In this post Digby is talking about Michelle Malkin’s outrage over the fact that “Joe the Plumber” had his privacy violated by the press. But put aside Joe the plumber and think about the deeper points that Digby makes.
Republicans Like Copeland and Clatworthy have basically said, “The rules do not apply to us.” For them the concept of honor has ceased to exist. Dave Burris has mocked me in the comments section as if the very concept of “truth” is some kind of liberal mumbo-jumbo.
Copeland has demonstrated that there is no objective truth as far as the GOP is concerned. As a result there is no way to hold them accountable for their out and out lies. They don’t even try to deny that are lying. There are no lies, there is no truth, there is only winning.
In a world in which the conservatives weren’t such post modern shape shifters, we could come to a consensus on certain issues in this country — like privacy, for instance. We could agree that it’s wrong for government employees to use private information for partisan purposes — or for the media, including bloggers, to stalk and publish private information of anyone who dares speak out for a political cause. But we don’t live in a world like that.
We live in a world where the right wing ruthlessly and without mercy degrades and attacks by any means necessary what they perceive as the enemy, and then uses the great principles of democracy and fair play when the same is done to them. They leave the rest of us standing on the sidelines looking like fools for ever caring about anything but winning.
It’s not that I believe liberals are purely good and decent. We have many, many faults and are almost preternaturally talented at seizing defeat from the jaws of victory before we even get finished celebrating. But failing to truly grok just how pernicious this right wing rejection of hypocrisy really is and how much power it gives them is a foolish mistake.
I think we’re about to get schooled. Again. The torture loving right is dusting off its completely hypocritical “government is full of jack-booted thugs” playbook — and it’s going to drive us all completely crazy.