As a proud social networker who has far too much fun on Twitter & Tumblr, it has come to my attention that conservatives have finally found out about the internet.
Yes, the group that stayed on AM radio is finally branching out into the online society.
However with such a big leap in technology, there are some things to be aware of for progressives & like-minded individuals.
In light of a few "fun" debates on Twitter, I decided to create awareness and help others in how to combat that pesky neocon who won't stop their "War on Spelling".
In all seriousness though, the online conservative movement has fairly intelligent people. There are some that mind their own business and others that attack. But the greatest hypocrisy that exists is when they try to attack the ongoing "STOP Rush & STOP ALEC movements".
So as a forewarning, here are some talking points to make conservative heads spin!
The "Stop ALEC" and "Stop Rush" movements have, contrary to right-wing beliefs, made rather significant progress. Both movements have seen the loss of corporate sponsors and have undeniably given a huge public relations hit to ALEC & Limbaugh.
Yet the supporters of both have tried to defend their deities by throwing out dozens of strawman arguments that make me wonder if their heart is truly in it.
Free Speech & The Constitution
A common and ultraconservative viewpoint is that we are simply attacking Rush Limbaugh & ALEC based on their own political opinions.
Now obviously we do have plenty of political issues with Limbaugh, but why did Stop Rush start now? He has already crossed the line in terms of being against progressivism, so it's not like he has went any further than the usual "socialist" fallacies of the past. This must be some attack on his First Amendment rights.....right?
Wrong.
When Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a "slut", he crossed the line morally and we hoped, commercially as well. He attacked a private citizen and used a word to demean someone and spread hatred. Certainly he has the right to say it, but we are sick of his demagoguery on our airways.
The Constitution works both ways, if Limbaugh has his free speech; we, as citizens, have the right to protest as well.
The Constitution doesn't exist to only help gunowners and conservatives that want their opinions heard. It's to protect us all and get us to rally against unjust causes without fear of government persecution. If corporations are people too, then what are people?
But that's not the only argument being tossed around.
Attacking Capitalism & The Free Market
Yes, we do live in a capitalistic nation to a degree. I can't argue that point.
However, we as citizens, are protesting corporations that sponsor someone who we believe spreads hate. Using our First Amendment rights, we are protesting and making our voices heard to see if corporations will continue sponsoring Rush Limbaugh or ALEC.
I have ordered Papa John's before I knew they sponsored Rush but I'm sure they did anyway. I consume several Pepsi products per day even before I was made aware of ALEC.
Yet, capitalism does offer me choices correct? If I don't like a company, thanks to a capitalistic/free market, I can just find another one; right? Do I not have that right? Because if I didn't, I wouldn't be in a fully capitalist nation (not that we are one anyway and thankfully) and you thus can't justify that attack.
Businesses have a public image to maintain. Honestly, would you expect them to fully sponsor someone who uttered the word "slut"? I certainly would hope not. Corporations can sponsor whomever they please to, but don't expect me to continue being a consumer.
Conservatives, and even non-conservatives, love using the tagline that Obama is trying to take over the nation and create some dictatorship. Yet do these people not believe we should protest corporations? Do they believe we should live in a world in which corporations rule and we are silenced by them?
Capitalism is quite important to the size of one's endowments, I'm sure, but the love of the free market is only existing because they were told to be feared of losing it. Which they aren't.
It's All Political
Lastly, this argument has seen some prevalence too. That the SOLE reason that we are attacking these organizations is due to the fact that they are conservative.
Sure, we can make that argument but I believe this goes beyond politics. Should we be bashed by others with a microphone or millions of lobbyist dollars? Are we OK with hate speech?
If you think yes to those answers, then I can never convince you that the sun's surface is hot. Or that isn't Ronald Reagan with Mitt Romney, but a hologram used by the folks who brought you Tupac at Coachella.
But this is what it's all about isn't it? It's not about a country uniting or coalescing, it's about the cobra clutch that the right has on the GOP.
We live in a society advanced enough that we should all immediately reprehend Ted Nugent or Rush Limbaugh for the words that they say. It goes beyond right-left politics but about compassion, civility & respect. Yet that was all thrown out the window when the President took office.
I tried to make this reasonably satirical, but I couldn't because I believe what I'm saying is true. In an attempt to find something to bash at, even though there are some reasons why we should feel optimistic as a nation, the GOP has bashed women, gays, Muslims, blacks, hispanics, college & normal middle-class people such as you & I.
Yet the party of the 1%, is fearful of the craziest zealots that Twitter could find. Why? Because you need some support and that's their ideological base.
I wish you the best on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc. but maybe sometimes it's best to stay away.