Opinion Forum

The Ides of November

June 23rd, 2010

The Washington Post recently ran an article by columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr. titled “How Obama changed the right.” It’s an interesting article that attempts to dissect the conservative movement in this country. Dionne seems to think that conservatism has been reborn. Like many other media sages, he seems to let his own liberal beliefs sometimes influence his views. I can’t fault his devotion to his views, even if in my opinion he tends to lean the wrong way.

Dionne began his article with the premise that President Obama has caused this eruption of conservatism among the voters. I agree with Dionne that a long dormant belief inside conservatism has been awakened. Beyond this point Dionne and I go our separate ways in accounting for this rise in conservatism in our voting public.

From the very beginning of the article the author raises the specter of religion being less important to the conservatives. He speculates religion has fallen prey to “older, more secular” convictions. I would like to remind Dionne that the majority of this nation’s “older, more secular” convictions came from religious views and values held by our Founding Fathers. Dionne makes the assertion that the conservative right has become more “radicalized.” Due to my own experiences I can’t agree with that line of thought. In our particular political climate “radical” has become a buzz word of sorts. Liberals like to stereotype the majority of conservatives as radicals. The beer-drinking, gun-toting, bible-thumping little people in the “Red” states. You know the drill, I’m sure.

I always enjoy listening to people who go to such lengths to explain why people like me are so intolerant to change and so out of touch. Actually, Dionne, while aiming to critique conservatism draws a picture that could apply just as well to liberalism. In spite of efforts to create the illusion of calm, cool-headed liberals the facts say otherwise. I offer up for your scrutiny Howard Dean, Barney Frank, Al Franken, and Keith Olbermann. All four are real-life nutcases. I will credit the four with being open in their madness — never any doubt of which side they are on.

Dionne seems at a loss to explain the conservative view of the U.S. Constitution. Conservatives tend to ignore the fact that the Constitution is the work of drunk old religious white racists who wrote the document to better secure their own wealth and land holdings (not Dionne’s words).

Of course, no mention of conservative villains would be worth its salt if there weren’t some mention of Sarah Palin. Dionne rises to the occasion but mentions her only briefly. He deduces that Palin is part of the religious right, a group that he has pronounced all but dead.

All non-believers beware of the Ides of November.

Articles written by Larry Ennis
Tags: conservative, Dionne, liberal, Obama, religious, religious right, secular
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