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The Political WerewolfIf you know me, then you know I'm a big political nut. So, I've decided to add my own personal flavor to the realm of political discussion. We'll be talking about various issues - some of them having to do with current events, others perhaps more on a philosophical level. But in any case, you're free to respond to whatever you read here, either by E-mail or on the message board. All righty, here we go. The Ten Questions a Liberal Will Never AnswerWhen I discovered my political affiliation back in 2000, I decided I was a Republican because of one primary reason. I hadn't really thought about the issues a whole lot, and of those I did consider I was fairly centrist about most stuff. But when it came right down to it, I eventually sided with the right because the Democrats I were watching on television and the news seemed to habitually profess concern for a particular issue, then exhibit behavior I would consider contrary to that behavior. They would warn about an economy falling to pieces, then um and uh at why they shouldn't stimulate the economy by giving people back some tax money. They would declare their love for the minority, then write off the appointing of Colin Powell and Condi Rice to some of the most powerful cabinet posts as "token" hirings. They would protest the legislating of morality, then lobby for taxes on soda because we're getting too fat. These inconsistencies bothered me. In all the political discussions I raised with these people, I tried to get them to face these inconsistencies and be forthcoming about what they really stood for. I got the usual: candy-coated rhetoric, gymnastic-like dodges, or simply the cold shoulder. Either these people weren't willing to confront these contradictions, or they weren't willing to give a conservative any ammunition. I've compiled ten of these questions - questions that liberals will have all sorts of trouble answering. I tried this out on another forum, and sure enough, the resident left-wingers were more interested in bashing me for asking the questions than answering them. I may have gotten one or two responses that came close to addressing the issue I brought up, but in the end all ten questions ended up getting spun out of control. (Incidentally, one of them tried to confront me with his own list of questions. I cut all ten of them down in one swath.) Here are the questions. Let's see how many you can answer. 1. Considering that the top 1% of wage earners in America pay 37% of the taxes, the top 10% pay 67% of the taxes, and the top 50% pay 96% of the taxes, why do you get up in arms when every time a tax cut is proposed, most of it goes to the top percentage of wage earners - the ones who are paying all the taxes? 2. Also, if tax cuts "kill the economy", as Dancin' Dick put it, and the tax increases signed in by Clinton resulted in the boom of the '90s, why not suggest a tax increase whenever the economy is in a funk? 3. Why is it that whenever conservatives talk about abortion, school prayer, the word "God" in our Pledge of Allegiance, etc., you guys have a temper tantrum over us trying to "tell you how to live", and yet there are Democrats suggesting taxes on soda pop, cigarettes and SUVs, with the purpose of protecting us from ourselves? 4. If Republicans are warmongers, how do you explain both the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War - no doubt your prime example of war gone wrong - being started by Democrats and ended by Republicans? 5. If Democrats and Liberals are so hell-bent on diversity and equality, why is it that people like Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Alan Keyes and all other minorities who happen to be conservative are called "Uncle Toms"? 6. How come when the Patriot Act and Homeland Security Department were created, you guys warned that the Constitution's days were numbered, and yet things like Campaign Finance Reform and the multitude of gun laws - which threaten much more tangible damage to the Bill of Rights - go completely unmentioned by you guys? 7. If Gore is supposed to be out President, then how come he never led by a single chad in Florida in any recount? And would he still have won if the media hadn't (incorrectly) informed the right-leaning panhandle that Gore had won the state five minutes after the peninsula's polls were closed, and Bush had a giant lead in the early going? 8. Who is the leader of the "Religious Right?" (Note: This question is a trick question. I can't tell you who leads them either. That's because there is no "Religious Right".) 9. Why do you say you're concerned about inner-city education when the proposition of school vouchers results in doom-and-gloom premonitions about the already ramshackle education system in our country disintegrating? 10. If liberalism is supposed to be the cure to society's ills, then how do you explain what's going on in California? Previous columns:5/5/03: Let The Fun Begin4/21/03: It's My Money, Not TheIRS 4/14/03: Bush Won - Get Over It 4/7/03: Conservative Business 101 3/31/03: I'm a Celebrity - No War in Iraq! 3/24/03: Patriotism vs. Nationalism |