For conservative “thought” to prevail (as it has over the past 15 years) conservatives need to create and constantly reinforce a what some have called, a “high-maintenance pseudo-reality”. As liberals, tied to reason and logic, we were slow to take up the fight against conservatism because it seemed so unworkable and frankly absurd. After all, who could bother working to refute something as absurd as the idea that earth is only10,000 years old, or as laughable as the idea that George Bush should be President of the United States? It was like trying to create a movement to lobby in favor of the wetness of water.
Recently, however a change is in the air. Coulter’s comments at CPAC have exposed the reality of how the conservative movement really works to a slightly wider audience. Additionally, liberals and other sane people who once thought conservatism would collapse under the weight of its own absurdity are now more fully awake to the reality of how the conservative movement works.
A Kos diarist puts it this way:
“The reason right-wing propaganda is so effective is because they’ve built up an interlocking network of think-tanks, media venues, and grassroots political organizations — some of the latter in the guise of legitimate, mainstream churches. The think-tanks take ideas that would normally be considered revolting if presented in the nude (Take from the poorest and give to the richest) and craft it into appealing, clever sounding deceptions (It will stimulate the economy and help the poor!). Right-wing media spreads the deception, nurtures racism, and demonizes opposition (Liberals want to give your tax dollars to welfare queens!). Wingnut clerics dress it up in pleasant sounding bits of religious doctrine and beat it mercilessly into the heads of their congregations week after week. It’s a seamless, well-oiled, machine.”