THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
(apologies to Keith Olbermann)
Covington, KY city commissioner Steve Frank (R)
It’s been fun watching the uber-rich and their Conservative defenders fall over themselves in what appears to be thinly-veiled panic over the Occupy Wall Street movement. Perhaps they’re concerned that the peasants are on the verge of revolting. Perhaps they’re concerned that their gravy train may not be long for this world. Or perhaps they’re terrified that they poor and the middle class are discovering that they have a voice and that they don’t have to march in obedient lockstep to the commands of the upper class.
I’m singling out Steve Frank because of his idiotic, infantile rant about “going Taliban” on the protesters. What, free speech is acceptable only when it dovetails with pre-approved Right-wing talking points? Free speech isn’t actually supposed to be “free”? Freedom of speech and assembly were only meant for Conservatives who follow orders? You didn’t hear Liberals opining as to how they’d like to “go Taliban” on the greedy, corrupt thugs in the Bush Administration during The Reign of Error ©. So why is it acceptable now for Conservatives to use the rhetoric of violence and repression? Can you imagine the weeping and gnashing of teeth that would erupt if a Liberal engaged in similar over-the-top rhetorical silliness?
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There are a number of Conservatives who seem to be foaming at the mouth in fear that the Occupy Wall Street protesters may upset the accepted order, and with it their gravy train. To forestall this, they’re willing to engage in all manner of rhetorical excess. Some of it is as overcooked as Glenn Beck, who dramatically warned that protesters will drag the rich into the streets and kill them. Given that the protests spreading across the country have been notable for their non-violence, the predictions of Apocalyptic Liberal Angst and its violent underpinnings seem like so much fear-mongering.
Methinks some of these folks have been channeling Josef Goebbels a wee bit too long for their own good. When they actually start believing their own fear-mongering, you know The Big Lie has metastasized beyond all recognition and control. Never mind that in this case, Frank is employing the imagery of the Taliban attacking American troops, an interesting analogy for a man who claims to have a son “in harm’s way.”.
Perhaps Conservatives really do have something to fear. Perhaps they recognize that protests from coast to coast may actually pose a very real threat to the oligarchy that enables their way of life. Perhaps they fully and truly understand how and why Americans overwhelming support Occupy Wall Street and oppose the Tea Party. It’s entire possible that change is coming, and if so, it’s likely that the wealthy and those on the Right who work so hard to support them may be faced with a reality that threatens their primacy.
Perhaps Conservatives are right to feel threatened.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
