Conservatives have come a long way. Back in John Birch’s glory days, they didn’t care whether they were the majority or not – their self-righteousness was all they needed to keep going. Barry Goldwater made extremism noble. However, ever since conservative marketers twisted “The Silent Majority” into something specifically conservative to sell us Tricky Dick Nixon and Spiro Agnew (the epitome of Mad Hatters and Angry White Men) conservatives have congratulated themselves time and again that they are the majority. Wrong. If there is a majority in America, they are apathetic, uninterested, or cynical, too busy or too lazy to get involved. Those who care enough about the country to vote are a minority. Those who care enough to do anything more than vote are an extreme minority. Ask yourself: Who is served by apathy.

Below, Paul Keaton trots out an un-cited statistic and twists 40 percent into majority rule. Then, he declares that any rule he doesn’t agree with is a coup. Time and again, the Radical Wrong practices the same adage: When you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.

ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: Tea-Partiers Favor Mid-Road Values
By Paul W. Keaton
Santa Fe resident

It was never the goal of the Tea Party to put the Republicans back in power. We have tried to explain that to both Democrats and Republicans many times. Do you hear us now? [mjh: Hear? Yes. Believe, no.]

One might ask, "So, are the tea-partiers winning the hearts and minds of Americans?" But that is the wrong question. Tea-partiers are the hearts and minds of mainstream Americans. 

        For instance, polls show that the ratio of conservatives-to-independents-to-liberals in the United States is about 40 percent to 30 percent to 20 percent, respectively. Any political pundit who calls himself a pragmatist should know this and understand that mainstream America is represented best by moderate-to-right policies. Anything else can only be called a coup.

        And now, for the first time in many decades, we are awakened – no – alarmed and energized.

        One goal is to place in both parties, politicians with mainstream values so no matter which party wins, untested extremists— left or right — can’t destroy the country.

ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: Tea-Partiers Favor Mid-Road Values

It’s rather arrogant to declare yourself the majority. At least I have the sense and honesty to know I’m not in the majority – never have been, never will be, don’t need it or want it. I don’t think there is any meaningful majority in AmeriCo anymore. The Tea Party represents the ultimate Balkanization of Amerika.

ABQJOURNAL OPINION/LETTERS: Letters To the Editor

Throw Bozos Out of Washington
        ISN’T IT IRONIC that none of the bozos that want to be re-elected has said one single word about what their platform is?

        They’re good at bashing their opponents; however, all liberals are good at that. … [mjh: Seriously, Ron? Do you think conservatives don’t ever bash their opponents. Look in the mirror.]

        Something these bozos don’t seem to understand: They work for us, not the other way around! I don’t want the government making my health care choices, I don’t want the government controlling my utilities; and mark my words, they want to control every single aspect of our lives! [mjh: Ron, et ilk, is actually saying he doesn’t want government to work at all – something conservatives demand and accomplish every chance they get.]

        It won’t be long and all our rights will be out the window. … I don’t want the government interfering with my life any more than they do already. I really hope the people wake up to what they’re trying to do to us. Let’s go green, and recycle Washington!
        RON ROSS
        Albuquerque

ABQJOURNAL OPINION/LETTERS: Letters To the Editor

One thing the Right gets wrong stems from raging paranoia. The fearful Right is certain to the core that “they” want to control “us” and take freedom and everything else away from “us.” Oh, except for conservative candidates, somehow. Yeah, right. The most dangerously paranoid think there are no exceptions to the rule. They want anarchy but don’t have the brains to realize that’s what they’re calling for or the balls to go for it.

When the loud and angry mob gets me down, I return to Sherman Alexie’s optimistic view.

07/18/2003: An Interview with Sherman Alexie By Steven Robert Allen (alibi . july 17 – 23, 2003)

Alibi: [O]ver the last couple decades conservatism seems to have been in the ascendance. Do you still feel like the world is getting better, or do you feel like we’re drifting back into a dark ages?

Alexie: Well, conservatism hasn’t ascended. It wasn’t conservatives who got civil rights in place. All these things that are still happening are still very liberal. We can’t view a 20-year span or a 10-year span or Dubya’s administration in micro terms. If he does, and I don’t know yet, represent radical change, it’s still tiny compared to two centuries worth of this country’s history.

Alibi: The overall trajectory is liberal?

Alexie: Yeah, and the thing is people in this country continue, with every generation, to be more educated, more progressive, more diversely minded, more tolerant and more loving. At one point I say it in the book, about the average 20-something, graveyard-shift worker today being smarter than an opera-goer in New York in 1876. And it’s true. Health-wise we’re so much better off. Education-wise we’re better off. I mean, people say there’s an education crisis in the country, but go back a hundred years, go back 50 years, you know. Things were much worse. That doesn’t mean there aren’t problems we need to deal with, but there’s no need to run around screaming that the world is ending either. Dubya is a conservative, and he’s a Christian conservative. But he’s not as far right as many past presidents.

mjh’s Weblog Entry – 07/18/2003: "An Interview with Sherman Alexie"