Ann Coulter is crazy. Everybody knows it. But she does provide cover for right wing news by making them look sane by comparison. She also obscures real debate by throwing garbage into the public sphere. These are her functions and she, and a lot of others, have been doing them well. If we know this why, do we help her by reporting about her? I say leave her alone, Alex. Surely there must be something more important to report than the bile she emits.

Conservative republicanism is not dead. Since Nixon they have successfully moved the country so far to the right it is difficult to gauge exactly how much. After Nixon, Reagan successfully moved the yard stick for political discourse to the right. Clinton did not succeed in moving the discourse back left. Bush built upon Reagan's advances and raised the specter of a nationalist, quasi-fascist government that has yet to be repudiated by even liberal voices. I'm talking about the Bill of Rights. Even if Obama wins, and that is a great 'if', there is no guarantee that he will be able to restore the republic. Indeed, that may not even be his goal; we have no idea as this was not raised by the media in the primaries. That restoring democracy and fidelity to the Bill of Rights has not been an issue in the campaign shows that we are not yet clear how far the discourse has moved to the right. We only know that it has moved extremely far. To suggest that that movement is over now is idiotic and proves only the opposite.

What does it matter what some abstract "base" feels? People who value the American Republic, the Bill of Rights, the Rule of Law will speak out against any politician who votes with this or any other autocratic (fascist?) administration. And I will not contribute another dime to the DNC or vote for any democrat who has not stood up for my rights in Congress. That includes my own senators Schumer and Clinton. I will support candidates who I think will fight for the Republic and strengthen democracy. I am a member of the left group American Freedom Campaign (americanfreedomcampaign.org), but I stand with Bob Barr and the conservative members of the American Freedom Agenda (americanfreedomagenda.org) who are fighting for the Bill of Rights and the Rule of Law in this country. It doesn't matter what some columnist thinks the base of a party feels. It does matter what candidates we contribute to and support for public office.

This article rings true, but surely it is half the story of how conservatism has destroyed American politics. There is also a war on democracy, privacy (also under Clinton), congress (the constitution), the law, free expression and yes, even happiness.

THE ANSWER IS NO

Democrats, in Congress and out, continue to misunderstand what's going on. How can they be so obtuse? Republicans do not care about language, truth, laws or anything else except pure power. While Democrats worry themselves into an impotent frenzy because Republicans nominate idiots or don't seem to understand how they abuse language by saying one thing and then doing the opposite (and seeming to revel in it thus demoralizing Democrats even more), Democrats stand helplessly by and do nothing. THEY DON"T GIVE A SHIT!!! Get it, you idiots? They're fascists. The will do ANYTHING to increase their power. They are not playing your game! You can't beat them at a game they don't play. Get a grip on yourselves and admit the obvious reality. The country, as we speak, is going through a slow, fascist take-over. The question is not will Obama win or not. The question is, if he does win can he actually do anything to stop this fascist militarization of the country. Of course, if he doesn't win we KNOW the take-over will continue. Why aren't more conservatives disgusted that their party nominated a bona fide (Christian Fascist) idiot? Because they don't have to be. Because there is no Congress, no court, no democracy, no citizenry, no press that stops them from doing whatever they want. Wake up before it's too late you. Writing this kind of weak, ignorant article is defeatist and emboldens them even more. They strip you of rights, slaughter thousands, break the laws of the land with impunity and you WONDER why they nominate idiots and don't care about truth anymore. Why shouldn't they? They're fascists and no one has stopped them. Congress has the power to do so but doesn't. Democrats don't even COMPLAIN about it. They just roll over.

The New York Times is a joke. How could any paper with standards allow the editor who printed Judith Miller's bogus, CIA, Chalabi sourced bullshit articles about WMD in Iraq in the most prominent place on the front page continue on in his miserable job. Bill Keller should be gone. Why are we occupying Iraq? Fuck the NYT.

War on Terror + War on drugs = bullshit

Thanks Glenn. This is the kind of manipulation of public opinion that the CIA and a lot of the major media has been doing for decades. It needs to be dragged into the light and examined at long last.

If only this meme were as successful at replicating itself as nationalistic ones.

Why is it that such a commonsense, reasonable argument as this is rare?