatives: The Reason Why

Some conservatives are blunt but caring:

Governor Chris Christie comes to mind.

Others are more confrontational, like Governor Paul LePage of Maine, who is not beneath cursing at reporters and stirring up strife among his party. He glibly tells President Obama in press and radio: "President Obama, go to hell."

LePage's confrontational conservatism most likely springs from a sense of inferiority. He suffered through a challenging and troubled upbringing, and by dint of hard work and self-effort he became a self-made man. Self-made men are always in trouble, though, having to cling on to everything that they worked for, always fearful of losing what they have worked so hard to earn.

There are a number of other loud-mouth types in conservative circles, individuals who have no problem calling people names, mocking their folly, taking on a confrontational tone.

The conservative agenda seems to attract a large number of loud-mouth demagogues.

Unlike liberals and communists, who rely on military or state force to make their opinions, conservatives and free market advocates stress the role of persuasion to make a point.

This may leave some conservatives very flustered.

Force of arms vs. force of words -- it would appear that the force of arms has the upper hand.

Compensating for the lack of force, many conservatives resort to belligerence and bellicose rhetoric to make their point.

Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy comes to mind, the Red-Hunter from Wisconsin. He demagogued the issue considerably, although some of his accusations were spot on, including his charges against the Communist sympathizer Alger Hiss, who was later cashiered for perjury.

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